What have you done to your Audi A4 B7 today?

[Charlie Farley]

Just a few bits on the allroad .
I gave in and ordered a new towbar kit after the shocking hacking off of the existing towball. There were a few factory fit ones on ebay but at £350 upwards to much of a risk that they will also have issues with the swivel mechanism.
I'll fit a new detach neck westafalia unit but retain the factory wiring as its linked to the brakes and a shed load of other functions.....should be good to go .

Ive a gearbox remap in the pipeline too so that will be interesting to see what changes in more ways than one...

 

[Jamsmoo]

Just a few bits on the allroad .
I gave in and ordered a new towbar kit after the shocking hacking off of the existing towball. There were a few factory fit ones on ebay but at £350 upwards to much of a risk that they will also have issues with the swivel mechanism.
I'll fit a new detach neck westafalia unit but retain the factory wiring as its linked to the brakes and a shed load of other functions.....should be good to go .

Ive a gearbox remap in the pipeline too so that will be interesting to see what changes in more ways than one...

Had my tip tronic remapped along with the obligatory oil change by darkside when I had my egr delete and dyno remap few years ago (they know their onions ) pricey but worth every penny ,it’s like sport mode in normal mode ,not sure how much longevity it has but my boy racer days are long gone
It’s nice to know it’s there when u need it


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Charlie Farley]

From what I have read in a few articles, it makes a big improvement to the allroad C6 tiptronic box, smoother and more responsive, not that it lacks at the moment but like anything, if one can improve on it, that got to be good and worthwhile.

 

[Charlie Farley]

Just something totally out there chaps.
A recently look at the stats for this specific B7 thread shows it's had over 1million views....wowcher.

 

[northpole]

Do it, When i had my TCM fixed they upgraded the software and the difference between the standard D mode and S from before is night and day... D is still quick to change up to the highest gearing possible but does it way smoother and faster, including shifting down when the pedal is pressed to go faster. S is also and faster and better, smoother but more agressive and reacts way faster to both the gaspedal and braking... the input from the flappy pedals i added is even quicker than using the the gearselector to change up in manual mode... but here is the surprise... it works in both D and S mode too making both modes react better and faster.

So if you haven't got those flappy pedals on the steeringwheel, get one with them and code them in with VCDS... you'll love it. I can only imagine a gearbox remap on mine will make it even better but i'm content with how it is as i mostly putter about city driving ( meaning max 40mph) but mostly only 30 mph trips.

 

[northpole]

Just replaced the plastic housing of the connectors for the coilpacks. I had 2 broken ones and one that refused to come off... but since the plastic conduit kept it connected right I never looked for the replacement housings until I looked for the conduit for the cables for the coilpacks... it was a nice oem set that came from China including the de-tool for around 8 pounds. I bought them immediately. They showed up before the plastic conduit housing so I decided to replace them anyway.

Low and behold the car starts faster now.. I knew it would make a difference but didn't expect it to be that big of a noticable difference, simply because the car idled and ran fine with the old broken connectors.

I do have to say that all of the connectors sit just 1mm away from the coilpacks. So I must have had a at least 2 not sitting all the way on.

It's done now and the car is happy... now for that plastic conduit housing to show up... yes it too comes from China so will take a few days.

 

[northpole]

just took it for a drive, didn't know i had an 8 cylinder engine... yea you guessed it right, i made one mistake when re-pinning cylinder 1 car ran like there was more wrong whilst driving... pulled over and found that the conduit was pinching the wires... sorted that first started running better still a misfire on cylinder 4... checked wires in the connector.. what white grey should be in 4 not 3... oke my bad... de-pinned 3 and 4 and put it right, problem sorted. No more misfires success. Still don't get it that the car idled better at first and started faster..
still starts better and runs silky now that that cylinder 4 is firing like it should. took it for a spin and it feels more powerful than before the i changed the connectors for new ones.

 

[Charlie Farley]

Ive been having another shoop at different alloys again , stumbled upon these which have taken my fancy, Himalaya gloss grey and polished faces, 20" .
Very tempted as I rather like the colour contrast combination which would match the allroad lava grey nicely.
Not OE but very Audi style and sometimes one just has to look out side the box...

 

[Jamsmoo]

Ive been having another shoop at different alloys again , stumbled upon these which have taken my fancy, Himalaya gloss grey and polished faces, 20" .
Very tempted as I rather like the colour contrast combination which would match the allroad lava grey nicely.
Not OE but very Audi style and sometimes one just has to look out side the box...


View attachment 282746

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Jamsmoo]

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Haven’t looked into the specs so may not be suitable


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Jamsmoo]

Ive been having another shoop at different alloys again , stumbled upon these which have taken my fancy, Himalaya gloss grey and polished faces, 20" .
Very tempted as I rather like the colour contrast combination which would match the allroad lava grey nicely.
Not OE but very Audi style and sometimes one just has to look out side the box...


View attachment 282746

“Outside the box”


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Jamsmoo]

Ive been having another shoop at different alloys again , stumbled upon these which have taken my fancy, Himalaya gloss grey and polished faces, 20" .
Very tempted as I rather like the colour contrast combination which would match the allroad lava grey nicely.
Not OE but very Audi style and sometimes one just has to look out side the box...


View attachment 282746

Theres been plenty of the s8 d2s available recently at good prices


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Charlie Farley]

Yep , very tempted in a set of d2's , they are a fav of mine.

 

[Charlie Farley]

Just preparing to swap out the factory fit swivel down towbar for a new Westfalia detach head kit.
Hoping the factory fit wiring will be ok and carry over, I doubt it wil be that easy though.

 

[Jamsmoo]

One of those jobs that niggles but always sits low down on priorities,left unchecked could become a higher priority
Nice to have it ticked off
With the weather last couple of days I expected it to get rained off
Tiger seal and refit the trims tomorrow
I’ll get some picks of the repair before they go on and the lights better
Very pleased ,a real belt and braces job


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Jamsmoo]

One of those jobs that niggles but always sits low down on priorities,left unchecked could become a higher priority
Nice to have it ticked off
With the weather last couple of days I expected it to get rained off
Tiger seal and refit the trims tomorrow
I’ll get some picks of the repair before they go on and the lights better
Very pleased ,a real belt and braces job


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Surprised by the low gauge outer skin on those seams


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Jamsmoo]

Surprised by the low gauge outer skin on those seams


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Just made the mistake thinking low meant thinner
I mean high


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Charlie Farley]

Just finished swapping over the massacred factory westfalia towbar for a new detach westafalia .
I have to say, rear bumper removal was a surprisingly easy task for such a big item, and no ripping out the whole interior for the towbar frame fixing etc which is required on the B7 and is a long old process.
just need to sort out the electrics as I'm keeping the factory fit system.

happy days,

 

[Jamsmoo]

Just finished swapping over the massacred factory westfalia towbar for a new detach westafalia .
I have to say, rear bumper removal was a surprisingly easy task for such a big item, and no ripping out the whole interior for the towbar frame fixing etc which is required on the B7 and is a long old process.
just need to sort out the electrics as I'm keeping the factory fit system.

happy days,

The towbar on my ex b7 always bugged me ,ruined the look
Didn’t really investigate removal properly but it definitely wasn’t obvious
Our friends at vw love to over complicate what should be a few hefty bolts from underneath


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Charlie Farley]

Replacement was not really something I planned when I bought the car, it has a top quality hidden away swivel down factory kit , but , after discovering why it would'nt unlock and swivel down, i didnt really have much option other than to replace it .
not wishing to risk a 2nd hand swivel one again, I just opted for a detachable neck so its still hidden but wont get locked up or down.
What was the previous owner thinking to do this.

 

[northpole]

So the wire harness came so i put it on took 3 minutes in total...

Looks like this now

I didn't want a red one but the black ones weren't in stock. The price was the same so I didn't really care and just got the red one.

 

[B7Tourer]

Surprised by the low gauge outer skin on those seams

I tried to find the video again, where an American cut a B7 in half along the sill. It's very substantial with at least one inner sill. Where the seam comes together there are three layers spot welded - in it's intact form this provided a very strong seam; strong enough to take the car's weight on lift arms and jacks for changing the wheel. Obviously where corroison sets in this seam delaminates and splits, weakening it and leading to it being folded over when it's improperly jacked. It was all hot dipped galvanised from new but road salt will eventually happily corrode anything, even aluminimum, especially soaked in a mud sponge. Furthermore around the end of 2006, there's some evidence Audi started cheapening out on the thickness of the galvanised layer - many B8s seem to rust worse than B6s and B7s (and some later B7s along the roof rails), as I recently saw an example of in the B8 thread.

 

[northpole]

Yeah it's like that one in the B8 topic rusting on the seam of the struttower inside the engine bay... my advise to him was get another one and swap the engine over since he tuned it.

 

[northpole]

and now i'm looking at getting red coilpacks as those grey ones just look like $h!t. Problem is it's just a 2.0 20v so will probably cost to much to my liking as the ones in there are more like the 1.8t versions the 2.0 tfsi ones are shorter. Mweh will have a look see what i can find it has no priority at all( also some red HT paint will have the same effect lol)

 

[northpole]

i'm not paying over the odds for them... 120 pounds for a good quality NGK set so that's not happening. the reason for that price is the red ones are upgraded, basically the coilpacks are the tops found on the OEM R8 ones with the bottom being the same found on the 1.8t's (which are the same as the ones found ALT engine)... Will find some High Temperture paint and paint them red and black just to bring it all in line. I'll also redo the small engine cover as the letters and rings have faded a bit. and i'll probably add some extra red to the intake part just to make it all look a bit better under the bonnet. But it has no priority at all.

 

[Charlie Farley]

Towbar swap all completed and coding corrected, and very happy with results.
Now ready to hook up the trailers should the need arise.
It cost me £350 for the Westafalia kit, but fitting was free by myself, and I managed to retain the factory fit wiring so it was a win-win situation.

 

[Jamsmoo]

I tried to find the video again, where an American cut a B7 in half along the sill. It's very substantial with at least one inner sill. Where the seam comes together there are three layers spot welded - in it's intact form this provided a very strong seam; strong enough to take the car's weight on lift arms and jacks for changing the wheel. Obviously where corroison sets in this seam delaminates and splits, weakening it and leading to it being folded over when it's improperly jacked. It was all hot dipped galvanised from new but road salt will eventually happily corrode anything, even aluminimum, especially soaked in a mud sponge. Furthermore around the end of 2006, there's some evidence Audi started cheapening out on the thickness of the galvanised layer - many B8s seem to rust worse than B6s and B7s (and some later B7s along the roof rails), as I recently saw an example of in the B8 thread.

My ex b7 an 08 had the roof rail issue

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[B7Tourer]

Yeah it's like that one in the B8 topic rusting on the seam of the struttower inside the engine bay... my advise to him was get another one and swap the engine over since he tuned it.

That was the one - you could see the gravel path right through it! The worst I've ever seen on any Audi I'm not exagerrating when I say I've never seen rust as bad since the infamous Lancia Beta of the eighties. The B8's had very bad corrosion problems on the front wings and the Avant tailgates around the lights too.

My ex b7 an 08 had the roof rail issue

From data I posted a while back it was something like a 40% micron reduction in the galavanising thickness. Further cost reductions during this period can be seen in the lack of standard plastic scuttle covers from the B6 too.

 

[northpole]

Now i know why they o for b7 money in certain cases... anyway, back to what i did to the car today... i cleaned the windscreen on the inside today, went out this morning and had this constant white glare on the windscreen, was the inside that did it as after the car warmed up it literally went away... I also noticed some marks on the inside so i just gave it a once over with some white vinagar and some papertowels... it's now completely clear, I also did the outside for good measure as i noticed that was also really bad. the inside windows and rear windscreen are all fine it was just the windscreen being that filthy... but TBT the last time i cleaned the inside of the windscreen was last year. will do it more often now as 9 out of 10 times i can't be bothered to clean it when i do the rest of the interior ( i know that's me just being lazy)

 

[Matt275]

Now i know why they o for b7 money in certain cases... anyway, back to what i did to the car today... i cleaned the windscreen on the inside today, went out this morning and had this constant white glare on the windscreen, was the inside that did it as after the car warmed up it literally went away... I also noticed some marks on the inside so i just gave it a once over with some white vinagar and some papertowels... it's now completely clear, I also did the outside for good measure as i noticed that was also really bad. the inside windows and rear windscreen are all fine it was just the windscreen being that filthy... but TBT the last time i cleaned the inside of the windscreen was last year. will do it more often now as 9 out of 10 times i can't be bothered to clean it when i do the rest of the interior ( i know that's me just being lazy)

I use Bohle glass cleaner, it's an aerosol...great stuff, but if you use too much of it I swear it leaves a residue which likes to fog up quite easily. Key is use it very sparingly.

 

[northpole]

I normally just use water and a newspaper... but i didn't have any newspapers at hand , the acid in the ink actually leaves the windscreen clean and marks free, yes it's oldskool but it works..actually even older than the use of white vinegar. I will however go over it with a microfibre cloth soon just to make sure it's absolutely streak free( and only on the inside)

 

[Charlie Farley]

Ordered a set of new 20" alloys for the old barge today with nice new rubber fitted.
should be here in a few days, hopefully will fit without issue, but that's never always the case.

 

[Charlie Farley]

Also invested in a new low profile trolley Jack, and 18v angle grinder, it's just like christmas...lol
One can never have too many tools.
Got a good deal on both from my least favorite company , ECP....they have there uses .

 

[Charlie Farley]

may lash out on a new impact driver too.

 

[Jamsmoo]

A long standing temptation I finally succumbed to is nearing completion
kept me busy of an evening the last week or 2
Just waiting on q5 pad sensors ,b8 s5 disks and a few hours of agreeable daylight
Considering a proper write up once I’ve negated all the ins and outs


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Charlie Farley]

Looking great chap.

 

[Charlie Farley]

Will look brilliant when fitted with some S5 discs, awaiting pics

 

[Charlie Farley]

Awaiting delivery this morning of the new 20" allroad alloys....
On the B7 front, went to have a look at one yesterday , really nice overall except for the engine that was well past its best date, gave it a miss, given his asking price, oh well , onto the next one.

 

[Charlie Farley]

I've been on the lookout for other a6 c6 allroads on the roads and have yet to see another one, not sure if that a good or bad thing

 

[Charlie Farley]

Just fancied a change in style from my normal choices ,Wowcher