2001 S8

Hey D2 Owners,

After reading this tread, I am wondering if I should add Linkage Arms to my general car maintenance. I figured I would squirt the pivot points with Sea Foam Deep Creep every couple of months, to keep things moving smoothly.

Is this a good idea or just maintenance overkill on my part?

Thanks for any feedback.

silverd2

Nothing that keeps the pivots free is overkill. It's a beautiful system that provides a long, high, flat torque curve when it's working...just a $1000 box sitting on the engine when it's not.

The unfortunate pivot design (should have been bearings) is guaranteed to seize due to the complete lack of lube.

Razman

I soaked them with Remoil, especially the spring area. I then worked them back and forth by hand; it's a little difficult as they are under spring pressure but I got them free, and then had someone rev the engine while I watched them actuate. After 2-3 good soakings they were fine.

Seafoam DC should work also, once freed up you can use your favorite lube on a regular basis to maintain them. My preference is a Teflon-based lube. I'm jonesing for another can of Tri-Flo, that stuff is the best IMHO. Remoil doesn't leave as much oil behind but it seems to work fine (and you can get it at Walmart). That being said I'm going to do them again right now.

Eric

silverd2

I've got a small spray can (still 1/3 full) of Tri-Flo Teflon lube. I've lost track of how many years ago I bought it...have never used WD-40 since...GREAT stuff!

AudiNut87

awesome! where did you buy it ? cant find it at local autozone, they never heard of it.

BrianC72gt

Quick and dirty free up: I backed out the small center torx head bolt maybe two turns then tapped on it to move the shaft within the housing flange. Initially I kept a little light pressure on the tear drop shaped arm with a screwdriver to move them while tapping to break the shaft free. The combination of a little rotational pressure and tapping vibration and....ahhhh...release. (Don't analyze it!) Then I worked the levers back and forth by hand and sprayed some...Kroil Oil..methinks...Orange can of mystery lube...anyway...gtg ever since. I should still pull them and clean up the surfaces...just need a bucket of time.

The nose of the shaft has a plastic cap an inch or two long the has a square end to mate to the teardrop shaped arms/springs. The bolt you tap on is fairly long and screws into the metal shaft. Pull it out all the way if you want some comfort that there are still enough threads to safely tap on it. Put it back in all the way, back out two or three turns and have at it. If I were using a gear puller, I would rather push on this bolt head than the plastic "cap" beneath it. That bit is way too fragile - and unobtanium. Pierburg makes the manifold, btw, and I don't see pieces available for it anywhere.

The manifold linkage arms are billet ****, no doubt, but not the problem. It is the shaft interface that seizes up.

AudiNut87

well put. i wonder how often this thing seizes up. the plastic links become the problem when they break due to the manifold seizing up, at least that failure wont occur with the billet **** linkage arms.

has anyone done the cleaning procedure more than 1x ? is this a yearly occurrence ?

silverd2

Thanks to Audi's not well thought out design, these pivots just can't stay lubed.

I've redone mine once since my original write-up...they were starting to get sluggish. If they are still moving, disassembly is infinitely easier.

AudiNut87

so how often do i need to service intake ? will it help to just run seafoam through it periodically ? or is it always going to need complete disassembly ?

Awocar

Hello everyone,
I need someone to help me with the following:
My A6 has both intake manifold link arms broken, when I inquired about replacements, I was surprised with the price that dealer gave me.
I found several options in different forums and for me the best options are: “Gruven parts” and “SBD part # AVW1312” which are sold on Ebay.
Both offer a life-time warranty; Gruven parts are made of aluminum with Delrin insert, and AVW1312 are entirely made of Delrin and cost about 40% less, and they look much more similar to the OEM part, I like this because it allows my car to maintain the original appearance, rather than look like a "robocop" or "transformer".
Has anyone tested the SBD AVW1312 parts?

I would like some suggestions.

Thanks