Pics of s-tronic shifter in new S3?

You're so pedantic, one small thing I havnt been able to obtain as yet, lol, but I'm seriously considering buying new anyway as been waiting months but nothings come up yet.
 
Ok to update I started to mod this on, the mod is not for faint hearted & does require alot of patients & common sense.

The solution I used was heat to twist the plastic rod that was semi flexible already that stuck up & connected with the gearknob.

The problem is on non S3 stronic cars the button was at the side & the hole that the gearknob metal bar went into to pull the plastic rod upwards was also at the side, where as the S3 stronic has the hole through the rod from front to back, so we had to work out how to twist this rod round to be able to be used with the front facing button & metal bar.

So I pulled the plastic rod upwards, put something into the gear unit below to hold the plastic rod in place all the way up & then stuck a pair of plyers at the top ready to twist it round, got my soldering iron with a different tip that basically is a heating element & slowly heated the plastic rod & began to twist it round, now you have to do this very very carefully as to not burn the plastic to thin, cause it wont fuse thick enough again & just snap of.

So I slowly twisted round & then when in position, removed the heat, remembering to make sure it was completely straight so when the rod is dropped down again it doesnt get stuck & drops down into the gear unit properly, I also used my fingers to mould the still hot plastic round to form a nice thick twist as such.

Now me being uber anal about things breaking etc & its £250 for the part alone, I decided to strengthen the rod more with some epoxy round it & then when solid/dry would dremel it down enough to allow it to go up/down ok inside the gear unit & the new gearknob.

This is where I am currently awaiting the epoxy to harden then will finish of tomorrow, I'll update when gearknob is fully on etc, but here's some images as is, shows after the twist done, then epoxied & then the new gearknob taken apart & you can see the bar that slips into the rod & hole to lift the rod up when button is depressed.

s3gearknob1.JPG


s3gearknob2.JPG


s3gearknob3.JPG


s3gearknob4.JPG
 
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Ok ladies did some more work, shaved the epoxy down as now solid & its alot more sturdy than even before the mod, lol, it does help to be anal sometimes for sure & it all fits & functions exactly as per original, now images show it in place, not all put back as got other mods to do on same area, but you get the idea, also it shows you the parts taken apart, you dont need to do what I did.

I needed to understand the mechanism before I could start modding to fit, as long as you do as I have on the gear plastic rod, then you should be able to just shove the gearknob straight on without taking it apart, but WARNING the new gearknob has a plastic rod stuck in bottom of it as shown, dont take this out or stick gearknob on until you're ready to fix it in place because the metal rod from above images in middle wouldnt go back to position without a customed tool that audi have anyway to pull it back down into install position.

s3gearknob5.JPG


s3gearknob6.JPG


s3gearknob7.JPG


s3gearknob9.JPG
 
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Ok 99% finished job, twice, I was putting every back everything 1st time round & I caught the tip & snapped it of, how fecking ****** of was I, so I drilled out the core of both parts & stuck a nail down into each part & superglued & epoxied back together then dried then dremeled slim, voila works, god always happens to me, lol.

s3gearknob10.JPG
 
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Khufu said:
Your a brave man N! Final results nice, but you left with the problem of the S3 badge on it!
Click to expand...

All in hand, just gotta clear the S3 imprint of underside & spray or make up some label, I'll come up with something
 
& yeah as you said Brave but also BURNT, ouch my legs man, oh well roll on italy next week.
 
Well I have a brand new DSG leather/alum gearknob for sale.

It has perforated leather & looks much better than the standard leather.

PM for info.

newgearknob.JPG
 
Thanks Nate, very kind of you mate, but just one of many who add info from there mods to help others, but always nice to see some appreciation sometimes, so cheers.
 
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dear nhn i would really appreciate some help. i have the orinial 8p dsg gearknob, like so in the pic below, and boy shes ugly.
medial.jpg

I was planning on fitting the 05-09 dsg s line gear knob/gairot/gaitor surrounding and im presuming the main surrounding as well as my overall unit looks smaller than the newer one. like so
bvrkobqbmkkgrhquokkeevp.jpg

now a here comes a couple of questions! can i get the surrounding in piano monaro blue like my current trim? if not ill get piano plack as know that exists and will get a piano black ashtray, the monaro blue is so dark it looks black anyway. If i wanted to fit the newer s tronic gear leave is it just a new knob? or is it a new gaitor as well? new surroundings?? i have found this on ebay obviously the gaitor is for a LHD as a german listing, but the gear knob is defo what i want as it is sexy like the s3 one yet bears the s tronic logo not the s3 one.

dsgneu.jpg


NHN you seem like the guy whom knows all about this mod. if you could advise me on what parts i would need exactly i would be GREATLY appreciative. Also if you dont live too many 100's of miles from london if you would be willing to fit it for me i would be willing to pay you for the install as i am not at all confident and would prefer to part with the cash than mess the job up or have someone who has never done it before mess it up.
 
There isnt a minaro blue, shows an indigo blue, check with your dealer as its priced so it can be returned if not what you want when looking at.

No, when using the newer stronic 09 onwards, you need the new surround with the gear display unit & the newer gaitor, same for the 05-09 gear knob as in your 2nd pic when going from your current setup.

You would need a new gearknob & gaitor of course, new gear surround & the gear display unit.

I would be willing to arrange fitment, where abouts are you, PM me, not on open forum.

I actually have an S3 version for sale mate if interested.
 
Nope fraid not Sarah me lovely, you need to follow the mod I detailed above. :)

Its not that hard to do, just took me longer as I had to research it in the beginning.
 
Once again you're the man! Thank you.
Shame though as I like the non gaitor look, just wanted a better knob (no comments!!!)
 
Last edited:
I found these 2 pics at the German official Audi site. Looks like MY2011 S3 has a TT style knob for Stronic.



 
I wouldnt believe the pic as the S3 knob top has S3 in it, not Stronic, as I have a brand new S3 version in my hands, albeit MY09/10 version but same as that, but isnt indented as my TT version.

I'll await the parts update to come out before making a 100% cert judgement, as been chasing for the newer stronic badged version for ages now, but even my dealer hasnt got parts update for MY11 yet even if they're taking orders for new cars & being made now.
 
can u post the part # for the shifter that says Stronic once u get it?
 
+1 for the Part number, would defiantly like the part number for this. Having S-Tronic looks much better than S3 especially when my car is an S-Tronic!
 
Hi NHN,

Can you send me your pics of the job as there not coming out in my browser!! Grrr...

Cheers,

Dave.
 
I just ordered a complete, 2008 gearknob, gaiter and surround.

To help me understand how the mechanism works does the button on the side of the 07 DSG knob and the front of the 08 new version lift that shaft up to allow the lever to move?
 
N8 said:
No its not 08, its 10> onwards iirc.
Click to expand...

you're right as its from an 11 A3 cabrio, i'm hoping following this excellent thread that i'll be able to install it.

or have i bitten off more than i can chew?
 
I got my 2011 s tronic gear knob, gaiter and aluminium surround off Ebay today.

I changed the trim over straight away as the existing was scratched and dented by previous owner(only took five minutes and looks fresher already)

Now I have the task of heating the plastic rod inside etc but two questions before I start.

The new knob has the leather gaiter attached, can I leave it on for the instal?

And has anyone got a link to guide on how to remove the existing knob?

thanks

Paul

p.s. the button was pushed in when I got it so i know I've to source a reset tool or fashion one myself, if anyone has a picture of what they used I'd appreciate it if they could post it up
 
You would be best to remove the gaitor for testing purposes, if you lift the old gaitor up, you will see a fixing underneath.
 
NHN said:
You would be best to remove the gaitor for testing purposes, if you lift the old gaitor up, you will see a fixing underneath.
Click to expand...

Cheers,

So just to be clear, I should remove old knob and gaiter, modify plastic rod with heat or cut and grubscrew then fix the new knob in place without the gaiter to fully test the lever and button and if all is working remove the new knob, fix gaiter and fit new knob once more?

Sorry for the dimebar questions just need to be crystal with this as it's my second mod ever and don't want to mess it up

thanks
 
Yeap, exactly that, the most important thing when doing this mod is to measure every single aspect of that plastic rod before & after so you know the holes match up as before but obviously twisted.

If you cut top of then allow for the 1mm lost when cutting of, which is why heat & twist is your best bet.

If you heat it then leave it for a period to fully set.
 
NHN said:
Yeap, exactly that, the most important thing when doing this mod is to measure every single aspect of that plastic rod before & after so you know the holes match up as before but obviously twisted.

If you cut top of then allow for the 1mm lost when cutting of, which is why heat & twist is your best bet.

If you heat it then leave it for a period to fully set.
Click to expand...

Thanks,

Step One went well, managed to fashion a tool with a small hook at the end from a coat hanger and got the button out after five minutes!

Result, I hope it bodes well!

I was leaning towards cutting and fitting a grub screw but after Nigel's advice in terms of measuring everything I think I'll pick up a heat gun and do it REALLY slowly then I'll let it cool over night
 
I got the old knob off once the devil clamp was twisted off.

Thankfully the 2011 A3 cabrio gear gaiter and S tonic knob has a clever twist and lock system to hold it in place (photo link below) so it neatly twists and hold the gaiter in place.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2794569/Photo 22-01-2012 20 10 30.jpg

So I'm all set with my coat hanger to push out the button every time it gets pushed in!

Now my final query is wether or not the 1400w Black and Decker heat gun is suitable? or will I need an attachment to concentrate the heat or a different one altogether?

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2794569/Photo 22-01-2012 20 04 11.jpg

thanks again
 
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