Depression beater…

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89forever

Original Poster:

554 posts

72 months

Wednesday 8th March 2023
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Cliff J said:
Love the rear lights, I have the same on mine, retro fitted by a previous owner, unfortunately one has a crack and I’ll look at replacing it at some point.
I’m waiting to watch your procedure for correcting the leather imperfections as although mine is decent enough, it’s shiny and also needs a bit of colour on the bolsters, as per the norm.
make sure the crack isn't letting water in as it'll fry the LED's and then onto bigger problems...

The procedure for the seats will be exactly as before and documented on my previous S5 restoration, i'll will document here for this car but it's all there previously.

89forever

Original Poster:

554 posts

72 months

Wednesday 8th March 2023
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Another day.... another box (well 2 actually lol)



what's in this box?



ordered yesterday and arrived in less than 24 hours and a 110Ah battery for less than £120 delivered is good in today's market... Very happy and comes with a 4 year guarantee...

ordered from ​Tanya Batteries

https://www.tayna.co.uk/

So, onto fitting....



well that's not good, certainly shouldn't be any water in there, the rest of the detritus i'd expect... I don't know whether the water is from a past event or if we've a leak... time will tell

Of course it's under the battery as well as we need the floor to rust out...



all the water has been absorbed and got with the wet vac and then attacked with a hot air gun to dry it all out. All loose detritus has been hoovered up and a quick spray of wax in the seams and a thorough wipe over...



much better, something else to monitor lol

New battery was fitted without issue, a quick recoding to tell the car a new battery has been fitted and she starts on the button as i'd expect her too...

box 2 was nothing more exciting than some new brake fluid to go with yesterday's line...



and then it started snowing so still no time to get the seats removed...

89forever

Original Poster:

554 posts

72 months

Tuesday 14th March 2023
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Finishing off the install of the rear lights the replacement brackets, which were on back order arrived yesterday



part number for those who want to do the same...



probably the cheapest part i've ever bought from a Main Dealer, £4.62 inc VAT for the pair....

and fitted



and of course from finishing something another job arises...



common issue on B8's, bonnet release cable bracket release thingy..., since getting the S5 the release has been stiff as the Bowden cable starts to seize... which then puts undue stress on the release handle which then goes boom...

New cable and release mechanism ordered, so another trip to my dealer...

Safe to report that it didn't grenade itself in the hands of Mrs R today as she took it too work as her A4 is in paint this week... I just sat there chanting to the gods that i don't get "THAT" phonecall to come and rescue her...!!!

89forever

Original Poster:

554 posts

72 months

Wednesday 15th March 2023
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well with a bit of dry weather and a spare day i thought i'd have a look at the scuttle drains....



well that's not good, wonder what the other sides like?



feck...!!!

probably the worst Audi i have ever owned, i'd say that it's at least 5 years since anyone last looked in here. Under the leaves was about 3 inches of rotten old leaves and crud and it was solid...

attacked with TFR and a hose and dug it all out and made sure all the drains ran free, the worst bit was under the brake servo as access is very minimal.

3 hours later and much better...




and these were consigned to the bin....



happy to say that there were actually to the correct tightness and not hammered in...!!!

89forever

Original Poster:

554 posts

72 months

Monday 20th March 2023
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Safe to report the Mrs89 didn't destroy the S5...

The weather yesterday was a perfect day to wash and polish the car, of course she was at work in it so i awoke with enthusiasm this morning thinking that the day would be the same, nope it's raining....

Hmmm i know... seats...



passenger one out first, and this is the wear on the bolsters...


lower seat base outer


backrest outer

so, a thorough deep clean with TFR and dry with an hairdryer, then a thorough wipe over with Dr leather wipes and the rest of the seat looked like new leaving only the above damaged areas.

Onwards with the ColourLock attack...

patience is your friend here, it is simply a job which cannot be rushed, to get to this stage each area had over 20 applications. Apply, hair dry, assess and repeat...

But for me the results are well worth the effort involved....


lower seat base outer


backrest outer

leave for 24 hours then a final wipe over and it can be refitted...

Once that was finished the wet vac was dragged out kicking and screaming to attack the crud which accumulates under the seats, sorry no before...



should deodorise nicely.... QD had a special on the liquid for my carpet cleaner last week for £2.49... so 2 bottles bought...

I must be getting old as OMG the seats are bloody heavy...!!!

The drivers side will have to wait a few days as my s5 is doing some miles this week and earning it's living...


89forever

Original Poster:

554 posts

72 months

Tuesday 21st March 2023
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it's the tactile bits of a car which to me have the biggest impact on enjoyment, the bits we touch and feel... one thing i cannot stand and it's like finger nails down a chalkboard is greasy shiny steering wheels....

you could see the shine from the moon..



about 200 Dr Leather wipes later and we have it somewhat acceptable



needs to dry and see if there is any discolouration, which can be corrected with the black ColourLock applications...

the "S5" badge needs replacing so that'll be ordered when i next put in an order with the Dealer...

I also did the gearknob but no one wants any jokes about polishing knobs or if the other half helped etc...

nathwraith1

367 posts

146 months

Thursday 23rd March 2023
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Loving this thread so far. Have to agree with other posters about how therapeutic a read it is, watching you restore the car back to its original form. Even with basic TLC.


89forever

Original Poster:

554 posts

72 months

Thursday 23rd March 2023
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nathwraith1 said:
Loving this thread so far. Have to agree with other posters about how therapeutic a read it is, watching you restore the car back to its original form. Even with basic TLC.
Thank you, it’s therapeutic for me, doing the work and I enjoy sharing the journey…. there’s always the hope that others take something from it also. Which I find therapeutic also….
There’s always something that needs doing… time or bank balance are what stops quicker progress haha

Macron

9,807 posts

165 months

Thursday 23rd March 2023
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Interior resto is great, amazing what a difference a good clean can do!

Spinakerr

1,164 posts

144 months

Friday 24th March 2023
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The leather is looking fantastic - are you adding a conditioner back in after the Dr Leather wipes? Could you share the exact product you're using?

I really want to try these wipes on my new (19 year old) car as the handbrake and steering wheel leather are 100% reflective like your before shots!

Great progress.

89forever

Original Poster:

554 posts

72 months

Friday 24th March 2023
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From the horses mouth

https://www.drleather.com/leather-cleaner/advanced...

available from your favourite detailing shop.

I’ve never found the need to add any additional conditioner after cleaning as I like the look (and feel) of the matte finish after cleaning….
I tend to buy the 150 tub as I like to keep the leather clean in both cars regularly, especially after the kids have left their sticky fingers every damn place.
I just use as directed and have a couple of clean microfibres to hand for wiping away the excess foaming and drying duties.
You’ll need to leave the surfaces to fully dry after cleaning obviously.

89forever

Original Poster:

554 posts

72 months

Saturday 25th March 2023
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got to love dry (ish) days, the sun was out as was Mrs 89, so it would be rude not to tick a few jobs off...
with the arrival of the new bonnet release mech and cable... that was addressed...



as the job involves taking the drivers side wheel arch liner out, this revealed all kinds of horrors...



in all the nooks and crannies there was years worth of crud and mud... it was as disgusting as doing the scuttle...
so arch liner out and that was soaked in TFR...
then within the arch was given a deep clean...



much, much better... although sadly due to the amount of mud behind the arch liner there is some rust bubbling on the chassis leg...




as we get more consistent dry days that will need addressing... i can see me taking the S5 off the road and doing a full underbody restoration at some point as i'm sure the rear will be worse.
The list of jobs is getting longer...
It was pleasing to see that all the correct fasteners were still present though...



all back together for now and the fabric arch liner came up well...
i was going to have a wash and polish type day tomorrow but i feel i want to get into the other 3 arch's and inspect, something tells me i may not have enough TFR hahaha

Evil.soup

3,595 posts

204 months

Tuesday 28th March 2023
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Despite the small patch of rust, that looks very clean for a car of this age.

89forever

Original Poster:

554 posts

72 months

Tuesday 28th March 2023
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Evil.soup said:
Despite the small patch of rust, that looks very clean for a car of this age.
she's not bad, although i've yet to look at the rear subframe... they are normally like they've been removed from the Titanic...
The seam under the seal around the boot opening normally is bad, but easily addressed if caught early enough.
The seam under the sills where every idiot uses to jack the car up with needs treating before the rust takes hold, job for warmer months, not now..... (i'm a wuss and getting old and hate the cold lol)

Evil.soup

3,595 posts

204 months

Tuesday 28th March 2023
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89forever said:
she's not bad, although i've yet to look at the rear subframe... they are normally like they've been removed from the Titanic...
The seam under the seal around the boot opening normally is bad, but easily addressed if caught early enough.
The seam under the sills where every idiot uses to jack the car up with needs treating before the rust takes hold, job for warmer months, not now..... (i'm a wuss and getting old and hate the cold lol)
Yeah, rust is the one thing I have had to start battling with in the WRX, pretty standard on Jap cars but still a ball ache and a constant worry, had the rear strut tops done a few months ago and the sills will be next in a couple of years I think. Just need to stay on top of it, some proper investigation is in order during the summer for mine, equally not keen on crawling around in the cold and wet lol!

89forever

Original Poster:

554 posts

72 months

Tuesday 28th March 2023
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a pet peeve, and bugs the living bejezus out of me every time i lift the bonnet is the damn sticker on the cover over the radiator...
it was knackered on my A5, my previous S5, the A4 and this one is equally bad... the adhesive has failed on one half so it flaps about like a pair of knickers on a washing line in hurricane....

the offending sticker...



as i discovered when trying to order this from my Audi dealer on my last S5 it is NLA, so i found a guy in Poland who makes these things for all manner of cars and asked him to make me some. Needing some more this time i went on the hunt to see if he was still in business and thankfully he was...
Quick conversation to remind him who this English idiot was and what he needed and all confirmed, a quick exchange of some money and an order was placed...
An envelope arrived this morning and like a dog with 2 Dicks i opened to be greeted with the wonders i had ordered...



one's a happy bunny...

Sadly the weather is absolutely dire which prevents the inevitable replacements but i can sit rocking back n forth smiling like an inmate at Arkham Asylum content in the knowledge that my manky sticker fetish is going to be addressed soon...

8IKERDAVE

2,280 posts

212 months

Tuesday 28th March 2023
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Very nice and great work so far! I too have an S5 albeit a later model with a less manly engine in.

I was inspired to buy it as a good friend had the V8 from almost new and kept it for 12 years with only minor issues. Mine is a daily so I had to go for a newer one with the extra doors to accomodate the family. It's a suprisingly practical car, with the seats down the storage is huge!

The main irritation I have with mine is the headlight has a small leak somewhere and steams up from the inside - something I'll be investigating this weekend hopefully.

I think your particular model will hold it's value better than mine due to the V8 but I do like the fact that after a stage one I've squeezed just shy of 400bhp from it biggrin

89forever

Original Poster:

554 posts

72 months

Tuesday 28th March 2023
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Evil.soup said:
Yeah, rust is the one thing I have had to start battling with in the WRX, pretty standard on Jap cars but still a ball ache and a constant worry, had the rear strut tops done a few months ago and the sills will be next in a couple of years I think. Just need to stay on top of it, some proper investigation is in order during the summer for mine, equally not keen on crawling around in the cold and wet lol!
that's the key to preservation, keep on top of it and try not to let it take hold

89forever

Original Poster:

554 posts

72 months

Tuesday 28th March 2023
quotequote all
8IKERDAVE said:
Very nice and great work so far! I too have an S5 albeit a later model with a less manly engine in.

I was inspired to buy it as a good friend had the V8 from almost new and kept it for 12 years with only minor issues. Mine is a daily so I had to go for a newer one with the extra doors to accommodate the family. It's a surprisingly practical car, with the seats down the storage is huge!

The main irritation I have with mine is the headlight has a small leak somewhere and steams up from the inside - something I'll be investigating this weekend hopefully.

I think your particular model will hold it's value better than mine due to the V8 but I do like the fact that after a stage one I've squeezed just shy of 400bhp from it biggrin
that's the beauty of the v6 with the supercharger, so easy to get more power than the v8... i would like to supercharge the v8, i know which child i need to sell but apparently SWMBO is quite fond of them...

The condensation is sadly normal for our style headlights, due to the way they were designed and the temperature they operate at inside they are actually vented to atmosphere on the back, they are not fully sealed. Unless you have actual pools of water inside it is what it is.... mine do it too, but clear up once turned on, if memory serves me correctly it does state that condensation is normal in the Owners Manual somewhere...

sixor8

6,244 posts

267 months

Tuesday 28th March 2023
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Not sure how you manage to get such massive photos to load!

Make sure you keep hold of the box the battery came in. I bought a Powerline battery from Tayna in July 2022 via eBay and it has actually failed (indicates charged, green on dolls but won't turn starter over, 12.5V open cct). They will collect and test it for a £20 deposit but it MUST go back in an appropriate box marked this way up etc. Waiting to hear result but I'm very sure it's toast.