The Project Pad

Hey... can anyone confirm or deny that a B4 90 airbox (aka air filter housing) will physically fit into a B3 without any "adjustments" to the car body?

I'm looking to replace that lovely PVC contraption that's holding my MAF sensor with something more real, and it seems like the B4 airbox might be easier to adapt than the B3 one.

Incidentally if it will fit, and anyone's got one for sale for a reasonable price, I'm interested in hearing about it!

From what I have been told, yes it fits. Thats what rs4tech has waiting for his V8 swap.

Coincidently, a friend of mine is parting a B4. Ill ask how much he wants for it.

Kewl... thanks!

Ideally I'd get an S2 or RS2 one but I haven't won the lottery yet. :(

I have a couple of B4 airboxes too...

Hey Eric,

Just read your whole thread. A nice documented build .............great job !!!

I think it's really cool that your using megasquirt 3x. Everywhere i read up on MS3X you and savagerocco's
names pop up.:-)

I hope you get megasquirt 3x to work in tri-trigger mode.

Cheers,


Craig

So here's the latest thing driving me insane and a question that goes with it.

My car makes a metallic-sounding "clunk" every time I go over a bump that exceeds a certain size. It's very predictable, seems to have the same sound no matter which wheel hits the bump, and is audible only with the windows open.

I've checked everything I can think of in the suspension and random under-car stuff, even removed heatshields, and the problem remains.

I seem to remember reading somewhere - probably here but not 100% sure - about H&R springs doing this sometimes. They're progressive-rate springs, and it makes sense there might be a noise as the bound coils hit each other.

And... I seem to remember someone mentioning a Honda part number for some sort of rubber shim-type-things that can be used to correct the problem. But I've searched and found nothing.

Does this ring a bell with anyone?

Yes, if you instaled you H&R spring "correctly" they will make a noise. If you install them so they are in upside down, that should take car of this problem. I resently read a thread about this that you actually posted in I believe. Are your part #s right side up, or upside down?

I just went through this with my H&R springs. I install them with the wiring right side up and the coils would rub on the perch making a cluncking sound. I flipped the springs upside down and it went away.

DE80q wrote:Yes, if you instaled you H&R spring "correctly" they will make a noise. If you install them so they are in upside down, that should take car of this problem. I resently read a thread about this that you actually posted in I believe. Are your part #s right side up, or upside down?

Oh man... I can't remember about the partnumber, but the closely-spaced coils are at the top.

Flip them over.

I was gonna suggest checking out a thread about H&R springs that is pretty recent.

I thought the dead springs were supposed to be on top? Other way around was causing issues, no?

http://www7.motorgeek.com/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=52999

I think I've looked at that thread, and a few others, and I get the impression that dead-coils-up and dead-coils-down are both wrong... no matter which way they are, switch them and you'll be fine. You know, typical Audi stuff.

Seriously, I wonder if it's the act of removing and reinstalling them that actually helps? It's a little hard to say for sure since it was mostly cold weather and I was driving with the windows up, but I'm 95% sure that when the car was first on the road almost a year ago, it didn't make this noise. So maybe it's the springs shifting position or something and R&R'ing them fixes it? If so, the noise would probably come back after a while.

If I can come up with the info, I'd really like to try the Honda shims or whatever they are first. I suspect it would be a lot less work than pulling everything apart and flipping the springs.

I've actually thought, as an experiment, of putting some tie-wraps around the tighter coils - not tie-wrapping the coils together but directly around the wire to prevent metal-on-metal contact - to see if that changes anything.

My springs, brand new, dead coil down, rubbed the outside of the spring on the lip of the bottom perch. I flipped them so the dead coils are on top and now it doesn't rub. The way the non dead part of the spring is almost tapered so it clears the perch. If yours are like that I don't know what it is rubbing on. Are your strut mounts okay?

Mounts, springs, and shocks were brand-new just under a year ago, which is only about 3000 miles of driving.

The noise I'm hearing also isn't what I'd expect for a shot mount - it's very metallic.

Tie rod hitting the downpipe?

I checked your project thread in the early pages and saw the springs had the dead coils on bottom. I wasnt sure if something changed and you flipped them. That could easily be the cause of the issue if they are indeed installed dead springs down.

Love the project thread. Tons of useful pictures and info. Keep it up

Maybe I'm misunderstanding the meaning of the term "dead coils"? I thought it meant the ones that were closer together.

I found this pic of the assembled struts, and the closed-spaced coils are on top:


I also found an FAQ page on H&R's website (http://www.hrsprings.com/technical/freq ... -questions) that states "If the spring is the same on both sides and fits the same either direction, then it is correct to install the spring with the closer coils “up”"... for what it's worth!

That looks right.

Edited because I was half asleep when I posted the first time

That looks right to me

So this week I've got some random information to report and (for the 10,000th time!) a question.

Random thing #1: there's seemingly been some confusion re whether you can replace a B3 clock with a B4 clock. Answer: you can, but there's a "but". The "but" is that the screws that hold it in are different!

I replaced my clock with a B4 one, and although it's shaped a little differently, it fits and works fine. But where the mounting screws go through it, the B4 clock is thinner than the B3 one. The B3 screws ended up being too long - they might have worked but it seemed like something might break if I tightened them fully. So I took the B3 ones out, noticed the B4 ones were shorter so used them instead, and all was good. If I didn't have the B4 screws, a couple of washers under each head probably would have made the B3 ones okay.

And on the issue of springs and noises... yesterday I jacked up the front of the car and put a few tie-wraps around the upper spring coils as I discussed above. And it seems to have helped... a lot! I didn't do the rears because they're harder to access, but so far the results seem promising. I don't really expect the tie-wraps to last... if that turns out to be the solution, I'll have to find something more permanent.

Lastly a question. B2/B3 quattro transmission and rear-diff mounts look the same to me and I always thought they were in fact the same. And I think performance-parts suppliers like 034 sell the same mounts for use in both places. But... ETKA says they're different! Does anyone know what the difference actually is? I think my diff mounts need replacing, and actual honest-to-goodness diff mounts only seem to be available from the dealer at a fairly high price. Tranny mounts are available everywhere and I'm wondering if I can use those instead.

just a guess but maybe the same shape but made of different durometer.

That was my first thought... maybe the transmission ones are harder since they support more weight?

And the plot thickens... a little. I definitely have a diff-mount issue but it's not what I thought. It's the rear one! Completely croaked at the ripe old age of about 11 months. Yay. :x

So I'm in the market for a rear diff mount. OE ones appear to be NLA. Most online suppliers are selling an amazingly cheap one that I suspect is Meyle... which is what I think I already have and I definitely don't want another of those!

I found one supplier selling Febi branded ones... are they any good?

I did have another idea... I'm aware of the 034 one and also aware of the fit issues people have been having. The prospect of trying to fit a 65.5 millimeter peg in a 65 millimeter hole doesn't thrill me. So I had a bright idea. How about cutting a slot in the steel outer sleeve of the 034 one to reduce its circumference a little? Through the miracle of math, that should reduce its diameter a little and maybe make it fit right? Obviously the outer sleeve would be weakened but I have a hard time seeing how it could go anywhere. To really seal the deal, I could even tack the sleeve back together with the MIG before installation.

I really don't want to machine the hole in the diff larger (this is an urquattro diff so no removable brackets) since 1) it seems like it would take forever and 2) I'd be pretty much schrod (as we say here in Boston) if I ever wanted to use a different mount.

I'm aware of the polyurethane ones out there but I really don't want to go that route.

Well I went with the 034 mount, and it didn't (surprised?). I used a sanding attachment on my drill and slowly but surely made it big enough to only slightly break my bench vice while pressing it in. But my assembly was removable, yours is not, so I would not recommend that route.

And yes the trans mounts are stiffer than the diff ones. All three of my diff mounts are 034 ones.

I'd go with the powerflex rear diff bushing.