Gallardo pre-lp new owner, modding and other queries

[madmedman]

Hoofy said:

Wowsers. Nice effort. Think I'll just get Autofficina to do the work when I finally get hold of one.

Speaking of which - every now and then they appear to have more cars on the forecourt than usual. Do they host regular events in the middle of the afternoon or something on a weekday?

Thank you. I was questioning my decision when I had to remove hundreds of screws just to get to the bumper. Still not something I would want to do again. But still worth it to save a few quid in my view.

I have never been to autofficina. Never been to an event as I am quite an introvert from the start

[madmedman]

David_T said:

Hat off to you, I'd probably have lost the plot with the bumper alone! Still, that will be easier to remove if it has to come again.
What does the new exhaust give you? Louder sound, freer flowing, more power, plus looking more impressive? Is the sound level switchable?

Thank you. It is a long task requiring a lot of patience and if you are unlike me and like to keep tools organised then it would be much simpler. I had to check different tool sizes and then throw them back and would look for them again.

The exhaust, I got it for the formula 1 sound and honestly the oem exhaust sounded a bit like a hoover, especially at cold startup. The exhaust is unfortunately not switchable. I am pretty sure it's a huge weight saving as well because the original was damn heavy.

[madmedman]

m4tti said:

Well, how the hell does it sound man

it's definitely louder and smoother. The original exhaust sound was a collection of rattles, clicking sounds, hissing, etc. But the new exhaust now has a more uniform sound and higher pitch. But from inside the cabin, I hardly noticed any difference.

[madmedman]

Regarding the brakes, there is definitely something wrong as I drove a bit more today. Bad idea to go for a drive 4pm on Friday. Was stuck in start stop traffic. But man it felt like a bull on a leash attempting to run off at every opportunity. At one point, I must have been doing 10mph slowing down through the gears coming to a stop, when I eased a bit off the brake as I was almost stooped anyway. But the car jerked forward as if I floored the throttle and I had to brake hard again. Kind of reminds me when my old rusty car had a brake fluid leak and the pedal was really soft, not stopping the car.

So in short I felt it was a bit dangerous to drive. Had to keep a lot of distance from other cars. The only form of braking I could do were hard and eme4gency but normal braking not possible.

I really need to bleed those brakes and refill. Might give me some idea what is going on. Exhausted today but tried to do this today when the brake reservoir cap fell behind the frunk lining and I gave up. Sunday it is then.

[madmedman]

70proof said:

mate, respect for doing all this work yourself, must be so rewarding

Cheers mate. Definitely very rewarding. No major mishaps. In fact was very good to know the bumper skeleton is in decent condition.
Although my arms and legs still hurt a bit, I can't wait to get the bumper off again to fit the exhaust tips.

[madmedman]

Regarding this exhaust, as you all can see, it extends a bit too far out and touches the grille. I am planning to trim them so i can put the oem metallic tips into the respective grilles. Do you guys think this will cut through the stainless steel exhaust?

https://www.screwfix.com/p/erbauer-ers1100-1100w-e...

[madmedman]

m4tti said:

madmedman said:

Regarding this exhaust, as you all can see, it extends a bit too far out and touches the grille. I am planning to trim them so i can put the oem metallic tips into the respective grilles. Do you guys think this will cut through the stainless steel exhaust?

https://www.screwfix.com/p/erbauer-ers1100-1100w-e...

I wouldn’t use a reciprocating saw, it’ll just bounce around.
I hate to say it but I think the bumper is going to have to come off. Why don’t you sort it when the cats arrive.

I’d be tempted to take that to an exhaust specialist. They’ll have something like a chop saw to cut it off square.

What does the side profile look like

Edited by m4tti on Saturday 23 September 19:15

Yea mate, there is no other way to do it. I will need to remove the bumper again. The exhaust has to come off the car before cutting. I guess I could also try the bicycle chain like exhaust cutters that wrap around the pipe and you move it back and forth. I tried it when I cut my M4's exhaust which I believe was also stainless steel. It does take 5-10mins to completely cut though. I know I may burn the grilles if I drive like this a couple more times. Can't remove the grilles altogether as it would be very unsightly. But I agree i should do the whole process when the cats arrive. The more sensible thing to do. But th3 more times the bumper comes off the more chance something breaks.

[madmedman]

Hoofy said:

A shy, retiring person with a bright yellow, loud Lambo?

As for modifying the exhaust tip, I had work done by Mr Exhaust in Reigate and can recommend them if you need metal pipework being charmed.

Haha, yea, kind of an oxymoron Love a yellow lambo but would try and hide behind a tinted glass. Thanks for the suggestion. I will check them out. I will try and get one of those manual exhaust cutter first and see if I get any luck. They will help make a guide for the dremel to finish the job i guess. If not then an exhaust shop it is.

m4tti said:

Doesn’t the back box sit on a damping element? Can you back off the nut slightly to to centralise the pipe in the grille aperture, so there’s enough air around the exhaust to dissipate the heat. You could drive then till the cats arrive

Edited by m4tti on Sunday 24th September 14:27

Oh yea, there was something like that where I bolted the exhaust. I will have a look and see if I can raise it a bit. Once it gets a few millimeter above the grille I will rest easy. The flared ends of the tips doesnt help matters at all.

[madmedman]

markiii said:

Portable band saw might be your best bet

That should cut through the exhaust painlessly. i will see if i could borrow from someone.

I thing more I realised. During last service a few weeks ago, 5W-30 oil was used rather than recommended spec. i am guessing i need to drain and replace? DO you think i should do the oil filter as well?

[madmedman]

Thanks markiii and m4tti,
Great advice as always. Cheers.

[madmedman]

Hey again guys,

So I did a few troubleshooting measures as suggested by you, markiii very helpfully.

Drained only the power steering high pressure line as I had only had a crimper clamp on the low pressure line and had no replacement. 1l fluid changed. Do you guys think doing this a couple of more times will have most of the new fluid left?

When I turned the steering wheel left and right, immediately there was an improvement but it disappeared then

Bled all calipers and replaced with motul 660. So when I press on the pedal when car running, I hear a swoosh or hissing sound. I hear it coming from the front. I am guessing that's my leak? Should I check the reservoir in the frunk where I believe the booster should be as well?

That's some progress I believe.

[madmedman]

markiii said:

5l of power steering fluid isnt expensive. I drained the tank (siphoned with a syringe) refilled with new. Did 10 lock to lock turns, then siphoned again. Repeated this until I ran out of new fluid.

By that time the colour of extracted fluid had gone from brown sludge to bright red as new fluid.

Made a big difference

Thats exactly what I am going to do. Ordered 3l of redline d4 atf and have 2l lying about. I will do the siphon method as I couldn't get the low pressure line to open. But the siphon method sounds great 👍 I also had brownish stuff coming out. Slight improvement with the short test drive I did. No improvement in the brakes though.

[madmedman]

markiii said:

Brakes I still think it's likely to be the cannister in the engine bay. But it's certainly possible you have a master cylinder seal gone.

The L shaped hose joiner on the cannister is imho more likely though

Cheers mate. I am going to try and locate it in the engine bay. Would you have a link or a pic by any chance? I will check the master cylinder but I really hope its something straightforward to fix. Still got an appointment with RE end of October.

[madmedman]

Do you all think this is compatible with 2008 pre-lp?

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/274026079412?mkcid=16&a...

I asked the seller but they're not sure and asked me for the size of temp thermal couple which I have no idea how to check.

The larini cats are taking ages and I want to get the old cats out ASAP.

[madmedman]

Hoofy said:

At this point, I'd be speaking to Mr Exhaust in Reigate. I'm sure they can fabricate some decat pipes (or pipes as the rest of the world might call them).

I guess i will have to do. I love swapping exhaust bits and before the cats have arrived, have tried to complete the steps involved just to ensure I will be ready. I can undo the rear clamps next to the engine on right side but the angle on the left ones a bh. Thats despite getting the 360 degree swivel attachments and extensions for the ratchet. I will have another go tomorrow. Removing wheels on a daily basis have started to breakdown my muscle tissue.

[madmedman]

markiii said:

It looks like 3 bright blue tennis balls stuck together on a row. On the spyder its on the rear left corner hiding under the plastic trim

Cheers mate. I have not removed any plastic trims so I will do that and check.

I changed the power steering fluid twice and the fluid is now bright red, so I guess another flush probably wouldn't make a difference?

Its very interesting that as soon as I start the car and rotate the steering wheel, its soft and exactly how I would want it, but then it gets harder in a few seconds Mine is a 2008 so its the updated design with the pump i guess, and if there was a pump issue, I imagine the steering would be much harder and practically undrivable? I have read a few people having issue with the pump shaft.

Man these predelivery inspections are not worth the paper they are written on.

[madmedman]

markiii said:

I was still getting colour change at the 4th or fifth siphon so I'd say its worth persisting

Cheers mate. I will do. More fluid coming up tomorrow and will do the siphon method a few more times.

[madmedman]

Hoofy said:

I guess knowing how to do this procedure will save Mr Exhaust time and make it more reassuring that nothing goes wrong.

FWIW when I was there, another customer said his friend had had his 996 GT2 worked on (bumper-off exhaust fitment, too) and his friend had recommended Mr Exhaust.

I have been trying to avoid Mr Exhaust as I am sure they are not cheap, but I ended up breaking one of the bolts from a rear clamp today. I should have listened to you Now its definitely a visit to the exhaust guy, unless I could use one of the clamps from the oem huge exhaust that I removed and have no further use for.

I will give them a call and see if they could slot me in soon, otherwise I will get RE to work on it when I bring the car in to him. I am still talking as if I have the cats, there's still no sign of them. And larini are s***te with email replies.

[madmedman]

markiii said:

I was still getting colour change at the 4th or fifth siphon so I'd say its worth persisting

Hello mate,

Sorry another query.

I am completely useless when it comes to parking or reversing, and hence bought the kufatec rear view camera interface:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/234980796224

I have the RNS-E 192 and I believe it works with this module. But there are a few steps I am likely to get stuck in:

Where to pass the camera wire through the firewall? Is it still through the engine cover release handle?

The coding, can I do it myself or I have to take the car in to an Audi dealer?

Can i ask if you're using a backup camera and which one? Is the roof above the number plate or the central grille the best location?

Sorry for pestering again with all the questions.

[madmedman]

markiii said:

I had a rear view camera breifly its disconnected at the mo due to melting wires

mounting the camera - I'd go with high as possible. I think the reason the factory one is on the wing is that the Gallardo aero sucks a lot of dirt back into the rear bumper. I originally mounted above the number plate and every time I wanted to use it, it was covered in dirt.

Getting the wire through. On a Spyder routed from the head unit along the door sill under the rear panel and passed the roof mechanism. I suspect on a coupe you will have to find a grommet to teh engine bay that will likely be behind the carpet on teh firewall.

Coding the RNSE to know about the Kufatec is DIYable but you will need Vagcom or Rosstech VCDS. If I was doing it again (and I'm planning too I'd just replace the headunit with something better suited to the job.

I just used a generic Amazon cam with a composite video output

Thats legendary stuff mate. Thanks for for the detailed explanation. I do agree that something like carnavi player is more convenient and i am sure, better in everyway from the ancient audi head unit. The cheap man that i am, I was trying to avoid spending 500 on the carnavi. But taking into account, all the steps and £££ involved in getting just a simple aftermarket camera up and running with RNS-E, I should have gone aftermarket. The melting wires is another possibility. I just need a rear view camera to make sure there is no kid behind me when i am backing out. I live right next to a school. Also, the rear diffuser is extremely low.

m4tti said:

Here’s some info on the camera install and the parameters you need to change in VAgCom
https://www.lamborghini-talk.com/threads/retrofit-...

Thats brilliant mate. thank you. For some reason I found loads of discussion about the subject but missed this clear diy tutorial. This is exactly what I need. I might route the camera anyway and give a try to the kufatec box and hopefull a VW dealer would flash the headunit for a few £. If not then maybe the carnaviplayer in near future. I really need to get the brakes and steering sorted first.