Salt Water V8 Rebuild
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My 100th post! I hope for many more to come. As I have spent a lot of time on my knees and my back working on this car, I have spent a lot of time praying, too. As a Baptist preacher, I find it important to learn from my mistakes and note them here for others. Humility is not one of my favorite teachers, but I had one of those moments on Friday.
I decided (because it has always worked before) that the best way to get a wheel off is to hit it with a hammer. If that didn’t work, I would just hit it with a BIGGER hammer, and so on. However, after spraying the portion in between the brake disk and the wheel with a little penetrating oil, I tried it with a hammer again (using a wood block between, so as not to mar my already scratched rims). Long story short, it was not budging.
Was it salt-water welded?
Was it corroded together somehow?
YES.
I then stepped back, thought for a second… I’d gotten right to work without even praying… Now, I don’t know what you are thinking, but I can guess. I usually pray for some specifics: safety, skill, wisdom, and whatever else comes to mind, like good success and progress (ending, “In Jesus’ Name,” of course). So… I stopped, looked at the wheel for a second, and asked the LORD to forgive me for trying to do it in my own strength. Then it dawned on me, no kidding, right at that very second! Yes, a bigger tool WAS needed… the ever handy 2x4!
Now, you might say, “Ahhhh, come on, Jeremy, the penetrating oil finally did its work.” Or, “You already broke it lose with the previous hammering,” or “…. (You fill in the blank)…” But, sometimes, the LORD, just wants us to “call unto Him…”
I carefully wrapped some tie-down straps around the aluminum spokes of the wheel and a 2x4 (the leverage point), and after a couple of pretty beefy tugs, it popped loose! The other side came right off with just a little hammering.
IIIIFFFF, you try this method when you are facing a stubborn wheel, pay close attention to not hit the rear bumper. I know, this DIY stuff is not for everybody, but I learned that hitting things harder doesn’t always make them “work”. –Confession of a Baptist preacher…..
Here are the pix:
![Wheel Tire Automotive tire Tread Locking hubs]()
![Tire Wheel Vehicle Car Automotive tire]()
I decided (because it has always worked before) that the best way to get a wheel off is to hit it with a hammer. If that didn’t work, I would just hit it with a BIGGER hammer, and so on. However, after spraying the portion in between the brake disk and the wheel with a little penetrating oil, I tried it with a hammer again (using a wood block between, so as not to mar my already scratched rims). Long story short, it was not budging.
Was it salt-water welded?
Was it corroded together somehow?
YES.
I then stepped back, thought for a second… I’d gotten right to work without even praying… Now, I don’t know what you are thinking, but I can guess. I usually pray for some specifics: safety, skill, wisdom, and whatever else comes to mind, like good success and progress (ending, “In Jesus’ Name,” of course). So… I stopped, looked at the wheel for a second, and asked the LORD to forgive me for trying to do it in my own strength. Then it dawned on me, no kidding, right at that very second! Yes, a bigger tool WAS needed… the ever handy 2x4!
Now, you might say, “Ahhhh, come on, Jeremy, the penetrating oil finally did its work.” Or, “You already broke it lose with the previous hammering,” or “…. (You fill in the blank)…” But, sometimes, the LORD, just wants us to “call unto Him…”
I carefully wrapped some tie-down straps around the aluminum spokes of the wheel and a 2x4 (the leverage point), and after a couple of pretty beefy tugs, it popped loose! The other side came right off with just a little hammering.
IIIIFFFF, you try this method when you are facing a stubborn wheel, pay close attention to not hit the rear bumper. I know, this DIY stuff is not for everybody, but I learned that hitting things harder doesn’t always make them “work”. –Confession of a Baptist preacher…..
Here are the pix:
Always appreciate reading your updates. They do, however, make me feel very unproductive and unskilled in comparison! Thanks for continuing to document your experience, it's coming along even though you might not always feel like it - so keep fighting the good fight 🙂
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131 Posts
Thanks,
None of you guys should feel unproductive. You have already got a running R8! Like I told JuddS a little while ago, he is good at things that I am clueless about. There are also a few "honey-do" tasks on back burner, so my production is spread thin. I am just a plodder.
JB
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131 Posts
Thanks Dimitri. I am glad that you all get to go driving soon as spring is breaking. My patience may turn to anxiousness as the leaves back on the trees.
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131 Posts
No kidding. Swept up a dust pan full after shaking out the rear bumper tonight; even after vacuuming a lot! Can't wait to remove the belly pans. However, it will be an alternatively busy week for me away from the car, so some things will have to wait...
JB
I'm really impressed with your efforts to get this car back on the road. The R8, like any modern car, is simply a computer on wheels.
If I wanted to destroy a computer once and for all, I would either sink it in the sea, burn it or use a hammer. My background is in computer science.
It may be possible to get Your car mechanically into some sort of shape by washing, reconditioning or replacing corroded parts, but it is impossible to do so with the car's IT equipment, each of which is connected to the car's CAN network and communicates with numerous car computers. It may not even be possible for Audi engineers to use factory-new parts, let alone used circuit boards and other computer parts scavenged from here and there. The firmware versions of these are random and likely to be irreversibly incompatible with your particular configuration.
With all due kindness, I ask you to consider an easier route to get your car driving someday. I wonder if anyone has yet installed a Chevrolet small block in an R8? You could be the first!
IHe from Finland
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
If I wanted to destroy a computer once and for all, I would either sink it in the sea, burn it or use a hammer. My background is in computer science.
It may be possible to get Your car mechanically into some sort of shape by washing, reconditioning or replacing corroded parts, but it is impossible to do so with the car's IT equipment, each of which is connected to the car's CAN network and communicates with numerous car computers. It may not even be possible for Audi engineers to use factory-new parts, let alone used circuit boards and other computer parts scavenged from here and there. The firmware versions of these are random and likely to be irreversibly incompatible with your particular configuration.
With all due kindness, I ask you to consider an easier route to get your car driving someday. I wonder if anyone has yet installed a Chevrolet small block in an R8? You could be the first!
IHe from Finland
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
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IHe from Finland, (please help me pronounce your name in my head if you will)
Thanks for your thoughts! THIS is great information. It may present some future concerns for sure.
My uncle has worked on Jaguars for years. He has even converted a sedan (or two if I am not mistaken) from a V12 to a Chevy! He calls it his Jagrulet (Jag' rooolay). This idea to me will be WAY on the back burner because of the impossibility of the R8 staying a AWD. If I am not mistaken, the shaft for the front drive comes out of the V8 and V10 engines.
Hopefully this will spark some more thoughts and comments concerning the electrical system. The new cloth sewed to an old garment illustration is ringing in my ears after your comments. Big thoughts.
JB
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1,463 Posts
I was much encouraged by this post. I am currently in the middle of a (now) 4 day (should have been 1) job. Replacing my wife's Kia Stinger springs with lowering springs and changing her rotors to Girodisc along with some EBC yellow pads all the way around.
It's easy to get discouraged with what we think will be "simple" jobs when they turn out to be "not so simple".
Can we work-around and figure it out... sure... but after 59 years of life and a LOT of practice, I still set my expectations WAY too HIGH.. ha hahahhah
Ok, down to the the shop below....
I think a good backup for you is to get an aftermarket ECU and hire a tuner to help you sort out the electronics. And yes the FWD shaft can come out of the transmission. To do it properly you will need to tear down the transmission, otherwise an angle grinder can do quick work on the piece of the shaft that sticks out of the bell housing.
Good luck with this monster project!
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