Installation of Boost Gauge on B7 A4 2.0T FSI with pictures....
02-04-2006, 03:23 PM
#1
AudiWorld Super User
Thread Starter
Installation of Boost Gauge on B7 A4 2.0T FSI with pictures....
Hello there,
I decided to tackle the boost gauge install today with the help of my buddy Max. Thanks to him for his patience and invaluable help. The installation is pretty straight forward but sometimes things have to be refitted 2 or 3 times so it can just take a small amount of patience. This was our first time doing it on a B7 so it took 3 hours, but i'd say overall it is a 1.5 hour/3 beer intall.
No special tool required.
1. A torx driver set.
2. A metric 1/4 drive set
3. Dremel tool
4. Soldering iron to smooth the dremeled edges
5. Some spare zip ties
6. Screwdrivers
7. Electical tape
8. A wire hanger
9. Needle nose pliars
First we just took a look at the new adapter required to tap the plastic intake manifold. We took the rubber cap off the intake manifold and secured on the far side of the metal T adapter seen in the picture. We had to use a bit of electrical tape on the T adapter to get it to match up to the larger diameter of the rubber cap. You could also source the correct size rubber cap and skip that step. On the other side of the metal T adapter is the rubber hose that will slip over the plastic bung on the intake manifold. The remaining metal bung on the adapter is for the boost guage hose.
<img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v714/bhvrdr/BoostGuage-1-med.jpg">
Here is what it looks like on the manifold...
<img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v714/bhvrdr/BoostGuage-6-med.jpg">
Next we popped out the center vents using a flat head screwdriver. The center vents just slide right out after you disconnect the power to them for the lighted dials.
We went ahead and drilled a 3/4" hole or so for the boost hose to fit through the vent cluster. We drilled a smaller hole for the power wires to fit though. Finally we dremeled a tab in the vent flap so we can still open and close the vent with the boost hose in there. We used the soldering iron to smooth the jagged edges from the dremmel.
<img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v714/bhvrdr/BoostGuage-2-med.jpg">
<img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v714/bhvrdr/BoostGuage-3-med.jpg">
Depending on the boost gauge you decide to use, you can fabricate any type of beauty cover you want. The AWE one I am using already comes plug and play to fit in the vent, but if you want to go custom i'll leave the beauty work to you.
After fitting the center vents back into place with the boost guage sitting in it, we routed the boost hose and power wires up under the dashboard. First the knee bolster must be removed. It can be removed very simply by removing the two bolts down by the pedals, the one bolt by the fuse box, and finally once it is free the OBDII plug and footwell lighting plugs need to be removed. There are two black metal brackets far up into the dash that allow for looping the boost hose and power wires up over an out of the way of moving components. Under the dashboard are also two metal knee plates, one on each side of the steering wheel. We removed (and later reinstalled) the left side one to get better access to the headlight switch. We used zip ties to further secure the hose and wires out of the way.
Next we ran the power wires to the headlight/dashlight switch and the grounding screw on the fuse box. The wire to tap on the headlight switch is a gray wire with a blue stripe on it. The fuse box has a screw on it perfect for grounding.
<img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v714/bhvrdr/BoostGuage-9-med.jpg">
Next we snaked the boost hose up into the ECU compartment. The ECU compartment can be accessed by removing the driver side windshield wiper and pulling up on the cowl molding to expose the rear torx screws holding on the ECU cover. This allows easy access to the engine bay from the passenger compartment.
<img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v714/bhvrdr/BoostGuage-5-med.jpg">
Above we used the wire hanger (yes mommy dearest) to snake the boost hose past the secondary firewall.
The boost hose sits down nicely into the box and doesnt prevent a good seal.
<img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v714/bhvrdr/BoostGuage-4-med.jpg">
Finally we simply ran the boost hose to our metal T fitting that was already in place on the intake manifold. We used zip ties to keep it secure and out of the way.
<img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v714/bhvrdr/BoostGuage-7-med.jpg">
Inside the cabin shot of the intalled boost gauge...
<img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v714/bhvrdr/BoostGuage-8-med.jpg">
So that's about that.
cheers! Mike
I decided to tackle the boost gauge install today with the help of my buddy Max. Thanks to him for his patience and invaluable help. The installation is pretty straight forward but sometimes things have to be refitted 2 or 3 times so it can just take a small amount of patience. This was our first time doing it on a B7 so it took 3 hours, but i'd say overall it is a 1.5 hour/3 beer intall.
No special tool required.
1. A torx driver set.
2. A metric 1/4 drive set
3. Dremel tool
4. Soldering iron to smooth the dremeled edges
5. Some spare zip ties
6. Screwdrivers
7. Electical tape
8. A wire hanger
9. Needle nose pliars
First we just took a look at the new adapter required to tap the plastic intake manifold. We took the rubber cap off the intake manifold and secured on the far side of the metal T adapter seen in the picture. We had to use a bit of electrical tape on the T adapter to get it to match up to the larger diameter of the rubber cap. You could also source the correct size rubber cap and skip that step. On the other side of the metal T adapter is the rubber hose that will slip over the plastic bung on the intake manifold. The remaining metal bung on the adapter is for the boost guage hose.
<img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v714/bhvrdr/BoostGuage-1-med.jpg">
Here is what it looks like on the manifold...
<img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v714/bhvrdr/BoostGuage-6-med.jpg">
Next we popped out the center vents using a flat head screwdriver. The center vents just slide right out after you disconnect the power to them for the lighted dials.
We went ahead and drilled a 3/4" hole or so for the boost hose to fit through the vent cluster. We drilled a smaller hole for the power wires to fit though. Finally we dremeled a tab in the vent flap so we can still open and close the vent with the boost hose in there. We used the soldering iron to smooth the jagged edges from the dremmel.
<img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v714/bhvrdr/BoostGuage-2-med.jpg">
<img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v714/bhvrdr/BoostGuage-3-med.jpg">
Depending on the boost gauge you decide to use, you can fabricate any type of beauty cover you want. The AWE one I am using already comes plug and play to fit in the vent, but if you want to go custom i'll leave the beauty work to you.
After fitting the center vents back into place with the boost guage sitting in it, we routed the boost hose and power wires up under the dashboard. First the knee bolster must be removed. It can be removed very simply by removing the two bolts down by the pedals, the one bolt by the fuse box, and finally once it is free the OBDII plug and footwell lighting plugs need to be removed. There are two black metal brackets far up into the dash that allow for looping the boost hose and power wires up over an out of the way of moving components. Under the dashboard are also two metal knee plates, one on each side of the steering wheel. We removed (and later reinstalled) the left side one to get better access to the headlight switch. We used zip ties to further secure the hose and wires out of the way.
Next we ran the power wires to the headlight/dashlight switch and the grounding screw on the fuse box. The wire to tap on the headlight switch is a gray wire with a blue stripe on it. The fuse box has a screw on it perfect for grounding.
<img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v714/bhvrdr/BoostGuage-9-med.jpg">
Next we snaked the boost hose up into the ECU compartment. The ECU compartment can be accessed by removing the driver side windshield wiper and pulling up on the cowl molding to expose the rear torx screws holding on the ECU cover. This allows easy access to the engine bay from the passenger compartment.
<img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v714/bhvrdr/BoostGuage-5-med.jpg">
Above we used the wire hanger (yes mommy dearest) to snake the boost hose past the secondary firewall.
The boost hose sits down nicely into the box and doesnt prevent a good seal.
<img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v714/bhvrdr/BoostGuage-4-med.jpg">
Finally we simply ran the boost hose to our metal T fitting that was already in place on the intake manifold. We used zip ties to keep it secure and out of the way.
<img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v714/bhvrdr/BoostGuage-7-med.jpg">
Inside the cabin shot of the intalled boost gauge...
<img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v714/bhvrdr/BoostGuage-8-med.jpg">
So that's about that.
cheers! Mike
