Pulling the Engine
A last look at the complete car. We had backed it into the garage to allow us to push it out and lift out the engine later.

Now we were ready to start the big task of disassembly.

Since we are not car professionals and this was our first restoration, we had to take precautions allowing us to place all parts back in their original locations during the re-assembly process. This way we wouldn't misplace or leave out any parts or get connections crossed.

We decided to adopt the "painting by the numbers" principal. So we began by tagging and numbering every part as  necessary.

Cables, gas lines, cooling or pressure hoses and everything else was labeled and photographed. 

We also took photos of single screws, bolts and clips to document the disassembly process step by step.

Of course, we didn't place all 300+ photos on this web page.

Anyone who has attempted such an enterprise knows that you need outside help some times. We were assisted at times by an old friend of mine who's father owns a farm (and therefore a tractor). This was helpful in taking out the drive shafts and lifting out the engine.

His son (Nicolas, 4) appeared to be viewing the whole procedure a little skeptical, but these days, you just take any help you can get.

Since a lift was not available most screws had to be loosened either from the top or the bottom depending on their accessibility.
After the engine was separated from the gearbox and the body and we had supported the gearbox, we were ready for the big moment.

Using my friend's tractor's front loader the engine slowly worked its way upwards from the position it had occupied for the last 20 years.

There it was. For 20 years and 350,000 km this aggregate had never let me down. Well, maybe that one time when I was stuck in a traffic jam and a cooling hose burst. But anyone who spends lots of time on the road expects something like that to happen sooner or later.
Then "threading the needle". The engine needed to be placed inside the garage to dismount the last peripheral parts. After unhinging one side of the garage door we had enough clearance for the tractor to get close enough.
Finally, success after all.

2,2 liters on 5 Cylinders with 136 HP.

I had never before been able to look at my baby that closely from all sides.

Audi really created a work of art with this engine. And we would do our best to preserve that for a long time.

After pulling the engine we then proceeded to the disassembly of the interior and body.