Hi,

What DIY jobs would be good for a beginner to attempt ?

Working on an Audi 80 2.0e, what type of tools should i purchase ? Just a simple metric tool/wrench set ?

Thanks for any input

 

Metric combination wrench set from 7mm to 19mm, INCLUDING 16mm and 18mm, which most sets seem to not have.

Same for the short well sockets in 3/8" drive. Also get a long extension and a wobble adapter. I recommend getting a 10mm, 13mm, 15mm, and 17mm in deep well also.

1/2" drive I find I need 17mm and 19mm the most but it's handy to have from 13mm up to 32mm along with a breaker bar. Impact sockets are always most durable but may not always fit where the bolts are.

Metric allen wrenches. I've actually got three different sets. One set is the really small ones as separate wrenches. One is the "jackknife" type with most of the rest of the larger ones, and also bought a set of 3/8" drive for the socket set for the larger ones too.

A set of torx wrenches or bits with T10 to T30. I have one set as the jackknife set and a bunch as screwdriver type bits.

Triple square bits, 8mm, 10mm and 12mm I think are going to be most important.

A decent set of screwdrivers.

Wire cutters, needle nosed pliers, linesman's pliers, slip joint pliers, and some locking pliers will always be a good thing to have.

A multimeter with volts and ohms and learn how to use it. Augment this with a simple 12v test light.

Soldering iron or gun and solder. I tend to use my soldering gun more on the car as it's something like 100W and makes fast work of regular wire connections.

Heat shrink tubing of various sizes and a heat gun.

Of course, you'll find that while working on the car, there's always something you're going to be missing for tools, you can get those later.

PB Blaster or other good quality penetrating oil.

Last of all, but should be first, is PATIENCE. Rushing a job only ends up breaking things.

 

<u>a very basic tool (see photo below):</u>

These are pretty handy, however I'm not sure it will cover your exact model:

Audi 80, 90, Coupe Quattro: 1988-1992
Official Factory Repair Manual
Including 80 quattro, 90 quattro and 20-valve models

by Audi of America, Inc.

Softcover, 8 1/2 in. x 11 in.
1,861 pages
3,154 illustrations and diagrams
40 separate circuit sections
Audi Part No. LPV 800 604
ISBN-13: 978-0-8376-0368-1
Price: $159.95

http://www.bentleypublishers.com/aud...ir-manual.html

<u>D-I-Y job starter list.</u>

There should be a maintenance schedule in the small owner's manual that would have come with the new car, (if not Bentley has those too); and also a discussion of basic D-I-Y maintenance topics in it. Between those two items you can make yourself aware of what is perhaps already due; and how to do some of it. You can also start to plan for what is coming due, because you can "see" it coming.

I would recommend that you do a thorough survey of the car yourself, make a list of what you think might need attention based on that visual inspection. By simply crawling all over, under and through the vehicle and doing nothing but "clean, inspect and lubricate", you can start to get some ideas on what might need attention.

What one might attempt one's self perhaps depends on whether you had access to a garage; and whether you can dis-able the car while you do the work.

I think a basic brakes discs and pads replacement are an excellent first project. You could also break it down into a series of smaller jobs if you had to. Its' a good confidence builder, saves a good deal of cash, and particularly if the brakes are not currently perfect, it gives one a chance to immediately make a worth-while performance improvement on the car.

Although you don't share the same engine, see also the 20v.org site at:

http://20v.org/indexb4.html

for some good chassis maintenance articles, particularly rubber wear items to add to your to-do list. Another good site which may more closely match your injection system (if not the number of cylinders), is Hugh Powell's:

http://www.humanspeakers.com/audi/

which also has some more good illustrated D-I-Y maintenance and trouble-shooting articles.

 

Thanks a lot for the info Guyllfyre and Lago Blue. I'm going to have to research what some of the tools are that you mentioned. I'll read through the websites and get more acquainted with the car.

 

An 1800 square foot garage, 12000 lb. 2 post lift, 120 gallon 25 horsepower compressor and a couple of fire extinguishers round out my list ;-) But we do tend to do things a little bigger down here in Texas...

 

What's the 120 gal. 25 hp compressor and fire extinguisher for ?

I admire how bigger is better in TX

 

Apparently a couple of fire extinguishers will not be sufficient. Unfortunately for those folks, Homeland Security has more budget than FEMA. Apparently fire is part of the natural cycle; and we are not.

One does still hear "Are we having more severe weather events, or just more reporting of them?" Having just had a tornado come through our relatively cool lakeside town, which up-rooted an elm tree and felled it across the noses of my three cars, it occurred to me that a recent discussion of whether we humans have entered the "Anthropocene" era may be mute. Have we blown through that "scene" already, and triggered the next? The Meteocene, Wxocence or perhaps the Tempestasocene? This epoch being the phase that corrects and resets the planet's biosphere controls by eliminating disruptive inputs; such as us.

This gives me something to chew on while I continue to run the smoking chainsaw to clean it all up. Fortunately (or unfortunately depending on which is worse?) a neighbour's folks can use the firewood (which is no longer supposed to be moved due to the risk of invasive infestations). A fine mess.

The tempest threw the neighbour's fishing boats into my yard and damaged his house. The cars emerged nearly completely unscathed. One headlight appears to be damaged! I am very fortunate. No one was hurt here, but some have major damage and loses.

At least I now have a safer spot to park; for now.

 

The compressor is for working smarter, not harder. And the fire extinguishers are for when the smarts run out, which they do, on occasion.

 

I think I'll start with some tools and jack stands; Then, go from there.

 

Pretty much where I started from! But I got infected with the bug... It gets addicting.