Idiots Guide to S3 Intercooler Install and Associated C0ck-ups
I had my car booked in at JKM on Wednesday for an S3 intercooler install. Thing is, I feel quite frustrated at not knowing anything about my GTI under the bonnet and enviously read about people doing mods or repairs to their vehicles themselves... but the only thing that stopped me before is that I'm mechanically retarded :rolleyes: and couldn't even find the jacking point on my Ed30 2 weeks ago :embarassed:
However, I am a bit crazy so I decided after reading MatEd30's S3 install post and the APR Intercooler install guide and seeing that JoeGTI had also installed the intercooler himself, that I would have a go.
Point being not to save money - as thats gone on purchasing a proper socket set from Halfrauds and a boost gauge on order from JKM
- but instead giving me the confidence to do future upgrades and changes to my vehicle without feeling intimidated. A lack of confidence and tools is the main reason why people like myself might contemplate doing something like this, but then freeze and give up at the first sign of trouble - like when I started this job and couldn't find the bottom screws holding the top part of the GTI front grill - took me 30 minutes just to find them :lipsrsealed: Anyway, MatEd30 said this install takes about 4 hours so I thought it couldn't be that bad - it took me 16 hours over 2 days :shocked:
Mark from VWR was quite amused when I told him what I had done and how
I've given some details as to how to do the job below - from a complete amateur's perspective, although I haven't covered every little screw that was taken off as it would get even longer and more tedious..
Whats needed:
Torx T20, T25 and T30 heads
Hex 10mm, 16mm and 30mm sockets
No. 1 Phillips Screwdriver
Flathead Screwdriver
APR I/C Install Guide – it contained a few differences as I discovered along the way, but still an invaluable guide.
Optional (but it sure helps): Hydraulic Jack
I was very anal when it came to keeping track of screws and where they went. I put the screws associated with each step in a separate bag with a label. Still didn’t prevent having 3-4 screws left over after the job was done and I haven’t a clue where they should go
Step 1 - Get someone to help as this is not a one-man job if you've never done anything like this before. Plus it gives you a bit of confidence to crack on with the job. I enlisted my brother-in-law and his cousin who were bribed with tickets to Santa Pod on Sunday.
Unsuspecting Mugs - I told them it was only a 4 hour job
Step 2 - This part was very tricky as the front lower spoiler wouldn't allow the lowered Ed30 to mount the ramps. We had jack the car very high, slide the ramps underneath and then drive it the rest of the way.
Looking for the jacking point - oh sh1t, whats that cracking noise :shocked:
Step 3 - Remove the negative terminal lead on the car battery
Step 4 - Remove the belly pan using a Torx T25
Step 5 - Remove the air intake. My car has an EVOMS intake so I was a bit confused at first as this did not need removal – although the cone heatshield was removed for access.
The oem intake removed
EVOMS Heatshield
Step 6 – Remove the front grill. There are 4 T25 screws at the top and 2 screws at the bottom. My bottom screws took a while for me to locate and then it took me a while to find the right screw to undo them as the APR guide is a bit off here – they were just below the plate holder.
Step 7 – Remove the T25 screws connecting the front wheel arch to the bumper – 3 on each side.
Access is awkward if you can be arsed to take the wheels off.
Step 8 – Remove the front bumper by:
1. Removing the 6 T25 screws under the front spoiler.
2. Removing assorted T25 and T30 screws holding the lower grill.
3. Disconnecting the washer pipes to the washer jets.
4. Disconnecting the foglight connections.
One front bumper removed…
Step 9 – Unclip the bonnet-release coupling as described in the APR guide.
Step 10 – Support the radiator assembly with a jack or bricks and remove the 8 16mm hex bolts as described in step 15 of the APR guide.
The APR guide then tells you to disconnect the A/C pressure, bonnet-latch, radiator fan-wiring harness and airbag sensors. I couldn’t find them (apart from the rad sensor) on my Ed30 as described in the guide and after an hour of searching, decided to only disconnect what was needed to get the slam panel off.
The APR guide also tells you to pull the radiator, i/c and a/c condenser assembly forward by 4 inches – I didn’t bother and it made things easier later when putting everything back together.
Step 11 – Remove the headlights by unscrewing them and disconnecting any leads to them.
Step 12 – Remove the core support/slam panel.
Me supporting the radiator assembly thinking wtf have I done to my car
Step 13 – Remove the intercooler pipes on either side.
Step 14 – Remove all the screws connecting the A/C condenser to the intercooler and the intercooler to the radiator and carefully remove the intercooler. Be very careful not to damage the fragile A/C pipes.
Step 15 – Place the S3 intercooler between the A/C condenser and radiator. I then attached the S3 pipes to the intercooler before attempting to screw it in place.
Step 16 – C0CK-UP! I took the bag of screws for the S3 intercooler I had and realised that they looked exactly the same as the ones for the OEM intercooler. The problem here is that the S3 intercooler sides are metallic, whereas the OEM ones are plastic. Still, these were the screws given so I thought they must be the right ones.
As we screwed in the side screw – as recommended by the APR guide – we noticed that the screw really did not seem to want to go in. A couple more twists and we ended up with 8mm of screw inside the S3 intercooler and a 2mm stump on the outside – the screw had broken off
This is when I thought – damn, I wish it was safe and sound in the bay at JKM and why oh why did I even think about doing something as stupid as an S3 install myself.
Damage Limitation
We had to remove the S3 intercooler and attempt removal of the broken screw. Try as we might, the stump in the S3 wouldn’t come out. In the end I we had to chisel the little stump into a rectangular shape and use pliers with great force to try and get it loose. It worked… eventually after an hour of trying.
It was getting darker and colder and I looked up TT’s post on the part numbers for the screws that were meant to go in and I noticed that they should be Hex Bolts FFS! The job had to wait until the morning when the Audi dealer opened.
Everything had to be put into the front room – not sure if the mother-in-law was impressed!
Whats this? Damn, I forgot to close the windows as I had left them open when listening to instructions getting the car on the ramp.
Now the APR guide strenuously and clearly states in Step 16 to make sure that the battery was disconnected when removing the airbag sensor. There were three of us working on the car and it wasn’t 100% clear to me if the airbag sensor had been removed by one of the guys when removing the slam panel – it only became apparent the next day when putting the car back together. I was terrified that if I reconnected the battery to get the windows back up, the airbags might deploy!
I had to leave the car like that overnight with a borrow cover.
VAG C0ck-up
The first thing I did in the morning was go to the VW dealer – they didn’t have a clue.
Next stop Audi and they said that TPS had 9 in stock and he confirmed that ETKA described them as Hex bolts – just right.
I got to TPS and it was weird – just a reception with a sealed window, a phone on a table and 2 telephone numbers to call on a sign. I managed to get someone to go to the warehouse and get the correct parts. When the guy came back I looked at the bag and guess what – they were the GTI Torx screws?! WTF I carefully check the part numbers and TPS checked them against ETKA – the part number was right, but the bag contained Torx screws…
VAG have screwed up royally somewhere along the line and to cut a long story short, I contacted MatEd30 who confirmed that those were the screws he used but that you had to be gentle. Looking at the ETKA description and the thread grooves inside the S3 intercooler, I’d say that the Torx screws are definitely not the right ones – they are more like plastic or wood screws with a wide thread. I called JKM to see what they used and they kindly offered to post out the right ones for free but I didn’t have time for that.
Step 17 – We managed to get the S3 intercooler in place and screw it in.
Step 18 – Plain sailing now – well sort of as we had to do about 5 takes on everything as either we put screws in too early or left something out etc…
Putting the slam panel back on.
Step 19 – Putting the Xenons back is a bit of a hassle when trying to align them – I had to go to the VW dealer to check out his Mk5s as I had forgotten how they should line up!
Step 20 – Fitting the lower bumper back on. Check that the fogs and headlight washers are working at this point.
Step 21 – Fit the upper grill into place
Step 22 – Job Done!
Screw back the wheel arches and fit the belly pan back on.
Step 23 – Sh1t – the airbag, ESP and other warning lights have come on and won’t go?!
Step 24 – Panic over – when you drive the car and reach 15mph, the ECU checks everything and the warning lights should go off – they did… Phew.
Step 25 – Off to VWR to get the Quaife LSD fitted – I got there at 9:15pm!
