My new A4 Avant- The road to perfection!? Help?

[Paul_TDi]

Well due to family needs I have dumped the A3 Quattro and upgraded to my new beautiful A4 1.9 Sport (Sline).

Really happy with it even though I made a couple of comprises as it's only half leather but loving the alcantra(?) centres and never thought I'd have a blue car but actually think it looks stunning in ming blue. It's got quite a few extras too like cool box in glove box (would of preferred glove box space really), electric folding mirrors, Gmbh kit, RS6 STYLE wheels, 6 disc dash changer, front and rear arm rests with rear cup holders, parking sensors and a detachable audi tow bar.

Any ways here she is....











Found this random cup holder in an old oil case in the boot, thought it went in front armrest but doesn't seem a flush fit for that?



Also the boot lid strut ball joint has come loose, I hate interior work and looks like I need to remove alot of trim to get to the back nut?



Things to do though.....

Change temp sender (parts bought)
Repair hazard triangle latch (epoxy drying)
Fix the rear hinge on the boot floor (epoxy drying)
Fix the glove box lid (currently has a metal external hinge)
Fix/replace glove box damper/light switch
Replace/service the demister flap actuator
Remove the drain grommets under battery.

Think thats about it, also need to replace the tyres with 235width eventually as currently running 225.

 

[ScottD3]

Found this random cup holder in an old oil case in the boot, thought it went in front armrest but doesn't seem a flush fit for that?

That goes in the space below the glove box.
You might have a felt carpet in the bottom. Lift that up and that will clip in.

Also the boot lid strut ball joint has come loose, I hate interior work and looks like I need to remove alot of trim to get to the back nut?

That looks a bit more serious than just some interior work.
It looks like its ripped it self out of the D pillar and took some metal with it.
I hope its not cause that could be a ***** of a job to do.


EDIT:=- Lovely looking motor.

 

[Welshquattro]

Nice car m8! I have the same seats and like them more than full leather ones!

 

[glenandem]

very nice motor,loving the interior so much better than full leather!
just need to lower it a wee bit now pal and paint the grille surrounds black and it will look spot in with the nice blue paint.

 

[AlexGSi2000]

Welcome to the club, I personally prefer the half leather as opposed to the full leather.

 

[quattrojames]

Looks good, there's a thread here on repairing the loose strut ball joint, I'll have a look later if you can't find it. Was posted by Jimmeh of White Details IIRC.

Just to save you future battles, it will be a Sport not an S-Line as all B6 S-Lines were 1.8T equipped. It's a nice spec though with the half leather.

 

[Paul_TDi]

Thanks all, I've certainly been turned, I'll look forwards to winter now without cold starts haha.

Been out sorting a few bits, so temp sensor is now replaced, not test driven yet though so not sure if sorted. Coudn't work out how to fully remove battery so only managed to poke out one of the drain plugs, but that had the desired effect draining the little water that was in there. Also greased up my door hinge as it was squeaking a bit after over zealous valetors.

Not sure about lowering, I quite like the height at the moment and driving it home I got beached on a raised cover at a petrol station. Even if I do won't be a while as no funds for a bit now.

Done some searching and found the strut ball repair methods, I've bought some M8 rivnuts on ebay, so will get that sorted soon.

You mean paint the plastic grills black? I'm keeping the chrome trim.

 

[Paul_TDi]

Picture time!

Intercooler pipe removed-



Temp Sensor area



Replaced Temp sensor



How not to fix a glove box hinge-


Dismantled with a bolt test fitted



Areas around bolt and screw were packed with epoxy putty, along with a slab of putty where most put a metal bracket.



I also lubed the hinge piston and drilled a small hole in the end of the cyclinder.

Found this random wire hanging about behind the glove box with a blue earth wire cut off above. Any ideas?



I had also fixed the triangle latch but didn't put enough strengthening into the plastic. It has locked and secured it but went to open it to take a picture for here and it snapped off.

 

[Paul_TDi]

More improvements made...

Thermostat was changed on Sunday and now climbs to 90 and sits on 90 perfectly.

Also sorted out the boot strut today.

Not the neatest job maybe but certainly an improvement....

 

[666markyboy]

Looking good.... i made exactly the same transition from an A3 Quattro TS to a 1.9 tdi Avant Quattro.... i was sceptical at first as i had done it purely for MPG reasons but now i'm totally hooked on my A4.... we still have the A3 , the wife drives it but now i've mapped my avant it actuallty feels faster ... probably due to all that torque... happy days enjoy your new car i'm sure you will

 

[Paul_TDi]

Oh my quattro was a 1.9 TDI aswell. I made the transition purely for the space, I can now go shopping with wife and son and fit the pram and shopping in the boot! Before I could only fit the pram in.

I miss the quattro for driving ability but don't miss it for higher tax, mpg and higher servicing plus higher risk of issues!

 

[Paul_TDi]

Well let the modding commence!


Firstly the cheapest was to put the interior LEDs that I had in my A3 into the barge...





Nice and bright in the boot...





The cheapest lowering kit I'll ever get............... paving slabs off freecycle lol





And as of yesterday I have HID's again, hurray! Also bought some snazzy LED sidelights that are whiter than the 5000k HID's I opted for.


Everyone has seen the standard HID brightness shot so here's the install instead...














Then taaadahhhhhh...


OEM+ no!?




Kind of an upgrade I now have 235 width Rainsport 2'S

 

[Piedone]

That's a nice car over there.I hope you to enjoy it and have fun with it mate.Keep up the good work on upgrading it.

 

[Paul_TDi]

Thanks Piedone, loving the car!

Got round to giving it a coat of wax the other day, makes me love the colour even more.

 

[TwedA4]

Very nice mate. How do you rate the rain sports?

 

[Paul_TDi]

Very good! For a tyre 30 quid less than my previous favourite (Dunlop Sport SP(9000's) they certainly match them. As expected no issues at all in the dry and in the wet you can confidently take roundabouts and corners carrying speed.Would certainly recommend as a mid range(price) tyre.

 

[dubstar74]

Lovely B6 I need to repair my glovebox at some point, is yours still holding up?

 

[TwedA4]

Very good! For a tyre 30 quid less than my previous favourite (Dunlop Sport SP(9000's) they certainly match them. As expected no issues at all in the dry and in the wet you can confidently take roundabouts and corners carrying speed.Would certainly recommend as a mid range(price) tyre.

thanks mate, definately considering them as my next set after winters over. these winters are pi5h! can hardly corner with them if its wet... and the chinese budget tyres that were on there before stuck like poop on blanket lol

 

[Paul_TDi]

Which winters are you running? I don't have enough dosh to sort out a set of winter tyres/wheels so they seemed a good compromise.

Yep, glovebox still hanging strong.

 

[TwedA4]

minerva ice plus. cheap and nast things... had them lying around from our passat the we had a couple of years ago. so free

 

[Jimmy TDI]

You don't see too many in the darker blue mate it looks nice.
If you decide you want to go back to full leather let me know, as I have a mint set that I want to swap for half leathers ha ha.
Also if your not using it and want to sell the cup holder, I'll take that off your hands as I'm really missing the cup holders from my Bora since buying the Avant.

 

[Paul_TDi]

Cheers, very happy with the colour surprisingly, love it after a good wax.

Tempting but I quite like the halfs now, no cold bum in the winter or burnt in the summer. Tah anyways.

Sorry, going to keep the cup holder as sure it will be useful in the future, I know what you mean though loved the double cup holder in my mk4 golf.

I seem to have an issue with the sub, I swear most the time it's not working and very every now and again it suddenly kicks in and I get some omph behind the tune.

 

[Jimmy TDI]

Might be worth checking that the plug hasn't worked loose on it

 

[Paul_TDi]

Well it appears I was listening to the wrong music with the wrong settings.

Put on a bit of good old prodigy and tweeked the 'TONE' settings and voila 1 vibrating rear view mirror. Happy days!

Annoyingly 1 of my fog lights is now smashed, typically Lamin-x'in them was on the to do list.

Got a chip on the windscreen too but AutoGlass have repaired it nicely.

Finally got my HID's working with no warnings and no tricky timings with turning them on. Kitchen foil to the rescue!

 

[Paul_TDi]

Not really much done but it seems for every 1 thing I sort out I find another niggle.......

Some seriously bad finish on a touch up....



and someone bought the wrong colour bumper after an accident me thinks-



Thankfully you can only see it in direct sunlight as above.

So the improvement being I have centre caps again, my RS6 reps had some nasty cap in them which after having tyres fitted and wheels balanced being removed once was just too much strain for them and must were hanging on with 2 lugs or fallen off because they were glued in....



and the new improved...



I much prefer the contrast.







I'm having the interior professinally valeted on Friday as when rushing my cat to the vets at 9pm I stupidly put her in the front seat and in her fragile state she then peed. Even worse is she was going in because she was dehydrated so the pee stunk!

I'm going to order a replacement fog light this week and then thinking some Lamin-X tinting film... did smoke on my A3 which I didn't like too much. I know what I'll be doing this time.

Oh and is it normal for the arch liners to me made of CARPET!!! Seems absolute madness, no wonder my arches have the start of rust.

 

[Paul_TDi]

Well not a great deal has changed.

Mainly servicing, replaced front discs and pads myself, alternator pulley and belt, brake light switch and probably a few other bits I have forgotten.

Oh my parking sensors randomly stopped working after I finished changing my passenger window regulator, interesting timing!

More recently I have installed a new stereo, I was fed up of waiting the majority of the trip time for the CD changer to change and load a CD and having to burn any new tunes to disc, so along came this little beauty...



Only finished tampering with the install this morning to get it sitting right and sorted out a proper accessory feed to it yesterday ( How to guide) I managed to cram the Pioneer microphone into the OEM placement in the map light console. Bluetooth works excellently! Just working on the mirror link features.

 

[Chrismawa]

Nice motor mate, looks very similar to mine!

 

[leshkin]

Hey Paul, have you got your phone hooked up yet?

 

[Paul_TDi]

Nope I need to order that Link-S MHL lead really to see if Pioneer agrees with that one, as it still disconnects USB1 where the current MHL is plugged in as soon as it turns on.

I've just been content with having my USB sticks in the car I haven't bothered to sort out the niggles.

My radio has really poor signal where I live, I'm half way to work before I get good signal and cant listen to the radio with the engine off as it cuts the power to the antenna amp so might see if it improves if I attach it to the accessory live I fitted.

 

[leshkin]

Ah fair enough - I just replaced my adapter with one that provides AC charge to the phone, so now I can use Waze/GoogleMaps navigation with Google Music streaming and still get the phone charged rather than have very slow discharge

 

[Paul_TDi]

Ohhh which make adaptor did you go for? Does it still charge through USB or do you tap it into the power lines?

the Pioneer seems to be picking up the MHL cable on AV but my phone doesn't seem to work on MHL without charge, as thats what happened when I tested it on my TV.

 

[Paul_TDi]

Another boring update for me.

Unfortunately has just been servicing bills, so had 4 new tyres in the past 2 months and full bushes and control arms change.

Today I went to start taking apart my boot to investigate the parking sensor problem, took the bolts out of one of the fixing clips, had a quick look around in the side pocket for any other fixing points and noticed a little switch......flicked the switch, stuck her in reverse and hey presto, parking sensors! When removing something from that side storage pocket I must of pushed something into the undiscovered switch. Nice to have a free easy fix for once!

On the other hand my arches are getting worse fairly quickly so loose inspiration to wash her to keep the hideous truth covered.

 

[Ro55]

Mask the area rub the rust down clean and get a halfords pen to touch up...it will not look the best but will look better than rust aye? ive been applying clear coats to my rear bumper for ages.
Saving for my bumper to be sprayed but servicing keeps getting in the way.
Keep up the good work.
My boot strut is the same as yours,i need to sort that.

 

[Paul_TDi]

I'm hoping I can find some 2nd hand wings in the right colour with minimal rust that I could save as mine are past any help, large areas bubbling now. I left it all alone at first as I was hassling Audi for the repairs. Naturally that was a dead end, they found 2 repaired areas. Practically saw there eyes light up when the high readings were found.

Don't think I'll bother ever getting it reprayed, I have scratches on my door from some ***. Can cope with it being fairly poor paintwork but if it was fresh.....well!

Hardest bit of doing the bootstrut was trying to find a big enough drill bit to drill out the body for the rivnut.

 

[Ro55]

Youd be suprised what a paint correction can sort out.ill keep an eye out for some wings.but you will be in the same boat with storage marks.
Anyone who sells panels assumes your repainting them.

 

[Paul_TDi]

I can get over storage marks or something that a mobile body repair bloke can do, hell I might even give it a go myself.

Got my eye on 1 at the moment advertised as being purple, but certainly looks my colour. Trying to get a colour code off them at the moment.

Wouldn't mind having it reprayed if it was cheap but it seems soon as the wing has fairly good paint still they wack the price up. One that I have my eye on is 70 quid delivered which I think for a wing in the right colour aint bad at all.

 

[Ro55]

Just get yours sprayed,unless there rotten which i doubt it.if it comes back they havent done there job right.

 

[Paul_TDi]

So close! The one on ebay is Ming Blue, I'm Moro Blue. Literally a shade in it!

That what worries me, brother had is T4 painted a while back by a "good" local body shop, 2 years later the rust was coming through.

If I could find good wings as replacements I think the cost will be far less than having mine resprayed.

 

[Nostromo]

Theres a company on ebay that will supply brand new wings (patterned) and spray them to match your car. You send off your towing eye cover or whatever you like and they'll match it. Think mine cost about 80/90 quid. Good service and a good match too. Will see if I can get them on my ebay history if you're interested? Not too difficult to remove and refit either.

 

[Paul_TDi]

Blimey thats cheap! I saw a company doing that for about 150 a wing I think, never got a reply to my request for a quote on my colour though.

How do the pattern parts fit? My mate in bodyshop business warned me off them last time.

Yer please, seller name will be good. Any pics of yours?