B. Rock

First off - this seems like the place for C6 A6 owners eh? Anyway, just picked up this 09 A6 Avant last week, 83k on the clock. Cold weather package. Non-adaptive xenon headlights, unsure of total MMI package just yet.



Needed tires, got those done. Vag-com and Bentley are ordered and just waiting on shipping. In the mean time:

-I see indentations in the roof rails, were there ever factory cross bars?
-The MMI is out. I picked up a optical loop, did some playing around. Putting it in place of the components both in the left hand side of the trunk didn't make a difference (4 of them), same for the glove box area components (3 of them). Anywhere else I can check? the only one to show the blinking red light was the CD changer, all the rest were dark. When the vag-com shows up, I will run the test.
-Trans fluid is due. Being '09 it should have the blue lifeguard 8, yes? Is there anyway to drain the torque converter on these? Most DIY's I've read just drain the housing but not the converter.

Maintenance first, then we can talk mods...

Thanks!

jbrentd

Nice looking Avant. I'm jealous.

raj99

congrats on the car...as for maintenance, there's a good thread on the transfer case and such that I responded to here:
https://www.audiworld.com/forums/sho...ght=refill+atf


But here's the gist of it (for a C6 4.2)-
The front diff fluid can be accessed from the passenger side of the diff and needs to be extracted out with a pump. There is no 'drain plug', you will need to pump the fluid out and then replace it the same way. This is the same for the rear diff, which also needs to be extracted. The only one which has an actual drain plug is the crank case (center) and it's pretty obvious.

As for the type of ZF fluid for your tranny, just call your dealership and based upon your tranny they'll be able to tell you if it in fact ZF8.

life4sk8

Congratulation... For your mmi problem, don't forget to look for all the fuses related to the mmi. Next and before using your rear windows windshield washer make sure the hose that bring the fluid to the wiper are intact. I had mine broke last fall and screw up my bose amplifier. You have to remove some trim on the rear left side of the car and the hose is under the black plastic over the black hinge. You have an other module in the foot well of the driver for the bluetooth module. Make sure all your sunroof drain (4) are not cloged. If they are, water can travel from there to your floor. There an other one in the plenum chamber in the middle under the round fan. This one too can be cloged by leaf. I use a long speedometer wire 92 inch long too check the state of thoses. To gain acess to the bluetooth module, you have to unscrew your seat and move it back. Try to not unplug the wire because the first orange round one is the power for the airbag system in your seat. If static electricity goes in there it can activAte your airbag. After remove the trim surronding the door, lift the carpet and it is in the black box. But before doing that, ran an optical bus diagnostic with your vcds. This can save you some work.

LLskier23

Congrats on the new ride. Nice avants are less and less common on the used market.

Yes there were factory roof rails. The part# is 4F9-071-151-666 if you're interested. I think AudiPartsSuperStore has them the cheapest of anywhere I've looked.

However, they factory bars are rather tall and ungainly looking. I'd recommend the Thule AeroBlade Edge bars if you want a really nice setup. Just got a pair for my '06 Avant and they are sleek, solid, quiet, and match the overall look of the car very nicely. Some folks on this site suggested them to me originally and I couldn't be happier with them.

B. Rock

We have a front diff? Things have changed with Quattro apparently, I am used to the axles coming out of the back half of the trans and no front diff. I take it the dealer has a recommendation for the diff fluids too? Otherwise I'd lean toward Amsoil as that's what I run in the rest of the fleet.

I've read through those trans fluid changes - no one seems to mess w/ the torque converter. Interesting.

I did check the fuses and the trunk hose, all is well. I did NOT check the sunscreen drains, so I will be doing that next.

I still have a Thule square bar set that I've been rotating through cars, I just saw that the new foot kit was $$$ and was hoping for something low profile from Audi. Oh well.

4Driver4

All Quattros have always had three diffs; front, center, and rear. Front and center have been integrated into the trans unit and share the same oil on manual transmissions. On auto trans cars, the quattro trans has always had three chambers: Front diff with gear oil, auto section with ATF and center diff (at the rear of the unit) with gear oil.

B. Rock

^ Yes, sorry if it came off different but that was my intent. This is my first auto Quattro, the rest have been sticks. All of the components are there as they have been, just stacked a little differently.

raj99

As for the tranny fluid Robert did a great write-up here: https://www.audiworld.com/forums/sho....php?t=2816950

A couple of things to remember:

1 - use the correct fluid for you tranny (don't skimp on this - ZF)
2 - having a vag-com is required
3 - a lift is VERY VERY helpful
4 - remember to top-up as you turn on the engine and go through the gears

Also, here's the thread I had started re: diff and crankcase fluid, when I did mine: https://www.audiworld.com/forums/sho...ine+diff+fluid

BTW, I went with Redline (I think)

B. Rock

Yes, there's a place in town called DIY auto that you can rent a lift for $25/hr. The driveway is fine for some fluid changes, but I think I'll be renting a lift for this one.

That is indeed a nice write up, and thank you for the link. What I still struggle with, is that these procedures only change about half of the fluid, so you now have a 50/50 mix of new/old. I'm tempted to pull the return line from the trans cooler and get the rest out that way.