What have you done to your Audi A4 B7 today?

[Dani_B19]

Why are you parting company Dani, thought things were on the up with it.

Few reasons, the main ine being the mrs wont drive it and she's struggling to drive the mondeo with how big it is, also with the few scares with the a4, the clutch the mechanic says is fine and must juat have been a bad patch of material and the dampers were cleaned and checked and are fine.

The main thing is rob i just want a change also.

 

[I'm Just Rob.]

still audi or something else.

 

[Dani_B19]

Seat leon mk2, looking at tfsi still but going dsg.

 

[I'm Just Rob.]

ah, going back to A3/S3 size then....
how much are looking to get for your a4 dani ?

 

[boffin486]

Finished off my front suspension replacement at the start of the week. Painted up a few bits, quite pleased with the result. I've got a couple of pad retainer springs with the RS size flap on them - haven't put them on yet as have to paint them black first & put some S Line logos on.

And hey there uistT4 - I got the adjustable arms from (I think) a company in Santa Ana called Brand Carparts. They weren't cheap though at $530.00! Then when they were delivered, the F ing delivery company (UPS) charged me another £105.00!!! Not a happy bunny at that......

 

[Michael Holloway]

Is it any good i am thinking about a purchase on 1

 

[UisT4]

Finished off my front suspension replacement at the start of the week. Painted up a few bits, quite pleased with the result. I've got a couple of pad retainer springs with the RS size flap on them - haven't put them on yet as have to paint them black first & put some S Line logos on.

View attachment 172839

And hey there uistT4 - I got the adjustable arms from (I think) a company in Santa Ana called Brand Carparts. They weren't cheap though at $530.00! Then when they were delivered, the F ing delivery company (UPS) charged me another £105.00!!! Not a happy bunny at that......

Ouch! Hopefully be worth it for you though

 

[AvantMike]

This all makes my little console latch replacement look like small-fry!!! good effort boys - you're putting us all to shame.

 

[I'm Just Rob.]

Every job done is a good job done......even small a small fix....

 

[boffin486]

Indeed Rob, you can stand back, put your thumbs in your braces (old school) & say (proudly) "Ahhhhh - I did that!"
Even if it's only tightening a screw.
Now, get the kettle on.

 

[AvantMike]

Amen

 

[AlpineCab]

Soldered on new headlight bulb holders and made good the old flakey wiring with heat shrink.

Old bulb holders had overheated, plastic coating all cracked and falling off, and bulbs had almost melted on.

Had the parts for months, but been putting off for the sheer hassle of having to remove the bumper and light units.

 

[I'm Just Rob.]

Another job well worth doing chap....massive improvement ….

 

[dave_ph]

So I bought an A4 Avant yesterday after having a bit of a look around and found one I like!

Its an 08reg 2.0tdi 170bhp S-Line in silver/grey Special Edition (well, at least has the SE seats!) with 120,000 miles. Came with RNS-E and heated seats thankfully. It also has the annoying phone cradle on the dash.

Its the highest mileage car I've ever bought so that's a little scary but doing my research, as long as its service regularly, it should last forever!

I've already purchased a cruise control stalk and cowling from another member, and also a new centre console trim without the holes for the phone cradle so I can get shot of that horrible thing.

My to do list isn't very large as I can't afford to do much as this is mainly a run around for me however I would like to change the RNS-E to an android HU (as they fit in like OEM) because I want bluetooth and DAB. Been looking at the Xtron units but also heard the Erisin units are good. I don't have bose but do have an Audi amp and sub in the boot. I want a unit which will just work with the DIS, steering wheel controls so need to do some research I think!

I also may put my 19" Audi Le-Man/B7 RS4 style alloys on to from my C7 A6. I'd like to retrofit auto headlights and xenon lights but I think its more hassle than its worth from initial investigation. I'd love to do a FBMFSW as well however the following is taking priority!

The main thing I need to sort first however is the oil pump and balance shafts. There aren't any receipts so I don't know if this has been done and with the horror stores of the hex key going in the balance shaft, I want to pro-actively resolve this so I can have stress free motoring! I will also get the cambelt and water pump done at the same time. It was apparently done at 96,000 2.5 years ago, but I'd rather be safe than sorry. I intend to keep the car a while so want it to just keep going.

Oh yeah and tempted by the RS4 start button (Did this mod my 07 reg S3). Its totally pointless as you still need to put the key in but looks cool. Maybe when I have a few more pennies!

 

[AudiB720TS]

Replaced my clutch and flywheel. Now running single mass steel flywheel and RS4 clutch.

 

[I'm Just Rob.]

nothing special , only picked up another rear puncture......darn it another £20.00 repair required now.

 

[dave_ph]

Well I had a mixed evening. I had 2 jobs I wanted to do - put my 19" Le-Man wheels on and fit and conceal the dash cam I just got.

So started on the wheels. I have a battery impact driver so made light work of the nuts....until I got to the last wheel. Could I get the locking wheel bolt off...could I f**k! Tried all sorts but it wouldn't come off so had to do all the other wheels back up. Then to finish it off after doing the bolts up to reasonable tightness before torque wrenching them to 120nm, then first one I use the torque wrench on, the pattern on the locking wheel nut sheared off. Guess that will be a trip to Audi on Monday then. So all in all wasted 2 hours and ended in a worse place than I started. I hate taking wheels off for the first time. The last 4 cars I've owned I've had issues initially with over tightened nuts.

Dash cam jobby went fine though, ran the cable straight into the headlining, down the a-pillar (after removing the odd bit here and there to get that trim off) then into the fuse box. I was going to use fuse 43 for ignition power however the nextbase fuse adapter wouldn't fit so ended up using fuse 3 iirc (heated washer jets).

Oh and my wife unplugged the door bell earlier to plug the toaster in and as a result missed my cruise control stalk and cowling delivery. Day of frustrations.

On another note, I notice I get a short judder when pulling away (similar to wheelspinning). Every other gear change is fine, just when engaging the clutch from standstill it judder/shudders slightly. Normal 2.0tdi behaviour or clutch starting to show age?

Cheers Y'all

 

[martin1984]

Well I had a mixed evening. I had 2 jobs I wanted to do - put my 19" Le-Man wheels on and fit and conceal the dash cam I just got.

So started on the wheels. I have a battery impact driver so made light work of the nuts....until I got to the last wheel. Could I get the locking wheel bolt off...could I f**k! Tried all sorts but it wouldn't come off so had to do all the other wheels back up. Then to finish it off after doing the bolts up to reasonable tightness before torque wrenching them to 120nm, then first one I use the torque wrench on, the pattern on the locking wheel nut sheared off. Guess that will be a trip to Audi on Monday then. So all in all wasted 2 hours and ended in a worse place than I started. I hate taking wheels off for the first time. The last 4 cars I've owned I've had issues initially with over tightened nuts.

Dash cam jobby went fine though, ran the cable straight into the headlining, down the a-pillar (after removing the odd bit here and there to get that trim off) then into the fuse box. I was going to use fuse 43 for ignition power however the nextbase fuse adapter wouldn't fit so ended up using fuse 3 iirc (heated washer jets).

Oh and my wife unplugged the door bell earlier to plug the toaster in and as a result missed my cruise control stalk and cowling delivery. Day of frustrations.

On another note, I notice I get a short judder when pulling away (similar to wheelspinning). Every other gear change is fine, just when engaging the clutch from standstill it judder/shudders slightly. Normal 2.0tdi behaviour or clutch starting to show age?

Cheers Y'all

Dont go to the stealers over you locking nuts try a good tyre place should be able to remove them for you and replace with a new set you can pick up from euro car part etc

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[dave_ph]

would they be able to remove them without the locking wheel nut as that is done and dusted?

When I had a BMW 3 series, the stealer replaced the locking wheel nut (twice as I kept leaving it in the wheel...dumbass!) and it was only 7quid each time

 

[martin1984]

would they be able to remove them without the locking wheel nut as that is done and dusted?

When I had a BMW 3 series, the stealer replaced the locking wheel nut (twice as I kept leaving it in the wheel...dumbass!) and it was only 7quid each time

A good tyre place will have a kit to remove locking nut that the locking nut cant i had the same problem where the lock8ng nut kept slipping dealer quote was about £60 for replacment set .also was told if i wanted to diy buy a good 12 sided socket hammer on and use that to remove the nut lots of vids about it on utube mate

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[boffin486]

Spent a bit of time finishing off my Front Suspension & took some pics of the Caliper (Drivers side) before refitting it (though still need to fit the new retainer spring plates with the S Line Logos). Thats a tomorrow job.

 

[I'm Just Rob.]

Well its a new year and to follow on from last weeks very productive day with a clay bar what better reason to give the old bus's upholstery a good clean, and it certainly needed it.
Removed the very effective Berghaus seat covers , very good at protection from above but less good at protection from below.
it seems that silver coating from the underside of the covers had rubbed off onto the soft leather….what a mess...…

Anyway , out with the super fandango leather upholstery kit which I kept back when I parted company with another german marque....no names..lol

Cleaned, cleansed and protected with a final buff and they were back to there previous loveliness....I do like my seats probably one of the better parts of the old bus, well discounting the engine on a good day.

time a cuppa now me think's

piccy's now.

 

[Alex Holmes]

Well its a new year and to follow on from last weeks very productive day with a clay bar what better reason to give the old bus's upholstery a good clean, and it certainly needed it.
Removed the very effective Berghaus seat covers , very good at protection from above but less good at protection from below.
it seems that silver coating from the underside of the covers had rubbed off onto the soft leather….what a mess...…

Anyway , out with the super fandango leather upholstery kit which I kept back when I parted company with another german marque....no names..lol

Cleaned, cleansed and protected with a final buff and they were back to there previous loveliness....I do like my seats probably one of the better parts of the old bus, well discounting the engine on a good day.

time a cuppa now me think's

piccy's now.

View attachment 173423 View attachment 173424 View attachment 173425 View attachment 173426 View attachment 173427

I use an epic leather cleaner Rob, completely removes all shinyness, if your interested ill drop you a link

 

[I'm Just Rob.]

yep, sounds interesting.

 

[I'm Just Rob.]

My cam pics do make them look a bit shinney , but they are a semi matt finish in the flesh , I'm not a big fan of full mat finish leather seats and prefer a slight sheen.
they are so supple aswell , really comfy....nice

 

[Alex Holmes]

My cam pics do make them look a bit shinney , but they are a semi matt finish in the flesh , I'm not a big fan of full mat finish leather seats and prefer a slight sheen.
they are so supple aswell , really comfy....nice

Ive got you, each to his own. But either way you cant beat having clean leather, especially if you have grey inserts like me

 

[Alpinachris]

I use an epic leather cleaner Rob, completely removes all shinyness, if your interested ill drop you a link

I would like a leather cleaner recommendation to try ,also?

Sent from my SM-T310 using Tapatalk

 

[I'm Just Rob.]

Ive got you, each to his own. But either way you cant beat having clean leather, especially if you have grey inserts like me

The two tone seats appear to have a slightly grainy texture which does look nice as a mat finish Alex I agree, my old bus has valcona leather which is a really smooth finish and even parts that have been covered up are a semi mat finish so probably quite different in overall finish to yours.
Sometimes i'd love a slightly grainy finish as the valcona as lovely and plush that it is , does mark very, very easily hence why I have ended up with it being covered most of the time....catch it with a button or anything at the wrong angle and it leaves a mark....love it all the same.

 

[Nathan Russell]

Washed it.

 

[I'm Just Rob.]

looks spanking clean chap, now come and do mine.....

 

[Nathan Russell]

looks spanking clean chap, now come and do mine.....

Until tomorrow when I drive it. It’ll be filthy in 10 minutes .

 

[Alex Holmes]

I would like a leather cleaner recommendation to try ,also?

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I started using RR customs strong leather cleaner, and found it far superior to off the shelf products
(autoglym etc) with a bit of elbow grease it cleans and removes the shine, if thats what your into! I paid around £9 for a litre but goes a long way

 

[Alex Holmes]

The two tone seats appear to have a slightly grainy texture which does look nice as a mat finish Alex I agree, my old bus has valcona leather which is a really smooth finish and even parts that have been covered up are a semi mat finish so probably quite different in overall finish to yours.
Sometimes i'd love a slightly grainy finish as the valcona as lovely and plush that it is , does mark very, very easily hence why I have ended up with it being covered most of the time....catch it with a button or anything at the wrong angle and it leaves a mark....love it all the same.

I have to agree with you on that one the two tones do have a textured finish, hence why i chose to replace my armrest lid with a similar finish leather so it all tied in. I presume you seat are a similar finish to the recaros? Im also a sucker for a clean matte finish steering wheel! Its a shame it only last a couple of weeks before needing cleaning again...

 

[I'm Just Rob.]

very similar Alex, just found this in the info, seems valcona was an extra cost option and is an option for the S4 aswell…..turns out to be the most costly leather trim level aswell…...I better look after it in that case.

 

[I'm Just Rob.]

a few years back I had to claim for two new rear door cards and windows, the door cards were special order from germany and were £1600 for the pair ….bonkers or what, luckily it was damage from another company product to blame so they paid for the parts , but that much for two door cars.....still bonkers...

 

[Alex Holmes]

Yes, i d

very similar Alex, just found this in the info, seems valcona was an extra cost option and is an option for the S4 aswell…..turns out to be the most costly leather trim level aswell…...I better look after it in that case.

View attachment 173523

The original owner of your bus must have been a money bags with your posh leather and fancy headlights and so on. My car fist owner must have been a right tight sod!

Sticking to the subject of seats, a mint set of rs4 electric front/rear heated comfort seats in black with white piping popped up on ebay a few weeks back for a very good price. I wish i had bagged them now....

 

[I'm Just Rob.]

I think he was Alex, the old bus may not have a sunroof which is something I wanted , nor did it have BT or sat nav, but it does have a lot of the other options , probably why west London audi were asking the high price at the time for an old used B7...must have seen me coming...lol


i'd love a set of them comfort recaro's , but having cleaned my s-line ones up I think they will do for now.....and they are super comfy, very easy to change to something else and then be disappointed with them....

 

[dave_ph]

Well another day of triumph and failure....

Got the cruise control installed! Took a little longer than expected and was fiddlier than I remember when I installed it on my old S3. Got it all coded in vcds etc - happy days

Went to use it however and doesn't work VCDS shows it working in the measuring blocks but nothing happens on the car. Most annoying. I'll create another thread though about that!

 

[boffin486]

Yesterday I stuck on the logoed Caliper Clips. Pics just 'cos I can........

And a question....... When you get Suspension control arms (front) they always come with these metal clips on the Drop Link mounting points.

The question is WHY? I can't see how they can be used as the drop links don't allow for them as they would interfere with the upper bush (the 'sticking up' parts on the R/H pic). Or am I, once again, just being thick? I always just source some standard washers & use them as I don't like tightening bolts down straight onto alloy parts.
Anyone Know???

And hey dave_ph - are you sure the brake & clutch switches are working OK?

 

[i3oricua]

Yesterday I stuck on the logoed Caliper Clips. Pics just 'cos I can........

View attachment 173533

And a question....... When you get Suspension control arms (front) they always come with these metal clips on the Drop Link mounting points.

View attachment 173534

The question is WHY? I can't see how they can be used as the drop links don't allow for them as they would interfere with the upper bush (the 'sticking up' parts on the R/H pic). Or am I, once again, just being thick? I always just source some standard washers & use them as I don't like tightening bolts down straight onto alloy parts.
Anyone Know???

And hey dave_ph - are you sure the brake & clutch switches are working OK?

I’m almost positive those clips only remain on for shipping and storage. You shouldn’t install anything with them on.


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