WagonWorks - Aussie Avant: '06 Audi B7 A4 Build

[HuH]

All of this Audi maintenance gives me chills for having gone through similar things.
Glad you're tackling them one by one and getting the car back to working order

Thanks, mate. It's a bit of a minefield. I have a huge list of small fix-it jobs that I'll probably never get through. I wanted to clean everything up before I started modding. But that definitely isn't going to work.

I finished the work in the engine bay the other night. Had to get it all back together so I could drive it again.



Fashioned a terminal release tool from a paper clip and it worked perfectly. Remove the locking clip, press down the tabs inside the connector and slide the pins out. Then use a sharp blade to bend the tabs back slightly and slide them into the new connector.



On the left is the one with the broken coil pack clip, new one on the right. Two of these connectors cost $49 from Audi, which is probably a bit much considering they didn't need to be replaced, but I like the peace of mind.



All wires and locking clip back in place.



Wiring cover clipped back on.



And ready to go. You can probably see I have two different types of coil pack in the photo above. The car came like that from the previous owner. They're all OE but the newer type have a revised part number. I should probably replace them all at some stage.



Before calling it quits I replaced the scuffed up light switch. Mine is actually in pretty good condition compared to most others, but I wanted it to look like new.



I picked up a repro switch for a fraction of the price of OEM, but I'm not really happy with it. I think I'll go looking for a better option.



Also, coilovers have arrived!

[TeckniX]

All of this Audi maintenance gives me chills for having gone through similar things.
Glad you're tackling them one by one and getting the car back to working order

[HuH]

It's been a frustrating week with a crash course in VAG fault finding along the way. Where to start.



On Friday last week we had a massive thunderstorm here in Melbourne. I was driving home at the time. I made it back to the garage where I left the car until after the weekend. On Monday morning the car wouldn't start.

I knew something was up as soon as I turned the key. The 'PRNDS' gear selector icons were flashing on and off. I cranked the car over but it wouldn't fire. Being new to this Audi caper I feared something was wrong with the gearbox. I then learned that it's a CEL of sorts. So I borrowed an OBD-II reader from a mate and found the fault code. P0688.

A whole lot of Googling later and I had a list of possible causes, all related to the ECM power circuit and/or the coil packs. Lots of people have posted threads about this code and the reasons for the fault in their cars: water in the ECM compartment, failed relays, blown fuses, degraded wiring, and the list goes on.

The next day I went back to start troubleshooting. This time the car started but had a slight miss. It wasn't blowing the fuse for the ECM circuit so that ruled out a couple of things.

I started pulling things apart. First thing I wanted to check was the wiring to the coil packs as that was one of the more widely documented fixes.



I figured the oil I'd seen in the spark plug ports would be a good thing to sort out too as it could well have been causing problems for the coil packs, and that meant tackling the cam cover gasket at the same time.



You can see the oil around the plugs that had leaked past the gasket.



Quite a lot of oil dripped out of the coil packs while they sat on the bench. I didn't realise how much was in there.



Thankfully the coil pack wiring is perfect. No issues there at all.



I've seen shots from other B6/B7s where the plastic around the wires has split causing shorts.



The new cam cover gasket from Audi ready to go.



Air intake removed and ready to lift the cam cover out.



The old gasket with baffle.



Top end looking nice and clean. No build up at all which I was hoping for given the service history.



I always find myself poring over things like this. It's amazing how short the duration is on all of the cam lobes.



A friend dropped by to do some work on his AZ-1. I find I work better when I have company in the garage.



I did my best to soak up the oil in the ports before pulling the plugs. It was challenging without a small syringe. I got as much as I could out, pulled the plugs and gave everything a good clean - plugs, coil packs, and plug ports.



I cleaned up the cover, installed the new gasket with a bit of gasket cement for extra security and buttoned it up.



Worried about water from the storm, I checked in the ECM compartment for leaks. This should really be an easy thing to do, but one of the bolts for the cover is under the wiper motor. It's a prick. Eventually I got in there and it was bone dry. No sign of water at all. I checked the fuses and pulled the relays to clean the contacts while I was there.



So I fired it up. Fault code gone! It started and ran perfectly. I'm not driving the car at the moment so I've left the coil pack wiring cover off until I can replace two of the connectors which have broken clips.



Next up I replaced the boot latch. Swapping them was straight forward once I had the boot trim off. It's good to have this working properly.



Today I took the glovebox out to repair the hinges and clean up the latch. There's a damper for the glovebox that commonly causes problems with the front cover. The damper seizes up and the hinges get snapped by people forcing the glovebox open.



I've ordered a repair kit from Turkey of all places, which reinforces the standard hinges. I'll then either soak the damper in silicon spray or delete it altogether, which is what most people do.

Picking up my coilovers today, then tackling the suspension and engine mounts on the weekend.

[HuH]

Ermergerd!

For a few minutes I thought you had Wawa's in Australia...

Haha. I wish. Not sure what I'll do for wheels yet. Maybe I could be the first?

[KFC ONE]

For a few minutes I thought you had Wawa's in Australia...

[anth]

Ermergerd!

[HuH]

The last week and a bit I've been shopping online a lot, looking for coilovers.

On a whim I sent an e-mail to a company based here in Melbourne about a Vogtland coilover kit. Going off prices in the US the Vogtlands were a bit more expensive than others I had my eye on but I thought it was worth a try. Incredibly the bloke came back with a price only marginally more than US pricing. Pretty shocking considering most local shops charge significantly more than the US and Europe.

So I've paid my deposit and the kit is on the way. Vogtland make the springs in Germany and source the strut/shock from KW valved to suit. Can't wait.





And as always, yet more inspiration:





I'm starting to pile up parts. The control arms and swaybar links arrived yesterday from FCP.



Getting excited.

[HuH]

I originally bought the car from another state. In the first few weeks I drove it about 4000kms around the south-east coast of Australia. At the moment I'm getting it ready to pass a roadworthy certificate to register it in my name.



It's in good shape, but needs suspension bushes replaced. I've bought a front control arm kit with all 8 front arms, swaybar links and S4 tie rods (solid, no rubber dampeners).



I'm doing engine mounts at the same time. They're hydaulic and one of mine has started to weep.



During my eBay trawl I picked up a couple of interior bits.



A new centre console armrest lid. Mine is okay but the latch is broken, like everyone else's apparently.



A new headlight switch. Mine still works fine but the paint has worn away to show the white plastic underneath.



And a new boot latch to fix my one which is playing up. I'm also doing the cam cover gasket, wipers and a hinge repair kit on my glovebox.

I picked up a little bit of touch-up paint from Audi to fix a few stone chips on the front of the side skirts behind the front wheels.

Coilovers next. Here's some more inspiration.

[HuH]

G'day blokes,

I thought I'd start a thread to keep track of my progress. Late last year I bought a 2006 B7 A4 Avant. This is my first Audi in a long line of project cars and it had to be a wagon! I'll be putting a lot of time into getting it spot on.

The car is a Lava Grey 2.0i 20V model. I don't think you had any A4s sold with the ALT motor in North America? It's not a powerhouse performer, but it's perfect for my needs. As a daily driver slow is fine.

Back in 2005 Audi released a 'Sport Edition' of the A4 in Australia (maybe elsewhere too?) separate from the S-Line. It was limited to 200 units and all of them came with unique bumpers, side skirts and roof spoiler, plus a Nokia 8800 mobile phone and built in Bluetooth. Classic marketing gimmick. My car is too late to be one of those 200, but has the same body add-ons.

The plan is to get the car mint inside and out. Coilovers and wheels will follow and a few more ideas I've got in my head.

Here are some weak pics from before I bought it. I'll snap some better ones soon.













And here's some inspiration. Obviously this is a B6, but as far as styling goes I reckon it's perfection.



More to come.