#2.0t

Audi A4 B7: Dash Cam

  The last piece of the Android radio puzzle is the front facing dash camera. You can set it to record all of your driving or you can switch it on when something happens. Either way, it is just one more reason that this fairly inexpensive Android car stereo is the best money I have ever spent.

Install

Audi A4 B7 2008: Cam Follower

  On the cabin side of the 2.0t Audi engine, there is a high-pressure fuel pump. That fuel pump is driven by a lobe at the rear of the camshaft, and the black-topped cylinder in the above picture is what rides on that cam-shaft lobe and actuates the spring-loaded piston of the fuel pump. 

  After reading that these are prone to failure and wear, I decided to preemptively change the follower while doing some other service items on this new to me Audi. As it turns out, my follower was still in pretty good shape, but at least I won’t have to worry about it.  

Audi A4 B7 2008: Fun Improvements - Radio

  One great thing about buying an older car is that you can still change the radio. In this case, I bought a Chinese  Android car stereo that came with all of the necessary installation pieces in one package that is made to fit my car. It runs Android 7.1 and is basically a tablet that can also tune in radio stations. So far, I would say it is the coolest radio I have ever had and is the most cost-effective solution out there. Even the wiring harness and steering wheel controls are included with the package.

 The one hurdle was fixing the level of the amplified rear speakers. In this version of Audi symphony, the rear speakers are amplified and require an odd voltage preamp for proper balance.  A regular speaker line output (wires) is too much and the standard RCA pre-amp voltage leads to a nearly silent rear half of the car. The key is to use a line level converter to take the higher powered rear speaker wires and tone them down to and appropriate. The best part is that the converter will allow you to adjust the level conversion until it is just perfect.

  Enfig.com makes a wiring harness fix for this line level problem, but don’t waste your money. 

Audi A4 B7 Catch Can: Nipple Plug

  When I bought the catch can for my b7, it came with two nipples. Instead of looking for a fitting to plug the second outlet, I decided to cut off the nipple and plug it with a piece of stock. A little lathe facing to clean it up and voila, we are down to one outlet. 

Audi A4 B7 De-Carb: The Downside of Direct Injection

  Before I bought this car I had never thought about there being a negative to direct injection. As it turns out, not spraying gas directly onto or in the vicinity of the intakes valves is a bad thing. Without this manifold/port injection, there is nothing cleaning the oil fumes from the turbo and the crankcase ventilation valve. These misty oily fumes deposit on the hot intake valves and are slowly transformed into carbon deposits (see top picture).

  The current methods for cleaning this are walnut shell blasting and good old-fashioned scrubbing (the method I used). For this, I bought the brush set in the picture from O'Reilly auto parts and some brake cleaner (B12-chemtool works also). 

Start by making sure the valves in the cylinder you are working on are closed (you may have to rotate the engine with a ratchet and socket on the front crank pulley). 

Plug the others with an old rag to keep debris out. 

Knock off as much as you can with a small pick set.

Fill the cavity with cleaner and scrub. (you may attach a brush to your drill to speed things up) 

Suck out the nasty cleaner and repeat until clean.