PutnamCO

I sold my 06 LGT two years ago because I had a newborn and a catless car with 400wtq on coilovers that needed time and love that I did not have.

I bought a 2012 Audi S4, but unfortunately, I could not find a manual in the timeframe that I had. I like the Audi, and it's a comfortable car that has been reliable, but I miss a manual, and I find it frustratingly slow compared to my LGT.

I don't have the time or money to build a beast of a car again, but I would like something a little faster. While the Audi has been totally reliable, I don't like the idea of modding an S4 with 73k miles. I think that a low-mile 07-09 Spec B with a VF52 on E85, tuned by cryo, would be a good compromise.

I had that setup for a year, but that was 10 years ago, so I don't remember how it felt. If anyone has that setup, I would be interested in taking a quick ride with you.

If its cheaper Id take the spec B shaft over the 4eat

Sounds good, thank you. We'll see if I can get the spec b driveshaft quickly and cheaply enough for it to make sense.

Not that I'm aware of, unless you had a Legacy shaft and picked up an OBK shaft this time. The carrier bearing has some extra height to it for the OBKs, but you can run either on either car really.

Gotcha, thanks. It's from a Legacy so it should work. I may have time to take a look next week. The vibration is minor and only when I floor it, so I should have some time.

The projector lens or the actual headlight lens?

The actual headlight lens.

Anyone know if I can buy an OEM replacement headlight lens without the housing assembly?

I have a set of RX300 retrofits that I really like, but one of the headlight lenses was cracked last week. Everything else looks to be in good shape and I would like to avoid swapping everything into another housing. I could also probably get a new headlight, take off the lens, and put it on my old one. I doubt the resale value of the housing assembly without a lens is very high.

I want to replace the fluid in my 04 STI R180 differential. I just learned that Subaru has discontinued the 1L LSD fluid, and only sells a 4L can. I do not want to lug around a 3/4 full can of gear oil during my move in a few months.

Will Motul 90PA be a good alternative? I've read about it on NASIOC about it, and it seems like the next-best option, but wanted to see if anyone else here is running it.

Well, everything is in the car, except I'm still wiring up the DCCDPro, but hardware-wise it's all put back together. Now I'm having the fabled clutch bleeding issue. I can't seem to get enough pressure in my system? After bleeding 10 or 15 times, gravity and pressure bleeding, I still can only get the slave to actuate the clutch fork for maybe half of the travel that it needs to, pedal travel is full, never sticks. I have a brand new slave and master cylinders, and a SS clutch line. Anyone have any tricks or tips that I may have missed to get this up and running?

I had this same problem recently. Try reverse bleeding it by bleeding out of the slave cylinder, but by pushing in the slave cylinder instead of the clutch pedal. That solved it for me after a dozen traditional bleeds.

I think since the bleeder isn't the high-point in the system, that's why reverse bleeding may help.

I believe Clutchmasters changes the fulcrum point of their pressure plate so that there is a leverage advantage over other clutches.

 

Is the clutch working ok now ?

Clutch felt perfect on the way to school, and I'll be leaving in a couple hours, so I'll report back.

That's interesting about the Clutchmaster pressure plates. That makes sense, and although I don't mind a left leg workout, it is a nice change.

Just drove nearly 20 miles of stop and go, and the clutch felt perfect.

On a side note, my new Clutchmaster FX400 is way easier to drive than my old Spec stg 3. It is a full-face, so I'm sure that's part of it. Much smoother engagement and the pedal force required feels about half of the Spec clutch. Would the different pedal force have anything to do with the pull style STI clutch compared to the push style LGT, or is that strictly the different pressure plates?

I suppose it is possible to have air in the top of the slave. I have bled mine and I have seen a Subaru tech do it...it is pretty easy.

 

You would also know if there were a leak at either end of the clutch line.

 

The issue that you describe really does sound like air in the system. I know a really good Subaru tech, I will call and ask him if he has ever experienced this issue and see what he says.

Yeah, I'm still a bit puzzled, so that would be great. Thanks.

I don't think so, as I checked both connections at the ends of the line that have the 10mm bolts. I think in all the bleeding I did, I would have seen a leak. I'm wondering if there was air caught at the top of the slave cylinder that wasn't being bled out the standard way. Do you think that is possible?

My only other guess has to do with the cap, which I replaced with something with a smaller top when I had a Perrin-style TMIC. It still creates a seal, but it's the only part that's different. However, I've been running that cap for the last 60k miles.

The master cylinder is pretty straightforward as far as bleeding. It is a very small system. I can't imagine why it would take more than a couple of times to bleed that system. Is the TOB and clutch fork installed correctly ?

Clutch fork and TOB are installed correctly. What I don't understand is after bleeding, it feels totally perfect, but that only lasts a few dozen shifts before the pedal falls to the floor, or the engagement point rises by 6 inches, and getting into gear is very difficult.

Yesterday, I drove my car for the first time after installing a new engine and an 04 STI swap. I was able to drive for a few minutes, but then the clutch went to the floor. I limped it back to the shop and bled it again. Drove for a few minutes with the same result. Repeated this a total of 6 times. I bled from the bleeder on the line and also on the slave cylinder. The 10mm bolts on the line are tight.

It seems weird that the bleeder on the slave cylinder is not the highest point on the cylinder. However, I don't think that is my problem. I'm guessing maybe a little piece of something got into the reservoir and is disrupting the o-ring.

I'm going to replace the master cylinder and try to bleed the system again.

Has anyone had this much trouble bleeding the clutch, or thoughts on what the problem might be?

DeltaNu1142 i hope they ge things figured out quickly for you.

HATE TO DOUBLE POST, BUT I'M GOING TO START A NEW THREAD IN THE TRANSMISSIONS SECTION. THANKS!

I may be doing a 6mt swap soon and have a couple questions. Can the oem flywheel be resurfaced or should i plan on getting an aftermarket flywheel?

What is the best clutch for my power- 371whp/378wtq? Im only concerned about longevity, not driveability. Ive had a 6-puck for 75k and am fine with chatter, difficulty engaging, etc.

Thanks in advance.

Glad everything went well. The first time I replaced my clutch, I resurfaced the stock flywheel (even though people say you can't do it), and had no problems with it. The second time, I installed a single mass LWFW, and prefer the feel of that over the stocker.

What clutch are you putting in? What stage is your car? If you are putting down more power than stock, I wouldn't use the stock clutch, but that's just me.

Glad to see all the positive comments about Matt. I just dropped my car off there today to get a new timing belt. I'll report back when complete.

I was over at Matt's today and saw your car. It looks great!