Car Performance Specs

1. Place a floor jack under the transmission cross member and jack the front of the Audi off the ground. Place a jack stand on each A-Arm and lower the vehicle onto the jack stands. Make sure the emergency brake is in place or a wheel chuck is placed behind the rear tires to prevent the vehicle from rolling backwards while you work on it.
2. Place a drain pan under the petcock of the radiator and drain the radiator fluid into the pan. Depending on the age of the Audi, the petcock may be hard to open due to exposure to road dirt and salt over the years. Use a pair of pliers but be cautious as the valve easily breaks if excessive force is used. Once the fluid drained, close the petcock.
3. Trace the lower radiator hose from the radiator to the location where the hose connects to the engine. The location is to the right of the engine crank and may be difficult to see from under the vehicle. Depending on your comfort level, you may want to complete the rest of the job from the top of the engine, not the bottom.
4. Remove the radiator hose from the thermostat cover by squeezing the two metal tabs located together on the retention band clamp. A pair of needle-nose pliers is suggested for this task. With the tabs squeezed together, pull the radiator hose off the cover.
5. Remove the two bolts that secure the cover to the engine block with a boxed-end wrench. Unfortunately, there is not enough room for a ratchet. To remove the bolts, make short quarter turns of the wrench, as that is all that is possible in the limited space. With the bolts removed, pull the cover off the engine block.
6. Remove the gasket O-ring that fits into the bottom of the thermostat cover. If the cover does not have an O-ring, inspect the engine block for it. It sometimes sticks to the engine block.
7. Pull the thermostat out of the engine block. Take note that the end with the pin sticks out of the engine block. Place the new thermostat into the engine block so it sticks out in the same manner.
8. Place the thermostat cover back over the thermostat and thread the bolts in as far as you can with your fingers. Tighten the bolts with a boxed wrench.
9. Reattach the lower radiator hose to the thermostat cover. It helps to slide the clamp backwards on the hose and then push the hose onto the cover without the clamp. Then use the pliers to squeeze the tabs and slide the clamp into place.
10. Fill the radiator with a 50/50 mix of radiator fluid and distilled water.

1. Park the car and turn off its ignition. Open and secure the vehicles hood. Locate the Audis battery near the front of the engine compartment. Remove the negative battery cable from the battery terminal by loosening the cables bolt with the wrench.
2. Open the drivers door and locate the fuse panel on the lower part of the dash, under the steering wheel. Pull out the fuse labeled Airbags to fully deactivate the airbag system.
3. Unscrew the panels of your steering column with the screwdriver and carefully remove them. Locate the airbag inside the column. Loosen and remove the bolts holding the airbag in place, located behind the steering wheel, with the wrench. Pull the airbag out until you see the wires connecting it to the Audis electrical wiring harness. Unplug the airbag from the wiring harness and discard the airbag.
4. Plug the wires of the replacement airbag into the cars wiring harness. Gently push the airbag into the column, ensuring that it does not twist up as you do so. Bolt the airbag in place behind the steering wheel. Replace the column panels and secure them with the screws.
5. Open the fuse panel and reinsert the airbag fuse. Reconnect the negative battery cable to its battery terminal and tighten it with the wrench. Close the Audis hood.

1. Pull the wiper arm assembly away from the windshield until the wiper arm hinge locks into a position perpendicular to the windshield.
2. Remove the retaining nut that holds the wiper arm assembly to the base of the windshield.
3. Pull the wiper arm assembly off the cowl.
4. Check the pivot assembly for any debris and clear away anything that might be lodged in the cowl with your fingers. The profile of many Audis is such that debris are easily lodged down behind the cowl or behind the pivot arm. This will cause the arm to not move as it should.
5. Turn on the wiper motor without the wiper arm assembly attached and cycle the wiper arm motor one time. Verify that the pivot assembly moves freely.
6. Put the wiper arm assembly back onto the pivot arm assembly. Installation is the reverse of removal.

1. Place one of the keys in your right hand. Each key has three points to it, and you want to pick the one with the 45-degree slant at the end. Locate the slot at the bottom-right corner of the stereo, and place the key so that the flat side of the key goes towards the passenger side of the car. Push the key into the slot until it clicks into place.
2. Repeat step 1 with the second key, but flip the key around so that the flat section is pointing towards the drivers-side door.
3. Pull the inner spoke on the key on the left side of the stereo towards the drivers side door, and pull the stereo out of the dash. Unplug the wiring harnesses from the stereo using your hands, and disconnect the antenna lead as well.

1. Find the exact model of your Audis radio, which is usually printed on the front of the radio. To double-check, either contact your Audi dealer or visit the online list of Audi radios, complete with photos.
2. Contact your Audi dealer to obtain the anti-theft code that corresponds with your radios model. This code will usually be 4 digits, though with some codes the first digit is blank.
3. Press the 2-button combination that triggers your radios unlocking sequence. For example, if your radio is a Delta, press and hold AM and ARI-Z simultaneously until the display flashes CODE, then immediately release. After a pause, the display will flash 1000.
4. Use the numbered preset buttons to enter the code obtained from your Audi dealer. For example, if your code is 1572, press the 1 preset button once, the 2 button 5 times, the 3 button 7 times and then press the 4 button twice. These numbers should appear on your radios display as you enter them.
5. Press and hold the 2-button combination from Step 3 until the radios display flashes CODE. Your radio should unlock at this point.

1. Locate the trip-meter knob in the lower center of the gauge cluster. The knob is black and you use it to reset your mileage on your tip-meter.
2. Push inward on the knob until the service interval light starts to flash. This generally takes about 10 seconds.
3. Let the knob out, and then tap it in one time quickly to turn off the light.

1. Break the lug nuts loose on the Audi by turning them 1/4 turn on all of the wheels.
2. Raise the Audi onto jack stands. To do this, engage the emergency brake and jack up the front of the vehicle with the floor jack and make sure that you are jacking up on the front jack point located near the radiator (it is an extension of the frame of the Audi). Place the jack stands underneath the front pinch welds on the side of the Audi, and lower the vehicle onto the jack stands. Repeat this process for the rear of the vehicle, using the rear jack point located near the trunk as well as the rear pinch welds.
3. Continue removing the lug nuts and remove the wheel.
4. Unbolt the caliper mounting bolts and pull the caliper off the brake rotor.
5. Secure the brake rotor to the coil springs above the brake assembly with zip ties.
6. Remove the brake pads. You may need to tap them out of place with a rubber mallet.
7. Place the face of one of the brake pads over the caliper piston. Then, place the c-clamp over the caliper assembly and force the brake pad against the caliper piston. This will in turn push the caliper piston back into the caliper, making room for the new (thicker) brake pads.
8. Insert the new brake pads into the caliper and reassemble the caliper and brake assembly. Installation of pads is the reverse of removal.
9. Mount the wheels back over the hub assembly and tighten the lug nuts. Then, lower the Audi and torque the lug nuts to 100 foot-lbs using the torque wrench.

1. Lift the hood of the Mercedes to access the battery terminals. Loosen the bolt that secures the negative battery cable to the negative battery terminal with an adjustable wrench or pliers. Remove the cable from the battery to avoid shorting the S500s electrical system during installation.
2. Slide the two flat Mercedes stereo removal keys (also called DIN removal tools) into the slits at the bottom corners of the factory radio. Push each tool into the openings until they lock into place.
3. Place your fingers in the loops at the ends of each respective key and pull outward. Maintain the tension on the keys while pulling the factory unit from the dashboard stereo dock.
4. Disconnect the wiring connectors plugged into the outlets on the radios rear panel. Unplug the antenna cable from the back of the unit.
5. Slide the aftermarket stereo kit or installation sleeve into the empty stereo mounting dock. Place a flat screwdriver under the metal tabs inside the sleeve and bend them outward to secure the sleeve within the dock. Pull the stereo wiring and antenna cable from the back of the dock to the front of the Mercedes dashboard.
6. Connect the stereo wiring to the wiring harness adapter. Plug both wiring connectors into the appropriate leads of the adapter.
7. Connect the wiring harness adapter lead connectors to the corresponding outlets on the back of the new CD player. Plug the antenna cable into the FM antenna input on the back of the new unit.
8. Slide the CD player into the sleeve (inside the vehicles stereo dock) until it locks into place. Return to the S500s engine compartment.
9. Place the negative battery cable clamp back around the negative battery lead post. Tighten the clamp to the post using the wrench. Close the hood.

1. Elevate the rear of the vehicle in a secure position with a car jack, and place it on jack stands. Place wheel blocks around the front tires. Remove the rear tires to test the ABS speed sensors.
2. Locate where the engines electrical wiring harness meets the sensors electrical wiring harness. This is generally in proximity and secured around the strut housing in the wheel well in the front and the shocks in the rear.
3. Remove the sensor from its position using a quarter-inch ratchet with an 8- to 10-mm socket, which is generally located by the heat shield on the caliper.
4. Examine the end of the sensor. If it looks like a big fur ball at the end, then too much contamination is disrupting the sensor.
5. Spray the sensor with brake cleaner and wipe with the rag to remove contamination. Contamination on the sensor can send erroneous signals to the computer.
6. Disconnect the engine harness from the sensor harness. Set the voltage meter to Ohms, and connect the positive and negative terminals of the voltage meter to the input and output on the sensor. If the voltage meter registers as infinity, then the sensor has failed and needs to be replaced.
7. Switch the meter back to Volts, if you do not see an infinity in the ohms setting. If the voltage meter reads above 5 volts, it is starting to fail and can cause intermittent problems. If the voltage meter reads below 5 volts, check the knock sensor for corrosion and check the electrical connections leading to the knock sensor.