KHedges

I can't believe we don't have a thread for "what I did today" so if I just failed at search-fu, please redirect me.

This has been "catch up week" for my 1999 A6 Avant Quattro, the Copart Rescue Car.

So far, I have:

• Replaced the popped-out sway bar linkages (remember, it was slammed with 40% of the coil springs cut off when I rescued it)
• Installed new tires on new-to-me OEM 5-spoke rims (Michelin Premier A/S)
• Replaced the trashed donut spare with the least awful of my old tires/wheels
• Replaced H1 halogen low beam headlight bulbs with LED bulbs designed with the diodes where the filament is on the halogens
• Replaced cloth mats with rubber all-weather mats (possibly from an Allroad?)
• Zip-tied my ABS sensor cables to the lower arm where the brackets broke off
• Removed the big stuff from the cargo area (I had a stack of about 16 sheets of 2x4' 3mm MDF and various other stuff for my business)
• Eliminated the original hypothesized source of a rattle underneath the passenger side rear seat and proposed a new one

and this weekend I will

• Replace the power steering hose from the cooler to the pump
• Investigate the noise further
• Attempt to adjust and polish the headlights better
• Replace the blower motor resistor and its burned-out connector
• Finish tidying and cleaning the interior after craft fair season

Observations:

• It rides SO MUCH BETTER than it did on janky worn out Bridgestone Ecopias on steelies with a disconnected rear sway bar. It's like the difference between a minivan and a big touring car. I picked the MIchelin sporty tires out of the limited menu at Costco because the reviews lauded their traction (wet and dry) and I will be driving a winding mountain road in Northern California winter regularly. If you need tires and have a Costco membership, you can earn back about 2 years' fees with $70 off tires and $59.96 off installation this month. (And you get lifetime free rotation, flat repair, etc.)
• It looks less like a junker with alloy wheels, yay! And only $350 on eBay. Now if I could only straighten out the fender that got twisted when my bumper cover got stuck on a curb, and fix all the dings on the fenders/bumpers, and replace the headlight washer cover that got torn off...
• The LEDs do a good job emulating the beam pattern of the halogens. I can clearly see the cutoff at the top of the beam (my OEM headlight assemblies have projector lens low-beams). But I've been driving around well-lit city areas, so I can't tell if they light up the road better. My pain point with the halogens was how poorly I could see on that mountain road with many dark, dark areas where a deer could be about to leap on the road.
• It's going to be nice driving a tidy car when I'm done!
• I hope the rattling noise is just a noise and not a symptom of something that could break down. I'll be writing a separate post about it.

johnkk

Very good to sort things out. My list on my 01 C5 was shorter!

1) I replaced the passenger front door locking mechanism, so the interior lights and door open warning work when the door is open. $39 from Mad Hornet shipped directly from China. Wonder how long it will last? Some have said that you can do the job without removing the window assembly, but I was afraid of breaking the rod connection to the outside handle. Only took 10 minutes extra to unhook all the harnesses and remove the torx bolts to take the window assembly off. Plenty of room and only took 5 minutes to swap the latch mechanism.
2) I repaired the rear seat dome light. Popped it out and re-soldered the power pin connections to the circuit board.

Procrastinating on replacing motor mounts. Otherwise fully sorted.

crum77

Don't mean to hijack the post... I am having the same issues with my passenger locking mechanism. Can you drop a link from where you got it from? My 2001 A6 is having the same symptoms as you have mentioned; interior lights and door open warning not working. Once in a blue moon it does...lol. Thanks.

johnkk

Motorcycle Parts | Car Parts

Where I found it. Cheapest by far. Still working after week and half. ECS has the real thing, but expensive.

johnkk

Page on the site for right side lock actuator
OEM Door Lock Latch Actuator Passenger Side Front Right RH AUDI A4/QUATRRO/S4, A6/QUATRRO/S6, ALLROAD - Mad Hornets

crum77

Thanks...much appreciated!

KHedges

I forget why I didn't actually do the stuff I said I was doing the next day right then, but I had a weather delay because I'm not going to work on a car in a driveway in the rain. We had a week or so of glorious spring weather until late last week, perfect to spend outside working on a car or bicycling to the parts stores.

After I got the A6 up on jackstands, I drained the PS fluid before replacing the hose (not the pump-to-reservoir, that's done already; the cooler-to-rack hose) and investigated the rear part of the exhaust system. I think the rubber vibration insulators are sagging, though they aren't cracked yet. I'm guessing one is in better shape than the other, putting more tension on the side of the pipes that are up against the tunnel. (or whatever this stuff is called, sorry) I ordered the special tool and of course it arrived after the next storm did, so no more work until next week. The bolts don't want to come off but I haven't tried a breaker bar yet and don't have an impact wrench.

I spent over a day trying to figure out how to remove the banjo bolt connector on the PS hose at the rack and finally decided if it ain't leaking there, I might as well just cut off the fancy rotating Audi linkage and clamp on some 3/8" PS hose. After all, that's how the replacement hose (Edelmann) was designed. I'm going to check for leaks on that end when I pull the wheel and fender liner to replace the fender support next week, but the lower end of the hose by the bumper is holding fluid just fine! I'm going to write that up because everything I found online about replacing the banjo bolt on Audi PS racks involves things like modifying tools and somehow getting a bolt with stuff on it up there again--and how do you torque it? Cutting a 3/8" stainless steel hard line in close quarters was easy by comparison. I'm going to write this up separately so it's easier to find.