No point overspending when you can get the same functionality for much less and still make it look great. The paint idea should tie everything together nicely under the bonnet, especially with the refreshed engine cover and intake accents. It’s a good balance between performance and aesthetics, and since it’s not a priority, you can take your time and do it right.
What have you done to your Audi A4 B7 today?
- Thread starter Dani_B19
- Start date
I've not been on the forum that much of late, so I've probaly missed a fair bit, will do some backtracking to see who's been doing what, or lack of it......
I'm still in the allroad , which does surprise me lol, its working well , not a patch on the old B7 bus but it serves its purpose.
Ive decided the current alloys are not quite the righ style wise, just a bit too angular on the rounded allroad design, nice alloys but not for the allroad.
I'm still in the allroad , which does surprise me lol, its working well , not a patch on the old B7 bus but it serves its purpose.
Ive decided the current alloys are not quite the righ style wise, just a bit too angular on the rounded allroad design, nice alloys but not for the allroad.
Sadly they dont have the centre caps which is not uncommon having had these sytle rims before in 18" and 19" .
Luckliy I struck a very good deal on bthe rims so had room to order a new set to match.
When fitted, they should look nice , I just need to find a road surface that doesn't resemble a battlefield.
, that maybe more of a challenge.
Luckliy I struck a very good deal on bthe rims so had room to order a new set to match.
When fitted, they should look nice , I just need to find a road surface that doesn't resemble a battlefield.
, that maybe more of a challenge.
Sadly I never managed to get a set of the 20" D2/3's fitted to the A4 , but have made up for it by getting a set on the Allroad instead. 
About a week ago, I went to London and noticed pronounced unbalance at motorway speeds, even though tracking is now bang on. On inspecting the remaining two Pirelli P zeros (on the rear) they were virtually bold; again probably just over 10K - terrible terrible tyres. So yesterday new PS5s to make them all round now. I got them to swap front to rear, to offset any slight wear. Took it for a motorway spin, and glad to say perfect now!
She passed 280,000 miles on the way to London (Autopay Ulez; justpark app for parking - still much cheaper than the train, for this Euro 4 diesel). That means we're around the next 6K service interval; this time full to include fuel/air/cabin filters. I'm sticking to 5w30 LiquiMoly III LL, it's been very good and there is still no increased oil consumption - the same just under 1 litre in 6000 miles, which is well under new maximum acceptable consumption, after all these miles. Next year will be the third cambelt change under my ownership, which should see her good to 350-380,000. I have little fear she will make that comfortably. Apart from this nothing else to report, and hopefully all the major stuff is behind me; she still scrubs up like a well kept 5 year old, even though she will be 20 in May.
She passed 280,000 miles on the way to London (Autopay Ulez; justpark app for parking - still much cheaper than the train, for this Euro 4 diesel). That means we're around the next 6K service interval; this time full to include fuel/air/cabin filters. I'm sticking to 5w30 LiquiMoly III LL, it's been very good and there is still no increased oil consumption - the same just under 1 litre in 6000 miles, which is well under new maximum acceptable consumption, after all these miles. Next year will be the third cambelt change under my ownership, which should see her good to 350-380,000. I have little fear she will make that comfortably. Apart from this nothing else to report, and hopefully all the major stuff is behind me; she still scrubs up like a well kept 5 year old, even though she will be 20 in May.
I forgot to add; whilst I was having the new tyres and swapping wheels done, I had a chance to inspect on the ramps if the Lanoguard had survived winter. I'm glad to say it's completely intact. It really is good stuff and because of the combination of the grease and spray really stays put. I'll be doing it every September or so, but it looks as fresh as when I applied it.
It's very easy and quick to apply - maybe an hour or so to thoroughly cover every bit of the underside; but you're probably better off borrowing a ramp to do it properly, as I did - there's some inside of the sills and deep into the subframes, that would be hard to get to otherwise. I never took off the wheel arch covers or other plastic shielding, apart from engine/gearbox cover neither.
Good to hear, but garages in my neck of the woods guard their ramps like crazy... they don't want me to use them at all not even after hours or on closed days... I asked most of them, and all say they can't do it because of insurance and health and safety regulations.
If I ever win the lottery, I'll make sure to have a fully kitted out garage with a bridge or a pit for myself.
If I ever win the lottery, I'll make sure to have a fully kitted out garage with a bridge or a pit for myself.
And back ontopic: I washed the car today. By hand, nothing special, cleaned the wheels and put on some tire dressing...funny how a dirty b7 looks like a shed, but a clean one looks like so much younger than it actually is.
washed it yesterday again since it needed to be done thanks to the sand from the sahara... parked next to mine is a 2nd gen A5 convertible in white... even though it's way younger the B7 still stands proud next to it and doesn't look ugly or dated.
Yeah, even when next to newer Audis they still can hold their own.
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@B7Tourer yours does look like it just drove out of a showroom though... mine does have a few little bits that need sorting out bodywise but it still polishes up well... Something i've planned to do sometime coming summer. front bumper has a little scuff, as does the rear bumper (well more of a few indents in the paint) that have been there since i bought the car. First i need to replace the exhaust. I'm still waiting on @Charlie Farley to contact me, failing that I'll be looking at getting a custom exhaust made up. also saves me from laying under the car replacing it.
Thanks Northpole but it took a lot of work to get there - a good dent man, my brother's body shop, later a good local paint man and fiddling with cosmetics/parts over the years; only worth it to me on such a car. Still I've got all the car I need now. Thoroughly recommend a custom exhaust job - my stainless one was only £350 and made a huge difference, I was never happy with the ugly sooty almost hidden downpipes.
Yeah, I'll be looking around my local places to see if they can fabricate something for me. The reason why I'm waiting is that Rob asked me to be patient, so that's what i'm doing. But my rear box needs replacing at the moment it's leak free, but it's rusting away.
Can't complain about it as it's 21 years old.
Can't complain about it as it's 21 years old.
Interestingly, I understand the Audi exhausts may be stainless on the inside. My centrebox's outer skin had rusted through some time ago but it never failed the MOT. This is why the aftermarket steel ones are now rubbish and stainless the only viable alternative (the genuine OEM ones if you can get them are very expensive). My decision to get it done was more cosmetic than anything but I think there is less back pressure too.
Yes, the middle box is doing the exact same on mine but doesn't leak, unlike the rear one.
It actually has rotten right where the rear hanger is connected ... it's a hole, i patch it every time with a piece of metal, exhaust bandage, and exhaust paste. It stops it from leaking but the last time I did it, the hole has gotten bigger (and yes I did cut the worst part of the rust away, than used rust converter to stop it getting worse)
So it's time to replace it, and i rather have a complete stainless catback if they can keep the noise down. I love how quiet the car is, and for me, the exhaust being quite silent is an enjoyable part of the car.
It actually has rotten right where the rear hanger is connected ... it's a hole, i patch it every time with a piece of metal, exhaust bandage, and exhaust paste. It stops it from leaking but the last time I did it, the hole has gotten bigger (and yes I did cut the worst part of the rust away, than used rust converter to stop it getting worse)
So it's time to replace it, and i rather have a complete stainless catback if they can keep the noise down. I love how quiet the car is, and for me, the exhaust being quite silent is an enjoyable part of the car.
Slightly gutted, just missed out on a set of tidy rear door cards with blinds and window frames to retrofit, exact match to my interior as well from a chap breaking online, I was just too slow…
Never mind, that’s 2 retrofits I’ve missed out on this year summer is coming…
Never mind, that’s 2 retrofits I’ve missed out on this year summer is coming…
It happens I've missed cars being sold for scrap money in my neck of the woods... seriously annoying, because by the time i found them, the parts i wanted were either half sold or sold already.
I'm just waiting for another one to pop up.
I'm just waiting for another one to pop up.
I've just done the full service. The vacuum pump I bought was excellent - took out the full amount and so quick and easy. After much reflection I took Northpole's advice and moved to 5w40 Castrol Edge 505.01 PD specific oil; realising without a DPF from new, there's no need on my car to stick to 5w30 507.00, and the manual actually says so. I may still use the the LiquiMoly 5w30 I bought come next winter. Naturally on slightly thicker oil it sounds a bit smoother too. Oil filter came off easily this time since I had used the correct torque setting last time. Fuel filter and the diesel that came out of it was still clean and clear as a whistle too, so the tandem pump must be good - always has been smooth in delivery on premium fuel and although I change it more frequently than recommended, any issues would have been readily apparent. Air filter looked almost like new too and that was changed about 15K ago. All in all this 280,000 + miles diesel (281,112 to be precise) continues to amaze me, even though everyday is a bonus day in high mileage land.
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@B7Tourer I'm glad to read you've found the engine to be in good nick, running clean and to smooth, since you've been using liquimoly 5w30 you've been using one of the best oils for your engine. I hope you stuck with that brand, simply because of the extra additives they added to their oils. that said my old mk4 tdi 110 (non PD) drove to the scrappy at 470,000 + miles. and the reason why it went to the scrappy was it needed welding, and a full respray. However i started running 5w40 since 70.000 miles (as that's when i bought it). The engine was than dropped into a banger racer from the owner of that scrappy, and lived on for another 2 years.
That all said you are just over halfway of what a well maintained diesel engine is capable off, and i wouldn't be surprised if you actually manage to tripple that amount of miles, mine only went to the scrappy because i refused to deal with the rotting shell.
PS I spoke to @Charlie Farley about the exhaust (which is in perfect condition) and we came to a deal, so I'll soon be laying under the car replacing the old rotten single exhaust for an OEM dual exhaust. I'll need 2 extra hangers. one for the rear and one for the front of the OS rear box. Oww and i'l get the tips once the exhaust are on the car because I want them sitting just right (plus i don't know the exact diameter of the pipe that holds the tips)
That all said you are just over halfway of what a well maintained diesel engine is capable off, and i wouldn't be surprised if you actually manage to tripple that amount of miles, mine only went to the scrappy because i refused to deal with the rotting shell.
PS I spoke to @Charlie Farley about the exhaust (which is in perfect condition) and we came to a deal, so I'll soon be laying under the car replacing the old rotten single exhaust for an OEM dual exhaust. I'll need 2 extra hangers. one for the rear and one for the front of the OS rear box. Oww and i'l get the tips once the exhaust are on the car because I want them sitting just right (plus i don't know the exact diameter of the pipe that holds the tips)
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Thanks Northpole! Wow! 470K +! VE ALH I presume? They are legendary. I do believe you're right, it's possible with care, but it is highly unlikely I will see triple the mileage in this car, at my age sadly, even if the car hopefully lives on (500K @15K per year = 33 years approx - I'd be 94 lol!). Yes I did stick to LiquiMoly and I really wanted Top Tec 4100 5W-40, but too short notice, so for the next 6K the Castrol Edge will do, it's PD specified and 505.01, so has the right additives - next time though 4100 (if I don't use the 5w30 LiquiMoly for winter).
Good news about the exhaust, it will look smart - you've got the dual valance as well I presume?
Good news about the exhaust, it will look smart - you've got the dual valance as well I presume?
Nope the ALH is 90 BHP mine was the AHF and i did have bigger bosio nozzles, changed the 12mm VE pump impeller to a 13mm one, and did the hammermod, added an oversized downpipe and it was pushing just shy of 150bhp... without a remap.. thing was the remap would have to be done on a bench since the AHF has the locked ecu and part of the ecu is in the ve-pump... so i didn't bother with it as it had loads of go and torque extra. I did however had to replace the oem clutch 3 times in my ownership... and number 4 was due when i drove it to the scrappy lol. But i did the religous services every 6 months ( yes twice a year) and the engine just kept going strong, although i did pull the comlete engine apart at 70k miles and replaced every gasket, rubber and bearing since i was going to keep the car until it died... basically the shell was dead and i wasn't going to revive it again.
Yes i got lucky and found a brand new one NOS from a seller was watching it for months and no-one bought it, i got it for half the asking price... it's not painted and i like the contrast it has with the painted rearbumper... so it'll stay satin black, it gives it more of a difuser look. Yeah It'll look good as that was the first thing i noticed when i parked next to a 2.0tfsi.. The balanced look of those pipes sticking out from each corner... and ever since i've hated my single exit oem pipe. But if it wasn't rotting i wouldn't change it.. i don't really replace stuff anymore unless it's broken. Something i think is a good thing as, the moment i start to modify, i don't sto in time and usually end up spending way more than the car is worth. (point in case the golf was on porshe cayenna wheels they costed an arm and a leg, and that was with the wrong tires so i had to buy new rubber and pcd adapters just to fit the wheels, golf was fully polybushed, on proper coilovers, had a stiffer audi A3 rear axle and subframe, bigger brakes full leather recaro interior etc etc etc... and that me just disregarding the audio setup i put in it. I'm trying to keep it sensible this time around.
Yes i got lucky and found a brand new one NOS from a seller was watching it for months and no-one bought it, i got it for half the asking price... it's not painted and i like the contrast it has with the painted rearbumper... so it'll stay satin black, it gives it more of a difuser look. Yeah It'll look good as that was the first thing i noticed when i parked next to a 2.0tfsi.. The balanced look of those pipes sticking out from each corner... and ever since i've hated my single exit oem pipe. But if it wasn't rotting i wouldn't change it.. i don't really replace stuff anymore unless it's broken. Something i think is a good thing as, the moment i start to modify, i don't sto in time and usually end up spending way more than the car is worth. (point in case the golf was on porshe cayenna wheels they costed an arm and a leg, and that was with the wrong tires so i had to buy new rubber and pcd adapters just to fit the wheels, golf was fully polybushed, on proper coilovers, had a stiffer audi A3 rear axle and subframe, bigger brakes full leather recaro interior etc etc etc... and that me just disregarding the audio setup i put in it. I'm trying to keep it sensible this time around.
This is why I never bothered with tuning - my original clutch lasted 220K and then only was taken out by the failed slave cylinder I'm sure my engine has never been apart - well done though - bearings seem to last forever and the 2.0 TDIs have bearings even on the balance shafts as well as the camshafts. The DOHCs seem to suffer far less than the later PD SOHC 1.9s too, at least mine are still good.
Sensible, preventative, maintenance is good - it's what gave my engine it's true chance at a long life - by fitting the uprated oil pump before it inevitably failed.
yes it's all in the maintenance, the clutch kinda was my fault as i put in a a superlight alluminium flywheel, but didn't put in an uprated clutch but the oem ones were strong enough to cope with the torque. would have been better with an uprated clutch but i figured at the going prices well it would be cheaper to just replace them (i was right lol)
that all said this time i don't want to modify the engine though, and if it wasn't for the exhaust rusting away, i wouldn't even bother. Don't get wrong i have retrofitted flappy pedals and cruise control.. but that is just to enhance the comfort, same as the s-line pedals, and the welcome projectors on the doors.
that all said this time i don't want to modify the engine though, and if it wasn't for the exhaust rusting away, i wouldn't even bother. Don't get wrong i have retrofitted flappy pedals and cruise control.. but that is just to enhance the comfort, same as the s-line pedals, and the welcome projectors on the doors.
well in the light of the nice dry weather i'm giving the car a wash and interior clean, wah is the 2 bucket treatment followed by cleaning the wheels and adding some fresh tire dressing. i know for most this isn't worth a mention but i left the interior to get grubby since winter started hitting last year. It's well and trully filthy on the inside, it's so bad i haven't taken a picture sitting insede the car in months. So not only will it get the hoover and the interior brushes used, mats will be washed and hung to dry. Oh and since there is yet another strain of illness going around the interior will get a desinfectant used on both the hard surfaces and the soft ones. Better be safe than sorry. I just use a home version for that, it's Detol anti bacterial kitchen and hard surface cleaner. And the main reason why i use that is it doesn't leave any wax nor fatty layer behind. Just a 99.9% of bacteria gets killed off... That should do the trick since I always pre-clean with hot soapy water.
took me most of the day but the car interior looks like it did after i just bought it (a bit better since i retrofitted some bits now) and the outside after a wash always looks like it's a younger car than it is, once it's clean. it was needed as i ended up cleaning of black marks from dirty hands on the lighter parts of the interior too. At least now the car is clean both on the out- and inside. Plus it's bacteria free and smells a lot nicer.
Good stuff Northpole! I'm OCD about the interior. After replacing every worn switch (there weren't many, better quality then), gearknob and surround, carpets etc. she looks very new and I like to keep it clean. Still have to fit the new window switch pack surround and broken speaker grille (that I have already) on the driver's door to make it perfect. The cloth seats show hardly any wear at all and again come up like new - I have used a sealant on them too. We take it for granted but people always comment on the quality of interior fixtures and fittings and Audi's from this era are very good in that regard, as I can see when I am in my neighbour's brand new A4.
yeah i'm the same normally, but the weather from last year up until now just made me give it a constant, nope not today.. simply because i need to use an extention cord to get the hoover out. My longest one isn't waterproof. I hate those vacuum machines at car detailers and garages, as they never pickup all the stuff plus you can't get into the nooks an crannies... I spend well over an hour with the hoover, should give you an idea of how dirty it was, plus the fact that i cleaned every nook and cranny, and even used the detail brush to get into the smaller bits and clean them out. I even pulled the airvents out, used both the detail brush and the hoover, on the vents and the inside of the ducts ( OCD is a wierd and wonderful thing).
I normally can give the OCD the i can't be bothered and disregard the need to clean and organize stuff but once i start... there is no stopping until i have it exactly how i want it. Super deep cleaned and looking as new as possible. My interior strips are the checkered ones and have a few scratches in them that really annoy me, but nothing i can do about it, other than replace with better, wrap or smooth and paint them... the latter i have been thinking about a lot since that would give me the option of matching bringing in more of the murdered out look but black ontop of grey and black makes for one dark interior... i did it before to a few other cars and this time around I'll just leave it be. Car was already murderedout when i bought t no need to add more darkness to the mix. And nope another colour won't do otherwise i would have wrapped them already ( i'm not a fake carbon fibre lover so that is completely out of the question so no wrap will be used) I did look about to get the brushed aluminium versions of the B6 as i don't mind those but i haven't found a complete set yet that goes for a decent price.
I normally can give the OCD the i can't be bothered and disregard the need to clean and organize stuff but once i start... there is no stopping until i have it exactly how i want it. Super deep cleaned and looking as new as possible. My interior strips are the checkered ones and have a few scratches in them that really annoy me, but nothing i can do about it, other than replace with better, wrap or smooth and paint them... the latter i have been thinking about a lot since that would give me the option of matching bringing in more of the murdered out look but black ontop of grey and black makes for one dark interior... i did it before to a few other cars and this time around I'll just leave it be. Car was already murderedout when i bought t no need to add more darkness to the mix. And nope another colour won't do otherwise i would have wrapped them already ( i'm not a fake carbon fibre lover so that is completely out of the question so no wrap will be used) I did look about to get the brushed aluminium versions of the B6 as i don't mind those but i haven't found a complete set yet that goes for a decent price.
Yes I've got the same chequered aluminimum strips in mine; the only bit that really bugged me was the gearstick surround, which I managed to find almost like new after much searching, for years in fact. There is a bit of scratching inevitably on the driver's strip and I've tried to find a replacement for that but it doesn't bother me too much and any secondhand I've seen on eBay, are much worse there - I'll keep looking, but it's not a big deal. The rest are almost perfect. I've never been a fan of carbon fibre, whether authentic or wrapped, it just doesn't look great to me personally. The brushed allys are good and probably less scratch prone but I'm not about to change up everything now.
On a different theme, I've been thinking about the next cambelt change, especially before the next MOT in July. Checking my records I last had it done when I had the KMB 100mm hex key/balance shaft upgrade done in June '22 at about 231K miles, so at present mileage, I'm good for another 2 years/ or 30K. I thought it was 220K, so I'm not going to worry or bother for this coming MOT at least, which is good
On a different theme, I've been thinking about the next cambelt change, especially before the next MOT in July. Checking my records I last had it done when I had the KMB 100mm hex key/balance shaft upgrade done in June '22 at about 231K miles, so at present mileage, I'm good for another 2 years/ or 30K. I thought it was 220K, so I'm not going to worry or bother for this coming MOT at least, which is good
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yeah i was thinking about it yesterday my timingbelt is up in the next 2 years also I'll probably do it somewhere summertime next year mainly because i don't do the mileage i used to anymore. good to read i'm not the only one that thinks ahead of time... and yes those checkered aluminium interior strips in mine are damaged, every single one of them... i now get why the previous owner wrapped the lot in black vinyl but i pulled it off since i disliked the tone it gave the interior. As i said i'll run into a b6 one day that still has al the strips and i'll take the lot as the brushed aluminium ones can be simply repaired from damage (if you brush with the grain) these checkered ones just leave no room for that...
But it hasn't got any priority it's just the part i dislike... and if it goes really bad i might just smooth them and paint them with RALLS aluminium wheel silver... and give it 6 or 9 coats of clear to make sure it stays really nice for a longtime. Just need to find an undamaged esp on/off switch as i noticed yesterday it's got a slight scratch on it showing the white under it. other than that the rest is all fine.
But it hasn't got any priority it's just the part i dislike... and if it goes really bad i might just smooth them and paint them with RALLS aluminium wheel silver... and give it 6 or 9 coats of clear to make sure it stays really nice for a longtime. Just need to find an undamaged esp on/off switch as i noticed yesterday it's got a slight scratch on it showing the white under it. other than that the rest is all fine.
The only worn switches on mine were the light switch, which you often see - very ugly too IMV lol. I replaced that with new; and the heater buttons of which a few were worn and see through. I bought a secondhand heater unit off eBay, it was the wrong type, for single din but the buttons were perfect, so I dissassembled both and swapped the buttons over to my unit, they are identical in both units, fortunately. You can get stick ons for the heater but they are no way of the same OEM quality.
yes i noticed that it's the same switch (in both use and setup) as used on the mk4 golf and they are known to get damaged easily... mine luckily is just fine.. just the esp switch that has a little scratch. hardly noticeble but once you've seen it, it can't be unseen. i try to not look at it.
I'm getting my bonnet resprayed next week - I noticed after its last valet a very small amount of laquer peel on the front edge and the stone chips could do with being sorted; it's a little disappointing, since I'm so fastidious, but to be fair, it was sprayed last by my brother some years ago, whereas the rest of the front including the wings much more recently. It's hardly noticeable but it is to me lol. It's an opportunity also to sort a very slight imperfection left by the dent guy who sorted one on it soon after I got it too. Other than that it's in very good condition with zero rust so worth spraying properly.
The Castrol Edge 5w40 has been excellent with zero oil consumption too; so I'll be sticking to it come winter/summer from now on. New suspension, tracking and Michelin PS5s have been spot on too and she's coming up to the best fettle she's ever been in, for the Autumn years of her life.
I've had my eye on a almost perfect roof headliner, to replace the slighty drooping, modestly pinned one I've got; but I'm pretty much of the mind that's it for interior mods - it is what it is, hardly anyone will notice and everything is already as tip top as a near 300,000 mile car could really be; and many others at less than half that too
The Castrol Edge 5w40 has been excellent with zero oil consumption too; so I'll be sticking to it come winter/summer from now on. New suspension, tracking and Michelin PS5s have been spot on too and she's coming up to the best fettle she's ever been in, for the Autumn years of her life.
I've had my eye on a almost perfect roof headliner, to replace the slighty drooping, modestly pinned one I've got; but I'm pretty much of the mind that's it for interior mods - it is what it is, hardly anyone will notice and everything is already as tip top as a near 300,000 mile car could really be; and many others at less than half that too
The previous owner of my BRD used to use Castrol Edge 5w40, he used to buy it himself and then when it went in for an oil service (every 5k miles or before lol) they would use that.
Today was hoping to do my ballast packs for the headlights, but whilst the bumper would come off (or at least pull forward a bit) there's a very awkward torx for the headlights that is deeply buried. There's a small access hole on the wing lip or front panel where you need a very long 1/4 inch extension which I don't have.
I do have a long enough extension, but it's half inch and doesn't even nearly fit through the access hole.
I've been very quiet recently, still love the car but where I work hasn't been able to do MOT's for 3 months so mine is now SORN'd - never thought I'd see the day, but it also isn't taxed as I need an MOT to tax it. Yes, I could just go anywhere for an MOT, but I don't know any of them, plus have other cars I can use.
Hopefully I can get the MOT done at work over the next few weeks.
Today was hoping to do my ballast packs for the headlights, but whilst the bumper would come off (or at least pull forward a bit) there's a very awkward torx for the headlights that is deeply buried. There's a small access hole on the wing lip or front panel where you need a very long 1/4 inch extension which I don't have.
I do have a long enough extension, but it's half inch and doesn't even nearly fit through the access hole.
I've been very quiet recently, still love the car but where I work hasn't been able to do MOT's for 3 months so mine is now SORN'd - never thought I'd see the day, but it also isn't taxed as I need an MOT to tax it. Yes, I could just go anywhere for an MOT, but I don't know any of them, plus have other cars I can use.
Hopefully I can get the MOT done at work over the next few weeks.
I got a long torx for that specific thing... I hate how stupidly deep it is but it's the way it is... let alone the fact that they made it xtra hard to line the buper up properly... all they had to do was put 2 bolts in the slampanel so the front always sits in the exact same place... but no let's add some form of adjustability and make them so they break easily.... the b8/ b8.5/ b9 models don't have them and the bumper always goes on straight. No need to fumble about to get the bumper to sit straight n those models (i've changed a few front grills on those so was surprised how easy the front lines up)
Hope you get a chance for the MOT work Matt - I understand only trusting one place to do it too - what work is required btw?
Interestingly I've just been reading up on the 170 TDI from some old forum posts. It was very common for owners to gut the DPF understandably and then have a lot of smoke afterwards. Understandable too but a proper running 140, that came without the DPF, shouldn't smoke too much. It appears that the early DPF on these cars is of the combined cat and DPF type - the 140 came 'DPF' prepared for retrofitting, should you have been so foolishly inclined. So it also appears you can simply replace the DPF for a 140 cat (a simple 2 way convertor). They are bolt on bolt off, and that would satisfy any MOT too, I should think, since they look pretty identical. The cat itself does reduce some smoke/particles, hence why they don't smoke too much, though not to the extent of a proper DPF, obviously. Anyway it's an option for the future of your unicorn pristine example; and something I would definitely consider if it were mine. The cat new can be had for between 1-200 pounds, is a simple swap and works out cheaper than a gutting often - still has to be mapped out of course.
5k OCIs is a very very good thing, on these engines ( I do 6-8K normally, mostly 6K now). Almost every single failure of the balance shaft/hex key were on LL 20K OCIs. Those that were on fixed 10K and less, such as taxis often covered very high mileages without failure, with no mods. I was recently in an UBer and the driver said he had a passat with the same engine that got to 350K before it went, for example. Castrol Edge do say their 5w40 is for DPF cars too (as well as PDs) but Audi stipulated 5w30 for DPF fitted cars. Oil tech may have improved a little since then though.