5Kcstqa - head removal before upgrades at 160Kmi?

[Dupree, Jim]

With the right tools it is not really that difficult to drill the exhaust
studs out with the head on. I use a reversible 90-degree angle head drill
and reserve cut drill bits. Intake and exhaust manifolds removed.  I
carefully  center punch the end of the stud. This is probable the hardest
part IMO. Then I drill a small pilot hole (1/8 inch) all the way through the
stud. You have to be careful that you are straight and centered on the stud.
A mirror to see the center punch and a helper to see if you're straight help
a lot. Marking the drill bit depth helps keep you from drilling into the
water jacket of the head. Once you have a pilot hole thru the stud then
drill with a reverse drill bit (about 3/16 inch) and usually the drill bit
catches an edge and bites in and the drill unscrews the remains of the stud
from the head.
The dealer usually charged a half hour labor for each stud we had to drill
out and I could drill out  3 maybe four of them in a half hour once the
manifolds were off. Only once did I pull an Audi head to drill out studs and
that was because I tried to use and EZ-out on it. The EZ-out broke off.
Drill bits need to be sharp and use some cutting oil on them to keep them
cool and cutting well. Squirting some penetrate oil up through the pilot
hole doesn't hurt either, I don't know if it helps but can't hurt.

Thanks
Jim

 -----Original Message-----
From: 	Iain Mannix [mailto:mannix at rmsolo.org]
Sent:	Friday, February 15, 2002 10:45 AM
To:	Ben Swann
Cc:	'quattro at audifans.com'
Subject:	Re: 5Kcstqa - head removal before upgrades at 160Kmi?

When we replaced the EM on my 87 5kcstqa, it would have been
very difficult to near impossible to complete without removing the
head - a fair number of studs snapped, drilling them out with the
head in place would have been quite hard.

We initially tried to take the IM off, then EM/turbo, etc - wasted
an hour or so.  We should've simply taken the head off as a unit -
it'd have gone a fair bit faster.

YMMV, replace the motormount while there - super easy to get at
with the head off.  If it is anything like mine was, you'll wind
up taking the head off at some point - a couple of the studs broke
with _very_ little force.



Iain

On Fri, 15 Feb 2002, Ben Swann wrote:

> More questions:
>
> I will be performing some more "while I'm at it" performance mods to
> 5000Turbo Quattro Avant, as I have a slight but growing exhaust manifold
> leak.
>
> These will consist of 2-piece manifold, and high flow Cat and on back
> Stebrosystem, additional fueling, cam, lifters.
>
> I will be doing Timing belt, water pump & tensioner "while I'm at it"
among
> other PM.
>
> Should I replace the Head Gasket even though there are no compression
> problems or leaks, or should I leave well enough alone - if it ain't
broke,
> don't fix it.???
>
> If it is a good idea to replace the head gasket, will I make the overall
> job easier to remove head, manifolds, turbo, and downpipe as a unit and
> then dissasemble on a bench???
>
> As always I appreciate the BTDT replies.
>
> Ben
>