Joel’s SL-C Build Thread

Joel K

Supporter
This post covers the welding up of the throttle body relocation elbow. Back in June of 2019 on post #64 I fabricated this part. It’s basically an aluminum version of a cobra head elbow. This part is necessary for front facing supercharged engines. You have to find a way to accommodate the throttle body and intake tubing.

After trimming it a bit it’s ready for welding. First pass is to weld up the body. Pic of the intake elbow body ready for welding…
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Body is all welded up…
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Trimmed out the flange tube facing the throttle body.
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Body and flange tubes ready to be welded up…
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All welded up, the welder did a great job…
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Pic of the back. Will probably add a reinforcement plate across the back to add strength…
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Pic of the elbow mounted on the LT4 with the throttle body attached. Had to cut an area out of the rear bulkhead to clear the back of the relocation elbow. The extra room provides enough clearance for some heat shielding and removal with the engine in place…
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At some point I’ll add a bracket to the elbow neck for extra strength which will attach it to the engine block. Side view of the install…
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Pic from the passenger side…
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Pic of the elbow behind the roll cage, will probably move the seat belt cross bar forward 1/3-1/5”…
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Glad this piece is done, the welder did a fantastic job. Won’t know for sure if this can hold up to the vacuum pressure from the engine and provide enough airflow, but I’ll find out soon enough.
 
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Joel K

Supporter
Now that the engine is located and mounted it’s time to finalize the cooling tubes.

The general approach is to use stainless lines throughout the system and minimize the number of couplers to reduce the number of leakage points.

Here is a video on the process…

Decided to compromise a bit and use two silicone couplers per side instead of welding the entire run. This allows for the following:

1)Makes it easier to remove side tubes while keeping the body on.
2)Allows removal of the rear tubes in case the water pump needs to be changed.
3)Allows possible removal and modification of the front and rear tubes for any reason in the future. i.e. adding electric water pump, auxiliary radiators, re-routing liquid to oil cooler plumbing etc.

A few other design features in the system were incorporated:
1)Tuck the rear tubes away from the front pulleys to allow easy replacement of the accessory serpentine belts.
2)Clear the through tube in the fuel tank.
3)Clear the fuel tank inlet
4)Merge the liquid to oil cooler outlet into the tube carrying coolant to the radiator
5)Locate silicone couplers to be easily serviceable

The front cooling tubes were fabricated back on post #205. Before fabricating the rear cooling tubes first mocked up a design…
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Decided to weld these up myself. Being a beginner, I find it easier to weld on smaller sections so first tacked and welded up each pair of tubes.

To prepare the pieces to be tack welded. Cleaned the tubes with a stainless steel brush and acetone. Each joint got 4 tacks.

When welding stainless tubing it is necessary to back purge. Back purging keeps any weld penetration in the seam shielded with argon gas. This keeps the inside seam smooth and improves the strength of the weld.

My welding and back purge set up and components include:
1)Primeweld TIG 225x, AC/DC TIG and Stick Welder
2)Dual Argon Regulator
3)#16 Furick gas lens
4).045 308L filler rod
5)Silicone tube plugs plumbed with 1/4” sintered brass vent and 1/4” hose barb.
6)Fiberglass TIG finger. It allows you to rest a finger on the tubes while you weld. Helpful in holding the torch steady without burning your finger.

Once tacked, install the back purge plugs and set the argon flow at 32 cfh for the #16 cup and 8 cfh for the back purge. Wait a couple minutes for the back purge gas to fill the tubes then weld away. I do about .5” of welding on each pass then turn the tube and orient it for the next pass. One down, about 20 to go. Came out pretty good for a beginner…
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Fitted an O2 bung which accepts an M18 to 5/8” barb adapter for the liquid to oil cooler merge. The bung is for 2.5” tubing so it needed some machining to close the gaps and get it ready for welding. I used the head of a 5/8” bolt to center the bung to the hole, it also closed off the tube for back purging and serves as a heat sink. This was difficult to weld, wound up doing this three times before I had an acceptable piece…
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Made some splints to hold the front tubes in place. Using the splints secured the tubes in place so I could tack them accurately on the car. A couple strips of aluminum tubing and hose clamps did the job…
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Pic of all the tubes welded up. The are 40 separate sections in all. Was just a ton work…
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Pic of the cooling tubes from the fuel tank area. You can see the bung for the liquid to oil cooler hose…
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Rear passenger side. Really like the way the tubes tuck behind the dry sump bracket…
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Rear driver side. Ditto about the coolant tube tucking behind the intercooler bracket…
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Pic of front cooling tubes. The passenger side was a bit of work to get it all lined up. 45 degree angles are better for flow, but harder to align than 90 degree angles…
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Front drivers side tube…
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At some point I’ll pressure test them before final install.
 

Neil

Supporter
You can eliminate purging with argon by using "braze-welding" on stainless. It works on steel, stainless, and many dissimilar metals. An oxy-acetylene or oxy- propane torch works well. Flux is as important as cleanliness.
 

Joel K

Supporter
This post covers the install of the flywheel, clutch, and fabrication of the transaxle close out panel.

Here is a short video on the process…

Before installing the clutch, the transaxle adapter plate was attached to the engine using the following hardware:

1)McMaster Carr Part #91502A227-M10 40mm Cap Screws
2)McMaster Carr Part #98032A341 - Milspec washers

Applied anti seize to each bolt and washer and torqued to 35 ft-lb

So 1st up was re-installing the flywheel. Back in March 2019 I initially installed it using GM LT4 flex plate bolts. I then subsequently removed the flywheel to send it off to be machined. It had a slip fit pilot bearing and a machinist installed a shim so the bearing would be firmly pressed into the flywheel.

I found some flywheel bolts supplied by RCR which are about .2” longer than the stock LT4 GM flex plate bolts. Turns out the RCR flywheel is thicker than the GM flex plate so decided to use the RCR supplied bolts to get better thread engagement. They come with thread locker on them and torqued them up as CAM T did on his build. First pass 22 ft-lb, then 37 ft-lb, and finally 74 ft-lb. Pic of the RCR flywheel installed on the LT4…
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Before installing the clutch decided to fabricate a close out panel. You can see the open area in the prior photo. That area would be a very attractive home for rodents and various vermin so it’s best to close it up…

Made this out of some scrap 1/8” aluminum I had. It is secured by one of the transaxle bolts. Pic of the panel…
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Pic of the panel installed from the rear…
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Pic of the panel from the front…
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Now for installing the clutch. Here are the components and supplies used…

1)M6 x 70 CAP Bolts - Supplied by RCR
2)Spline Grease - Audi Part Number G000100, Purchased from ECS Tuning
3)Stock Audi Clutch - Audi Part Number 079-141-011-E, Supplied by RCR
4)Ring Gear - Audi Part Number 079-105-223, Supplied by RCR
5)Clutch Alignment Tool - T40151, Purchased from VW.Snapon.com
6)Brake cleaner
7)Blue thread lock
8)WD40

Pic of the components and supplies…
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Used some brake cleaner to make sure the surface of the flywheel was clean and grease free. Then trial fit the ring gear on top of the clutch aligning the three recess holes on the ring gear to the exposed nuts on the pressure plate side of the clutch…
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Installed and centered the clutch on the flywheel by using the centering pin/clutch alignment tool. Coated the tip of clutch alignment tool with a little WD40 to help it slide in and out of the pilot bearing. Decided to install and hand tighten all the bolts without thread lock to make sure it all went together well. It took a little fussing to get all the bolts to line up and thread into the flywheel…
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To complete the installation, removed each bolt and applied blue thread lock. The clutch bolts were torqued to 107 in-lb. Torqued the bolts in a star pattern starting at 50, then 75, and finally 107. After the clutch was installed applied a small amount of grease to the splines…
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From the side…
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Next step is the transaxle install…
 
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Joel K

Supporter
This post covers the modification of the seat belt crossbar and finishing up a recess to the rear bulkhead panel.

In post #381 the throttle body intake elbow was finished and mounted on the engine. Ideally I wanted it to clear the rear bulkhead panel, but turned out it did not. Could have reshaped the elbow, but figure having the elbow larger would be better for airflow. It was designed as an aluminum version of a 4” cobra head elbow, so wanted to stick with those dimensions.

So decided to make a recess in the rear bulkhead panel. Since the recess needs to be 1/2” deep, the seat belt crossbar needed to be moved forward 1/2” as well. Pic of the throttle body installed and recess area cut out on the rear bulkhead…
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The interior tub and rear bulkhead cover needed to be installed to make sure there is enough room to move the bar forward. In order to mount it, first had to trim the roof/rear bulkhead panel up. It comes with a lot of excess fiberglass. Once you trim that up it fits really well around the roll bars and the notches locate it perfectly on the tub.

You can see from behind that the crossbar can be moved forward and still have a 1/2” clearance from the bulkhead panel…
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Cut out only the bar section behind the driver’s area. Turns out the passenger shoulder belt lines up all the way over to the very edge of the harness bar and I did not want to narrow that area at all…
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Made some 3/16” tabs to shift the driver section forward. Tacked it all up…
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Applied butt welds for the outer tubes and fillet welds for the inside sections…
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All welded up and painted…
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Fabricated and attached the recess panel for the rear bulkhead. Pic from the font…
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Pic from the rear…
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With the intake elbow in place. Once again, a ton of work but squeezing the LT4 in the SLC will be worth it…
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Lastly, I still may use 3-point belts. If it turns out I use a racing harness, I’ll revisit this mod and probably add some additional bracing to insure the shoulder harness cross-bar is strong enough.

Next step is installing the transaxle.
 

Neil

Supporter
"Lastly, I still may use 3-point belts. If it turns out I use a racing harness, I’ll revisit this mod and probably add some additional bracing to insure the shoulder harness cross-bar is strong enough."

I would recommend avoiding 3-point belts in this car. It is a very high performance machine and you deserve far better protection than 3-point belts offer. I'd recommend a 5-point harness minimum. I use a 7-point harness in my car, but it is strictly a race car.
 

Joel K

Supporter
"Lastly, I still may use 3-point belts. If it turns out I use a racing harness, I’ll revisit this mod and probably add some additional bracing to insure the shoulder harness cross-bar is strong enough."

I would recommend avoiding 3-point belts in this car. It is a very high performance machine and you deserve far better protection than 3-point belts offer. I'd recommend a 5-point harness minimum. I use a 7-point harness in my car, but it is strictly a race car.

Thanks Neil, appreciate the input. From what I understand a 4-point system is the worst option. I’m definitely not tracking this car and it needs to pass NJ safety inspection. When I spoke to the inspector a few year ago he was not against a racing harness system. I found that Schroth makes a DOT approved 4 and 6 point system which may be a good choice.
 

Neil

Supporter
Yes, a 4-point harness is not a good choice for these types of cars. The "lie-down" driving position causes the driver to slide forward under the belts in a forward crash- "submarineing". The two extra leg straps in a 6-point system will restrain you very effectively.
 
The Schroth 4-point system is approved only for a specific range of cars- and the SLC is not one of them. Putting their 4-point system in an SLC would be against their advice, and against good safety sense, because as Neil mentions, there is a great risk of submarining when used on seats with angles our cars all have. Every time I see a 4-point system in an SLC I shudder.
 

Joel K

Supporter
The Schroth 4-point system is approved only for a specific range of cars- and the SLC is not one of them. Putting their 4-point system in an SLC would be against their advice, and against good safety sense, because as Neil mentions, there is a great risk of submarining when used on seats with angles our cars all have. Every time I see a 4-point system in an SLC I shudder.

Will, this is the harness I am considering. I think this is a universal and not a model specific harness . It’s a 4 point that can be upgraded to a 5 or 6 point set up and Schroth claims it meets the applicable provisions of FMVSS 209 (US street legal).

Here is a link to the harness…
 
Will, this is the harness I am considering. I think this is a universal and not a model specific harness . It’s a 4 point that can be upgraded to a 5 or 6 point set up and Schroth claims it meets the applicable provisions of FMVSS 209 (US street legal).

Here is a link to the harness…

When I was acquiring the harness for my SLC, I found a document that Schroth published that showed a list of cars for which their 4-point harness were approved. It was a relatively small list, and of course the SLC wasn't on it. I can't find it now, but perhaps their "ASM" technology has made that moot.

In any case, I still maintain that these are inappropriate for the SLC, or any similar car where the seats are so reclined. My seats were mounted at around a 45 degree angle, and I'm confident that without properly installed sub straps, submarining would be a serious problem at that angle. I suspect that the ASM technology is assumed to work with modern cars with airbags, as the intent of the ASM change is to allow the torso to twist and slide forward in an impact, thereby reducing the tendency of the hips to submarine. But our cars don't have airbags to assist, and I've seen many SLCs with lap belts mounted such that they were resting not on the hips but the stomach. In my opinion, this is improper installation, and will likely cause organ damage regardless of the ASM webbing.

As to meeting the relevant FMVSS rules, sometimes what is allowed isn't what is the safest option. In the case of the SLC, I don't think there is ever a good excuse for 4-point belts, unless maybe you are very short, have a close-to-vertical seatback, and airbags. For reference, the "FE" suffix merely means that the release mechanism meets a requirement that it have the word "Press" on an orange or similar backgound so first responders know how to release the belt.

The extra effort and cost to install 6-point belts is pretty low, so why not do the little extra work to minimize damage in an impact? You can use the Profi-II ASM FE belts as a base, and add the sub belts to account for the seat (bottom and back) angles our cars have. Then you'll have a good 6-point system that is street AND track legal, and works-- assuming you do fasten the sub belts....
 
In thinking more about this, it doesn't really matter what I think. If you still want to use these in a 4-point configuration, call Schroth and explain the situation and see if you can get a written approval. If so, that would settle the issue. If not, well, that would settle it for me, anyway!
 
I agree with Will. Stay away from the 4-point belts in these cars. Remember, the 5th "anti-submarine" belt isn't meant to catch you as you slide under the lap portion of the harness. It's there to keep the lap portion of the harness down on your pelvis so that the deceleration forces are on your bony pelvis, not your internal organs.
 

Joel K

Supporter
In thinking more about this, it doesn't really matter what I think. If you still want to use these in a 4-point configuration, call Schroth and explain the situation and see if you can get a written approval. If so, that would settle the issue. If not, well, that would settle it for me, anyway!

Thanks Will. I definitely wouldn’t use it in a four point config. I’d either go three point or six point. The Schroth DOT system is a four point with optional sub straps. The buckle accommodates a sub strap so you can simply add the sub strap when ordering the harness.

Before I buy anything I’ll revisit this with the NJ inspector.
 

Joel K

Supporter
When I was acquiring the harness for my SLC, I found a document that Schroth published that showed a list of cars for which their 4-point harness were approved. It was a relatively small list, and of course the SLC wasn't on it. I can't find it now, but perhaps their "ASM" technology has made that moot.

In any case, I still maintain that these are inappropriate for the SLC, or any similar car where the seats are so reclined. My seats were mounted at around a 45 degree angle, and I'm confident that without properly installed sub straps, submarining would be a serious problem at that angle. I suspect that the ASM technology is assumed to work with modern cars with airbags, as the intent of the ASM change is to allow the torso to twist and slide forward in an impact, thereby reducing the tendency of the hips to submarine. But our cars don't have airbags to assist, and I've seen many SLCs with lap belts mounted such that they were resting not on the hips but the stomach. In my opinion, this is improper installation, and will likely cause organ damage regardless of the ASM webbing.

As to meeting the relevant FMVSS rules, sometimes what is allowed isn't what is the safest option. In the case of the SLC, I don't think there is ever a good excuse for 4-point belts, unless maybe you are very short, have a close-to-vertical seatback, and airbags. For reference, the "FE" suffix merely means that the release mechanism meets a requirement that it have the word "Press" on an orange or similar backgound so first responders know how to release the belt.

The extra effort and cost to install 6-point belts is pretty low, so why not do the little extra work to minimize damage in an impact? You can use the Profi-II ASM FE belts as a base, and add the sub belts to account for the seat (bottom and back) angles our cars have. Then you'll have a good 6-point system that is street AND track legal, and works-- assuming you do fasten the sub belts....

Will,

Thanks for your feedback on this. I just noticed this post and replied earlier to just your most recent post. I totally agree with your last paragraph. Taking the DOT version and adding the sub belt is what I am considering. Definitely would not go 4-point only.
 

Joel K

Supporter
Now that the clutch is installed it’s time to install the transaxle. It’s tired of sitting on the garage floor for 3 1/2 years and wants to be installed ASAP!
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Thanks to Kurtiss who wrote up a comprehensive document covering the Graz install on the Ford Coyote Engine. Also thanks to Cam T who covered the install in detail on his blog for a GM LS engine. This post covers only the physical transaxle install on an LT4. I’ll cover the hydraulic portion at another time.

Each of the RCR transaxle plates are a little different and the bolts used in my case are slightly different. So for the sake of completeness I’ll provide the following detail for others to reference.

Here is a video on installing the Graziano…

Here is a pic of stock Audi R8 Graz install which shows the bolts are inserted from the engine side. On the SLC the bolts are inserted from the transaxle side so you can’t simply just order the bolts from Audi. Depending on your transaxle adapter plate, that will determine which bolts, head types and lengths are needed….
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I purchased the transaxle completion kit and it included the following items:

1)Clutch bolts - M6 x 70 CAP Bolts
2)Stock Audi Clutch - Audi PN 079-141-011-E, Supplied by RCR
3)Ring Gear - Audi Part Number 079-105-223, Supplied by RCR
4)Starter - Part #SR0408X - Bosch Remanufactured Starter
5)Starter bolts M12x35mm 1.5 thread pitch
6)Clutch bleeder fitting - Part #13916 - ATech Brake Bleeder Repair Kit
7)Clutch bleeder adapter fitting - McMaster Carr 4936K155 - Adapter 1/4 NPT Female to M14 by 1.5mm Male Hydraulic Fitting - Quantity 1
8)Clutch Hydraulic adapter fitting #1 - McMaster Carr 4936K154 - Adapter 1/4 NPT Female to M12 by 1.5mm Male Hydraulic Fitting - Quantity 1
9)Clutch Hydraulic adapter fitting #2 - McMaster Carr - 50925K341 - Adapter 1/4 NPT Male to 1/8 NPT Female
10)Clutch Hydraulic line fitting - 3AN to 1/8 Male NPT fitting
11)Mystery Transaxle Fittings - McMaster Carr 4936K - Adapter 1/4 NPT Female to M14 by 1.5 mm Male Hydraulic Fitting - Quantity 3, don’t know what these are for.
12)Clutch Slave Cylinder - Audi PN 086141671L
13)Clutch Slave cylinder top O-Ring - McMaster Carr 9263k169
14)Clutch Slave Cylinder bottom O-Ring - McMaster Carr 9263k174
15)RCR Billet Shifter - Not pictured and was originally included in the Transaxle Completion Kit.

Here is a pic of the supplied components…
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There are a number of other components that you have to purchase in addition to the completion kit to fully install the transaxle. Here is a list of what else I purchased:

1)Audi R8 Rear Axle Heat Shields - PN 8E0501721/3E051713 - Purchased used from EBay
2)Milspec washers for M10 bolts - McMaster Carr 98032A341
3)Milspec washer for M8 bolts - McMaster Carr 98032A331
4)Qty 4 - M10 x 45mm 12.9 Cap Screws - McMaster Carr 91502A228
5)Qty 1 - M10 x 40mm 12.9 Cap Screws - McMaster Carr 91502A227
6)Qty 1 - M10 x 150mm 12.9 Cap Screw - McMaster Carr 91502A239
7)Qty 1 - M10 x 50mm 10.9 Hex bolt - McMaster Carr 90180A635
8)Qty 1 - M10 x 70mm 10.9 Hex Bolt - McMaster Carr 94863A225
9)Qty 1 - M10 Lock nut - McMaster Car - McMaster Carr 3528N13
10)Audi trans and clutch spline grease - VW PN G000100
11)VW Starter pigtail boot - VW PN 357972771 - Can buy these cheap including the plug off eBay
12)VW Starter wire repair kit - VW PN 000979227E
13)VW starter wire plug/seal- VW PN 1J0973743 - Cannot find this to buy stand alone
14)6” tall Torx bit to remove clutch slave cylinder bolts - McMaster Carr 7396A57
15)Graziano/Audi R8 Alignment Dowels - Qty 2 - Audi PN 086301153A

Pic of additional components purchased…
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First step is to install the O-rings behind the clutch slave cylinder. If the slave cylinder came installed on the transaxle this step can be skipped. The Graz ships with Audi factory O-Rings. I was confused since the completion kit came with some generic O-Rings I thought they needed to be installed, but that is not the case.

Here is a pic of the O-Rings installed. Just coat them with a small amount of transaxle oil and install them. By the way, the round Vitron O-Ring provided did not want to stay put in the oval channel so used the Audi O-Rings…
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To finish the install, coat the seals on the clutch slave cylinder with a small amount of transaxle oil and push onto the drive shaft. Torque the M6 Torx screws to 99 inch pounds and apply a light coat of grease on the main drive shaft and tip that goes into the pilot bearing. The 6” tall McMaster Carr T30 Hex bit comes in handy for this.

Also placed the centering dowels in the transaxle. They are a tight fit into the transaxle and a slip fit into the transaxle adapter plate…
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Now to mate the transaxle to the engine. I never did this before so went nice and slow. I used two nylon lifting straps to create a cradle and lifted it up with the engine hoist. I adjusted it while in the air so it is clocked properly to line up with the holes in the trans plate. Then used a floor jack on the back of the transaxle to hold it level. This approach helped align the drive shaft to the clutch.

Once I was able to insert the drive shaft part way I realized the splines were not lining up. I had a couple helpers to lightly pull the transaxle away from the clutch and from below I would rotate the drive shaft very slightly. Once the drive shaft was clocked properly and aligned with the clutch splines the trans virtually slid right in. Had to jostle it slightly to get the top of the drive shaft into the pilot bearing but all in all it did not take much force.

Pic of the sling holding the transaxle, but not clocked correctly. The transaxle is not so heavy and with a little effort you can rotate it and clock the screw holes…
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Pic of the sling holding the transaxle almost level. With the help of a floor jack(not shown in pic) helped align it for a smooth install…
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Just an awesome view of the chassis. It is finally coming together. All bolts were installed with thin Milspec washers and anti-seize. Trans bolts were torqued to 35 ft-lb. Mounting tab and shifter bracket bolts were torqued to 20 ft-lb…
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Since the engine was moved back 1.5”, will need to figure out how to mount the rear trans braces. Will probably make some aluminum spacers on the transaxle tabs…
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