Everything WRONG With My Abandoned Audi S3 8L...

Welcome to the money pit world of s3 8l’s. Your problem with the gaps in the engine bay is top mounts you can buy purple powerflex ones for £50 they should sit flush with the shock tower. All the rust spots you have on the car are normal for these cars they also normally rot on the back of the bonnet in the seam sealer nearest to the windscreen and on the lower wings behind the sill covers, they also rust on the sills but are hidden by the covers. They hold dirt behind the dirt shields and rust out like every early 2000 VAG car

Haldex unit binding on full lock turning, fresh service “could” free it up. Check for fault codes regarding haldex with VCDS.

I would be getting the underside ice blasted will make it a lot nicer to work on and also see what needs replacing a lot easier.

New Shocks and I fitted a set of Pi springs on mine back in the day and the stance was perfect. Haldex Service. Engine Flush and Service, maybe have the sump off and clean the oil pick up gauze as they can block and starve the top of the engine. Defo ice blast underside and Lanoguard but do all the suspension work first. Miltek full exhaust and upgrade the Turbo intake pipe as they go soft and restrict air flow. Cambelt and Water Pump change. Enjoying the series so far

Great video, great car. I had a clucking noises on this car when turning like you did. 2 solutions for my problem: Aftermarket Downpipe was hitting driveshaft because of old engine mounts. Haldex unit in the back was faulty and couldnt decouple , unplugging the haldex fuse made the sound go away.

Good lord that must be the cleanest garage I have ever seen. Some job 👌

Really enjoying this series mate. Some of the best stuff you've done recently.

Keep it up, I'm looking forward to more videos :)

New arms and bushes from autodoc, new shocks and springs, droppings etc and a wash underneath, remove headliner too! Alacantra maybe?

Definitely makes me want to go and buy a little hot hatch to do up!!

I’d do the oil service before doing anymore test runs with the car! I’d guess like some others that the clunky noise from the back is from haldex. Might be oil issue or something else due to ~5 year abandoment. I’d also check brake lines carefully for leaks and overall condition. Good time to replace them when you are doing service to dampers and suspension. Great video once again!

Definitely a broken spring on the front driver side!

Had same issue on my mk4 r32, haldex was binding on full lock. Ended up putting a low mileage diff/haldex unit in with a new controller which can also be problematic. Test haldex by pulling the fuse out which disengages the 4WD and see if binding goes away.

I would be going top mounts, shocks & springs do drop links while your there. New tyres all round. Discs & pads? For sure full service with all fluids at a VAG specialist and see what else they add to the list and then work way through

Upgrade your suspension with a cup kit, do rebuilt axles all round ,new suspension arm kit . Treat the rust spots and wrap it satin black and respray the grey parts ,most definitely a new exhaust .remember this is mk1 tt and golf 4 so oem where necessary to keep prices in check . Then think about power upgrades 06A motor: rods and arp studs MLS gasket ,intake cam ,3076R turbo,fuel pump ,injectors etc .... stuff that all diyers can do . T h e car has great bones . Give it a shot! we never got these states side .keep up the great videos ,take your time 😅.

Yes you’re top mounts look shot, and I had three broken springs with my last MOT even they looked visually fine!

You might aswell get a lowering spring kit to freshen it all up. It will be cheaper than buying 2 individual springs and then a few months down the line, the others will crack so it’s a no brainer really!

Those rust spots on the wing and rear gate, you can do with used parts, but the bubbling on the roof should be addressed - decent paint guy can blend over those area good enough to daily. You need to clean and waxoyl the underside

You could probably get that back bumper plastic welded, i had a similar split on my Swift Sport after someone rolled into me and it returned to me like new.. depends how cheap an s3 bumper is though

Also the rear callipers will probably be stuck on, where the handbrake cable sits. You can try and loosen with some WD40, worse case new calipers