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Alfie the a4's build thread.
- Thread starter Dani_B19
- Start date
So bit of a weird old day yesterday.
Set myself a few jobs,
Remove and clean under the battery
Fit new washer jets
Debadge the rear.
So the new jets have arrived (didn't bother with pics as we all know what they look like) straight away they looked abit different, almost like they felt better quality if that makes sense. So off I went to fit them, removed the old ones and went to fit the new ones and straight away I realised they arnt the same, the new ones are slightly larger, to bad thing just needed some persuading to fit.
And they are a lot better, quite impressed now tbh, at the end my old ones seemed fine and more than acceptable but the new ones are better so the old ones will be going on eBay.
Set myself a few jobs,
Remove and clean under the battery
Fit new washer jets
Debadge the rear.
So the new jets have arrived (didn't bother with pics as we all know what they look like) straight away they looked abit different, almost like they felt better quality if that makes sense. So off I went to fit them, removed the old ones and went to fit the new ones and straight away I realised they arnt the same, the new ones are slightly larger, to bad thing just needed some persuading to fit.
And they are a lot better, quite impressed now tbh, at the end my old ones seemed fine and more than acceptable but the new ones are better so the old ones will be going on eBay.
Next up was the battery, what a **** that was to remove, what a ****** stupid design for the retaining plate. Anyway after a lot of swearing and grunting out it was.
Forgot to take a picture of the area once the plastic support tray has been removed but it was in a similar state, anyway it wasn't too bad, nothing that would block the drain hole. Anyway I blasted it all down and made sure the hole was unblocked, the other side was totally clear but flushed it still, forgot to get any after pictures but needless to say it was nice and clean
.
So onto the issue I had, on the s3 the negative terminal is on the right not the left, me been in my own world removed the positive first, still never thought anything of this, was only when I refitted the battery and saw the positive terminal spark I realised the **** up, straight away I realised what I did and **** myself, put everything back together and wen to fire the car up and that's when the issues started, the traction control light was on, out came vagcom but it wouldn't clear the error, ****, after reading a few post I was none he wiser, so took the car for a spin, at first nothing really worked, the parking sensor were going crazy, the brake pedal wasn't working and the traction light was still in, ****** mint I thought, anyway after 200 yards everything went fine again.
Doing some more research on the web this seems a common fault/issue with the 8e, hear cats and their ****** electrics eh.
Forgot to take a picture of the area once the plastic support tray has been removed but it was in a similar state, anyway it wasn't too bad, nothing that would block the drain hole. Anyway I blasted it all down and made sure the hole was unblocked, the other side was totally clear but flushed it still, forgot to get any after pictures but needless to say it was nice and clean
.So onto the issue I had, on the s3 the negative terminal is on the right not the left, me been in my own world removed the positive first, still never thought anything of this, was only when I refitted the battery and saw the positive terminal spark I realised the **** up, straight away I realised what I did and **** myself, put everything back together and wen to fire the car up and that's when the issues started, the traction control light was on, out came vagcom but it wouldn't clear the error, ****, after reading a few post I was none he wiser, so took the car for a spin, at first nothing really worked, the parking sensor were going crazy, the brake pedal wasn't working and the traction light was still in, ****** mint I thought, anyway after 200 yards everything went fine again.
Doing some more research on the web this seems a common fault/issue with the 8e, hear cats and their ****** electrics eh.
So the last job was to debadge the rear and give the car a clean which it was well over due, due to the earlier issues though I was now pushed for time.
So before;
After;
I think it looks so much cleaner, can't wait to paint the parking sensors, fit the sline diffuser and also some sort of rear spoiler which I still haven't found.
So before;
After;
I think it looks so much cleaner, can't wait to paint the parking sensors, fit the sline diffuser and also some sort of rear spoiler which I still haven't found.
So into the front end, my led fog lights and fog light resistors have finally turned up, can't wait to get these fitted, I never use my fog lights but with me havin coming home lights I just think it'll look quite cool on a night.
These will be fitted when the front end comes off for its revamp.
These will be fitted when the front end comes off for its revamp.
Ooh yeah forgot about the remote, that had lost its sync, came back once placed into the ignition and drove.
These are for the fog lights mate so will be away from anything once mounted and should keep cool with the airflow.
I know about resistor getting hot, as I said earlier in the thread the DRL ones were stupidly hot and they'll be getting externally mounted, just waiting for my side light resistors to turn up and see if they'll be internally or externally mounted also.
I know about resistor getting hot, as I said earlier in the thread the DRL ones were stupidly hot and they'll be getting externally mounted, just waiting for my side light resistors to turn up and see if they'll be internally or externally mounted also.
So after been an official bum for 2 weeks I've finally secured a new job, due to start on the 11th July, unfortunately I have had to take a pay cut but it's a change in career I needed/wanted and the room for development and promotion is far greater but it's also something that I enjoy doing so well see but hopefully the pay cut won't affect the mods too much.
Any, went to the east coast last week and the car performed amazingly, didn't miss a beat, was literally crammed to the rafters and it still managed 39mpg there and back, that was a combination of motorway and A and B roads so was well chuffed.
Has got me thinking though when we go to the lakes in August for a week the a4 won't cut it so I'm trying to currently source some roof bars and a box.
Any, went to the east coast last week and the car performed amazingly, didn't miss a beat, was literally crammed to the rafters and it still managed 39mpg there and back, that was a combination of motorway and A and B roads so was well chuffed.
Has got me thinking though when we go to the lakes in August for a week the a4 won't cut it so I'm trying to currently source some roof bars and a box.
On another side note, the misses thought he car needed a mascot (all my previous cars have always had one but just not for around to getting one for Alfie) anyway, Father's Day came and among he prezies was this:
Some other bits have also turned up for the front end transformation but I'll wait until the rest comes, like a numpty though, I forgot to call Mike on Friday to complete my order which is a real pain as I want it all completed before I start the new job, first thing Monday I'll be making he call, really can't wait to get cracked on now, it's the first of the Big mods.
Well it's been 2 months since an update, between madeline, the new job and having a life I've not had much spare time for told Alfie I just admit, the parts have been slowly building up none the less haha.
So here goes.
I managed to paint the 3 replacement rear parking sensors, quite easy and was done in a day, only issue is there is a slight difference between them and the existing paint, this is purely down to the parking sensors having fresher paint. Looks tons better though.
So here goes.
I managed to paint the 3 replacement rear parking sensors, quite easy and was done in a day, only issue is there is a slight difference between them and the existing paint, this is purely down to the parking sensors having fresher paint. Looks tons better though.
Next up I fitted the bargain front grille, what a massive ball ache that was.
The front bumper is a total bitch to get off, I tried to remove it without taking the wheels off but due to my size and the size of my hands that was a no no haha, I wasted 30 minutes doing this and ended up removing the wheels, lesson learnt.
So with the bumper off I removed the old grille but in the process I snapped a fixing on the headlight washer system, I cable ties it back together but it seems to be leaking so the bumper is coming back off.
Anyway the new grille is a piece of ****, looks great but is cheap material, every fixing point has snapped once I started tightening the screws in place, was fuming, after some careful work I got it on. That wasn't the end of the fun though, the bumper took ages to get lined up and tbh I'm still not happy with it but as I've said it's got to come back off.
So with the bumper on the next issue came to light, the wings are rusted to hell, I knew they were when I bought it, but no where near this bad, the rust was a few small dots, not its into all the area near the arch liner, problem is when taking the arch liner off it pulled all the ****** paint off, fml.
The front bumper is a total bitch to get off, I tried to remove it without taking the wheels off but due to my size and the size of my hands that was a no no haha, I wasted 30 minutes doing this and ended up removing the wheels, lesson learnt.
So with the bumper off I removed the old grille but in the process I snapped a fixing on the headlight washer system, I cable ties it back together but it seems to be leaking so the bumper is coming back off.
Anyway the new grille is a piece of ****, looks great but is cheap material, every fixing point has snapped once I started tightening the screws in place, was fuming, after some careful work I got it on. That wasn't the end of the fun though, the bumper took ages to get lined up and tbh I'm still not happy with it but as I've said it's got to come back off.
So with the bumper on the next issue came to light, the wings are rusted to hell, I knew they were when I bought it, but no where near this bad, the rust was a few small dots, not its into all the area near the arch liner, problem is when taking the arch liner off it pulled all the ****** paint off, fml.
The other issue removing the bumper caused was the parking sensors not working, the front centre ones weren't aligned properly so I had to fiddle with them, the problem is since removing the bumper the parking sensors hate the rain, never had this issue before removing the bumper but no error codes are coming up, once dri d out they are fine.
So with the new grille on I wanted to change the fog surrounds, so I bought some honey Combe mesh off eBay. I also purchased a LCR splitter off Mike to help finish the front off, I didn't have the time when fitting the grille so it will be off again shortly.
So with the front under way I wanted to sort out the rear, so I purchased a pre painted m3 style from Taiwan, came in less than a week and the paint finish and match are spot on, only issue is this blemish, it looks worse in the picture than it actually is, I contacted the seller and they have me a full refund which I thought was win win.
I also stumbled across a glove box fridge for sale in ebay, it came with the glovebox which was no good but it was too cheap to pass up. I've got to say though the fridge was a right mess, took me over an hour to clean it up, which involved 3 separate passes with a heavy APC, it was stained with oil and all sorts, gave a final clean down with anti bac and came out really good.
Got to say it works great, really does keep drinks cold.
Got to say it works great, really does keep drinks cold.
With the money back from the rear spoiler I decided to purchase the door and foot well lights, took a while and a mess up with my order but both are finally hear, just need to fit them.
I also bought some red 5mm pre wired led's and 5mm led orders to fit in the door handles to mimic the comfort pack, already done the over head light so thought may as well for them while doing the door warning lights.
I also bought some red 5mm pre wired led's and 5mm led orders to fit in the door handles to mimic the comfort pack, already done the over head light so thought may as well for them while doing the door warning lights.
So with my trip to the lakes due I wanted to make sure the car was revived as it was due.
So I planned to fit:
Fresh oil and filter
Gold magnetic sump plug
Fuel filter
Anti bac cabin air clean
A/c regassed.
The oil and filter took longer than normal, both the filter and Sump plug had been over tightened so I had to jack the car as high as possible to get breaker bars in, total joke, if you need breaker bars for a oil change there's something wrong. Anyway I also bought the oil filter drain tube which was a god send. The oil was black also so was defo due.
The fuel filter in the over hand was a nightmare, I still need to do it as the bolt holding it in place has corroded and I just didn't have the time to spend extracting it.
The a/c regassing went great, cost £30 and was well over due, no wonder it was warm the gas was Nearly empty, I also carried out a normfest anti bac cabin air bomb clean which left a nice smell but still needs doing again as the cabin air blowers can smell fusty if the a/c isn't on
So I planned to fit:
Fresh oil and filter
Gold magnetic sump plug
Fuel filter
Anti bac cabin air clean
A/c regassed.
The oil and filter took longer than normal, both the filter and Sump plug had been over tightened so I had to jack the car as high as possible to get breaker bars in, total joke, if you need breaker bars for a oil change there's something wrong. Anyway I also bought the oil filter drain tube which was a god send. The oil was black also so was defo due.
The fuel filter in the over hand was a nightmare, I still need to do it as the bolt holding it in place has corroded and I just didn't have the time to spend extracting it.
The a/c regassing went great, cost £30 and was well over due, no wonder it was warm the gas was Nearly empty, I also carried out a normfest anti bac cabin air bomb clean which left a nice smell but still needs doing again as the cabin air blowers can smell fusty if the a/c isn't on
So that brings me into the storage issue I had facing me for the week in the lakes, as some may know having a child isn't easy when going on holiday as they end up wth more stuff than you, so knowing that the long weekend we previously had caused issues I knew there wasn't the room in the car for a week.
So I managed to get all this for a right steal, saves over £150, the wing bars are second hand, so are the feet, the feet came with the locks as well which was a nice touch, the roof box is a 420l halfords one which I got in sale, all in it cost £270 which is a bargain considering that the roof bar setup new would be over £200 haha.
So I managed to get all this for a right steal, saves over £150, the wing bars are second hand, so are the feet, the feet came with the locks as well which was a nice touch, the roof box is a 420l halfords one which I got in sale, all in it cost £270 which is a bargain considering that the roof bar setup new would be over £200 haha.
And lastly, I wanted to make sure that I was covered for any eventually on the trip, the car has a full size spare, tool kit, oem Audi tyre repair kit which consist of pump and tyre slime so I knew that was covered but with the fear of oil consumption in the back of my mind, even though mine doesn't drink that much I wanted to make sure I was covered, so I order 2 of these, £18 from mintex one for me and one for the Mrs.
So on the way home I managed to lose my rear number plate, not ideal but it did me a favour, I hated he rear plate holder but had to leave it on as I couldn't get the rear screws out, one has snapped clean off and the others lodged tight, or so I thought, I managed to extract the left bolt today, unfortunately I didn't have a tap and dye kit for the right bolt though so I opted to clean the area up, full tar and decontamination followed by a compound polish, really came up we'll I then just attacked the number plate with sticky pads, it will be coming off soon for my private plate when I can be bothered, anyway I think it looks tons better just from removing the plate holder.
With the heavy rain and it been Sunday I finally managed to hook vcds upto the car while the parking sensors weren't working to see what fault code it brought up,
****** nothing, no code or anything.
So I went into the measuring blocks and got this, the first is without the parking sensors on and the second is with the sensors on, now I also did the clicking hearing test and the passenger side left one wasn't clicking but it wasn't throwing a code up!
****** nothing, no code or anything.
So I went into the measuring blocks and got this, the first is without the parking sensors on and the second is with the sensors on, now I also did the clicking hearing test and the passenger side left one wasn't clicking but it wasn't throwing a code up!
Well I think that brings me up to date, the car does have a few issues currently,
Car makes a clacking noise in low gears when setting off (sure it's the heat shield above the turbo)
Parking sensors don't work when raining
Drivers speaker doesn't work (going to rewrite it when doing the door lights)
Front suspension creaks.
I'll be finishing off the body work and wiring etc before I start on the suspension can't justify buying more parts and not fitting them haha.
Car makes a clacking noise in low gears when setting off (sure it's the heat shield above the turbo)
Parking sensors don't work when raining
Drivers speaker doesn't work (going to rewrite it when doing the door lights)
Front suspension creaks.
I'll be finishing off the body work and wiring etc before I start on the suspension can't justify buying more parts and not fitting them haha.
Well after Nozrul sorted out a group discount with Mike for the RS4 pedal set I decided to jump in the band wagon, I always planned to buy a set but not yet, the price was too good to miss though. I ordered the 4 piece set from Mike last Thursday and they arrived promptly and well packaged as always last Saturday, this morning I decided to fit them.
Now I must say I'm handy with a set of spanners but my god this was one of the worst jobs to date I've done, so ****** fiddly.
Took just over half and hour..
Tools used were
Heat gun
Bucket of warm water
Soapy solution
Trim removal tool
Star screw driver
The effort was well worth it though.
Now I must say I'm handy with a set of spanners but my god this was one of the worst jobs to date I've done, so ****** fiddly.
Took just over half and hour..
Tools used were
Heat gun
Bucket of warm water
Soapy solution
Trim removal tool
Star screw driver
The effort was well worth it though.
Dani, seriously you choose the wrong car mate, I think you need a mini bus.......lol.
I cant help think that you would have been better with an avant given the load level of your saloon, did you have room for the rest of the family in there ....
and you carpets are letting the side down aswell....maybe a group buy on them is in the pipeline.
I set out for a avant Rob but I could not find anything with the same toys as Alfie. I have to admit he is very well specc'd for a SE and I'm a sucker for Quattro and toys haha, plus what I paid for him was joke.
The next car will be a avant for sure, now wether that's a a4 or a6 is yet to be seen.
Regarding the carpets I agree, I'm in the process of sorting them. If you have any recommendations I'd be greatly appreciated, if not my mums carpet guy (yes I know haha) has ventured into custom matts so may have to get a set off him.
The next car will be a avant for sure, now wether that's a a4 or a6 is yet to be seen.
Regarding the carpets I agree, I'm in the process of sorting them. If you have any recommendations I'd be greatly appreciated, if not my mums carpet guy (yes I know haha) has ventured into custom matts so may have to get a set off him.
Now onto the rear S-line valance.
I decided to paint it black but instead of a spray finished I went with black plastidip to retain the effect of the original valance and a factory feel with a twist, great I though, also meant less work for me haha. What I didn't count in was the can of plastidip I received was crap, after spraying 2 dusting coats that went fine, I went on to the heavier coats, this is when it went tits up, the can was causing splatter marks all over the valance, on top of this, the can wouldn't hold pressure so I was unable to keep a constant spray pattern.
I was hoping once dried and after several coats to try and rectify the issues it would turn out ok, from 10 feet it looks great, it's when you get up you can see the uneven spray marks and the splatters, shame really, I managed to get a refund from the seller and saw they had a few feedbacks claiming they were selling fakes, who knows.
So I'm going to run it S it is for now, end of the day it's easy enough to remove and it gives me time to see if I like, if I do I'll buy a fresh can, if not it will come off and be painted.
Before:
After:
I also polished the tips, had to crack the dremel out as the carbon build up was that bad haha.
I decided to paint it black but instead of a spray finished I went with black plastidip to retain the effect of the original valance and a factory feel with a twist, great I though, also meant less work for me haha. What I didn't count in was the can of plastidip I received was crap, after spraying 2 dusting coats that went fine, I went on to the heavier coats, this is when it went tits up, the can was causing splatter marks all over the valance, on top of this, the can wouldn't hold pressure so I was unable to keep a constant spray pattern.
I was hoping once dried and after several coats to try and rectify the issues it would turn out ok, from 10 feet it looks great, it's when you get up you can see the uneven spray marks and the splatters, shame really, I managed to get a refund from the seller and saw they had a few feedbacks claiming they were selling fakes, who knows.
So I'm going to run it S it is for now, end of the day it's easy enough to remove and it gives me time to see if I like, if I do I'll buy a fresh can, if not it will come off and be painted.
Before:
After:
I also polished the tips, had to crack the dremel out as the carbon build up was that bad haha.
While I'm here I may as well make a list of what I still need to do haha, I may just finish by this time next year:
To fit:
Boot spoiler
LCR splitter
LED DRL's
LED sidelights
LED fog lights
Custom mesh fog light surrounds
Foot well lights
Door warning/puddle lights
Interior LED door handle lights
V6 rubber snub mount
I do have a load more I'd like to buy but I think I better fit the above first of all haha.
To fit:
Boot spoiler
LCR splitter
LED DRL's
LED sidelights
LED fog lights
Custom mesh fog light surrounds
Foot well lights
Door warning/puddle lights
Interior LED door handle lights
V6 rubber snub mount
I do have a load more I'd like to buy but I think I better fit the above first of all haha.
coming along nicely dani,i still think the valance would look better in the same color as the rest but that's just me and i'm color blind.....well that's my excuse, nice job all the same.
Ooh I also have 5 more parking sensors, I need to paint 3 of witch, I thought I may as well replace the full set, I've replaced 3 already so may as well go the whole hog, hopefully it'll cure the intermittent issue of them not working when it rains, of which they through no fault code up for which I find weird.
