Armed with nothing more than grit, some tools, and an AutoZone rewards card, this Audi owner pulled off the impossible.
Tampa Bay resident Joe Vidalis witnessed this legendary DIY mechanic performing major engine repair on his Audi 1.8T in the middle of this New Port Richey Autozone parking lot in the middle of the day earlier last week (Apr. 11, 2020.) With the front bumper, grille, and radiator support disassembled, dozens of tools scattered around him, and no shirt, this Audi owner did in hours what normally would take a whole weekend in a cool home garage.
Here’s a gallery of images Joe shared on Facebook’s Tampa Bay Car Meet’s group showing this man hard at work below.
Deadset legend Audi
When Joe asked what he was doing the man replied that his Audi was “sputtering at a certain RPM.” Based on the images I can assume he’s performing some major maintenance including replacing the entire serpentine belt, swapping out a bad water pump, and, from the looks of a turbo housing in one pick, possibly replacing a worn-out turbo.
If you’re familiar with Aud’s, you’ll know that lots of major engine repairs requires putting your Audi into “Service Position.” That means you must remove your whole front bumper, grille, radiator supports, and entire radiator system. If you’ve got fog lights, those have to be removed, too. It’s a P.I.T.A. for everyday wrenching, but to start off a repair like this in a parking lot, no less, that takes dedication.
If you’re wondering, photos taken by curious passerbys also commenting on the original Facebook post posted up updates. This man completed his work, tidied up, and drove off before it got too dark.
View post on imgur.com
View post on imgur.com
One of the major inconveniences of wrenching at home is the inevitable driving back and forth for parts. If you’ve only got one car, like this guy perhaps, you must phone a friend or hoof it over to the nearest Vato-zone if you need a crucial piece to your repair puzzle.
Wrenching right at the parts store is rather smart.
Yah, it looks haphazard, haggard, and unprofessional, but then again, some people with three-car garages can’t even disconnect their own batteries.
Three cheers to this Audi owner.
[…] This certainly ranks up there with the likes of that Audi A4 owner who performed major front end surgery in the hot sun of an Autozone parking lot (story linked here.) […]