+++Thankyou, just made contact to view, could be the one

I was thinking about you this morning, but could not come up with anything +ve apart from the engine change route.
It was silly o'clock, First Rail called me out on a Morecambe return, the joys of chaufering :D

Strange one for sure .....what the hell has made a bore go out of true ......i would say water ingestion but normally get a bent rod with it .

No ......mystery that one , i will ask some of my engineering freinds ...just out of interest if nothing else .

Feel for ya man ...... a lot of work to do and then have to get a new engine .

Keep your chin up :)

I have always seen problems through to the end, the secret is to walk away at boiling point and cool down with a beer and a fag or two and come back with a fresh approach to the problem. I rebuild 1960's classics as a job and as much as I like them I crave superfast technical cars and the S8 ticks all the boxes. What I find frustrating with all the A8's is the complete lack of serviceability on a lot of the parts.
There is nothing special about the mechanics on the S8 its just you cant get to the them without removal, take the pistons for example which is usually head and sump off. Audi: its engine, gearbox and sub frame drive shafts then its a full strip down as once the sump is off there is the oil pump and drive bottom block to split off to access the crank cover plate then you get to start the work you started out to do plus its a great opportunity to service the gearbox, diffs, check the timing gear and clean everything. I love it when it all works but when its the same or worse it rips your heart out.

Too much thought is not good. Going to buy a complete engine from Saudi strip it down to make sure all is good, put in and enjoy. Then I will have plenty of spares to sell and get some pennies back to pay for the fuel.

Sorry to hear about your misfortune but what a cracking thread :) I love, I mean LOVE!!! Engine porn +++ I just haven't got the space to get so dirty with cars so often, my a8 had a replacement head which I done but I did it outside in the summer in desperation.

The misses Zafira gsi needs a box, Iv got one sitting in the garden but without a ramp it'll stay there till I can rent one, it's a subframe completely off job so don't fancy it on my back this time round.

Do you or are you allowed to post pictures of some of the stuff you have done for work?

I managed 30 years with make shift tents and car ports until I decided to build my own garage. I have attached some pictures of Bridget Bardot 1965 Merc coupe which I bought from South Africa and painted in a tent.[ATTACH]Attachment 12474

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I can imagine it was fun painting in the tent, I don't even have the space to put the gazebo up otherwise I'd of probably done it by now, most things need to be done on a dry day and within the day :(

I'v just bought some exhaust parts for the misses zafira so will be doing that on my path, also trying to source the bloody oil leak I can't seem to find the source of.

Thanks for the pics, the engine in the Ferrari and merc look lovely, what does Ate stand for as it's written on the sticker but can't see, I'd like a nice project to do, I've got the misses car to do at the mo though.

Painting in the tent was a trial, weather was either too hot with insects flying in or cold and windy blowing dust around, i ended up painting a panel at a time and ended up using 6 ltrs of paint. I pay a good painter now with a booth.
Oil leaks are a pain and usually where you cant get too without major strip down, good luck with that.

The Ate label is part of a full recreation set I bought from Germany and its the manufacturer of the brake system along with Girling calipers. Not a clue what it stands for though.
Michael

Well the engine arrived today complete with gearbox, exhaust and even with oil which was fun getting out of the DHL van with just my engine lift.
All ten plugs are the perfect colour, the cams and valve gear look nice and clean.
The engine came complete with the wiring loom but the ecu plugs had been cut off so I will be using my existing loom
One thing I never thought of buying parts from a hot country like Dubai is all the plastic connectors for sensors go brittle, everyone shattered while trying to remove.
I have swapped over the air intake as I rebuilt mine and was pleasantly surprised to find that it doesn't need a decoke.

Sump off tomorrow to check for any unwanted items and then a full engine clean remove the gearbox which is sold to someone else and mate to my gearbox which I have fully serviced.
Fingers crossed she will be running Friday