Bslorang

Hello Q7 fam, new to the forum and happy to be here!

2015 Q7 TDI Prestige 3.0 is my ride. 110K mi. 3rd owner, completely stock.

I’ll try to make this brief - essentially the DEF system was “contaminated” (per the mechanic) from DEF fluid I filled with from a pump at a gas station. After leaving the rig at the mechanics for 11 months while waiting for a new DEF pump (national backorder from Audi), finally had it towed home and ordered the delete kit

Bslorang

Sorry about the break in the post, accidentally hit enter before I was done.

Anywho, ordered and received the delete kit from Rawtek, did NOT opt for the additional cat delete downpipe at this time. Caveat to the awesome bolt on no cutting required kit, they don’t provide directions. They only have directions/walkthrough for the 2.0l model that also includes replacing the downpipe. I started trying to follow it loosely and got as far as dropping the passenger side axle (why..?) before I decided to stop and reevaluate my approach.

This will be my first adventure in working on this TDI, and while I’m a fairly avid wrencher, I could use ANY any help from someone that’s done this install before. Pictures, brief walkthrough notes, etc. I’ve looked through the threads in the forum and couldn’t pin any that was specifically pertaining to this install on a 2015 3.0.. Thank you in advance!!

-Wes-

Oh, boy. It's a pretty straight forward install, but it sure was messy! It's been a long time since I was as dirty was I was after completing the delete.

I did mine last summer. IIRC, there are two pipe sections that you must remove. One, the rearward one, has the SCR catalytic converter in it. The second, the forward one, has the DPF. The hardest part of the delete is accessing and removing the bolts on the front of the DPF section.

I started with the SCR section. First ,remove the NOx sensor after of the catalatyic converter. Then, remove the urea injector that is near the transmission crossmember. With these removed, remove the three bolts on the front of this section (that connects to the rear of the DPF) and loosen the press fitting in the rear. For mine, these simply snapped off (probably easier than unthreading anyway!). Spray some silicone lubricant on the two hangars where they connect to the metal rods welded to the exhaust section, then get ready for a battle! I think I used an open-ended wrench at the area where the rod went through the rubber and metal bar, like a small demolition bar (crow bar) to force the two pieces apart. It was a real PITA, but they finally separated.

After pulling this section out, it is time to move on to the DPF. You'll need to pull a sensor out of the DPF section and two fuel lines. The lines may dribble a little fuel, but will stop quickly and aren't under pressure. After pulling mine, I put a bolt into the end of each one and reapplied the clamp just to ensure they don't get a bunch of crud in them going forward.

To give myself more room to work, I also unbolted the mounts for the welded hangars, as there isn't enough play yet in there to separate them like with the SCR section. With some contorting, you should be able to reach two of the bolts on the 3-point flange in the front of the DPF from under the car. However, the third one is a major, MAJOR, PITA. I couldn't get mine to turn, and it ended up stripping, so I spent an hour with the Dremel tool just slowly grinding it away. It was successful, but I don't recommend if you can avoid. "They say" that you can access the third bolt easiest by removing the left front wheel and the liner, then going in through there. I didn't find that to help. At all. So, YMMV, but that's really all there is.... get that last bolt out without damaging the flange on the downpipe, then you can snake the DPF out. If you have too much trouble with the clearance on the transmission crossmember to get the rear flange to pull through there, you can support the crossmember, loosen the bolts on it, then let it down a 1/2" or so to get that last bit of clearance. I found that, with the hangars removed, I could work it around enough to pull it through with a little difficulty.

After that, it's just the reinstall, which is straightforward and easy. So easy.

For the sensors and hoses, I just bundled them up, zip tied them, then put each in a ziploc bag, which I also zip-tied up to the undercarriage as out-of-the-way as I could. Including the hour of grinding, the job took me about three hours.

Smiledr996s

I look to do this at some point esp if I don’t get a new dpf when my engine is resealed under the emission warranty next year. Funny thing is I had my pump go a month ago and I had the new one installed a day or so later.

'10Q7TDI_Prestige'

Yeah, it sucks those emissions related parts were mostly un-obtainable during and after the big Covid lockdowns...none on this continent and nothing in the pipeline just a short time back. I drove their new Audi loaner for a bit over three months last year while the adblue pump was on backorder in Germany. In an odd turn of events, I ended up in a just-off-demo duty, fully-loaded Q7 for the duration...such a hardship. It went everywhere I wanted to go.

I guess my priorities are different, but I'd be getting Audi to replace all that emissions gear, as it is expensive, and covered. Even if you are gonna convert it later, I'd take their warranty work and drive their new loaner car, etc, or take corporate Audi's rent car option, etc., and that way you got parts that are actually worth something, and good value from your extended TDI warranty to-boot...that's just my thought process. I plan to get all I can get done via warranty; got a leaking injector seal, coolant leak from EGR, oil leak from Oil Cooler Plate the EGR's leak took out...all the normal issues finally showing themselves on our '15, and it's about time. Leak baby leak!!!

-Wes-

Agreed; milk that thing for all it's worth, because it is either a huge pain, a huge expense, or both to do it yourself after the warranty. Mine is done now, but I feel I definitely didn't push hard enough about the issues (such as coolant leak from the oil cooler adapter plate) I was having with mine. I ended up fixing the issue myself last summer, but I'll have to live with that trauma for the rest of my life. LOL

Raj800

Hey folks if it’s a DPF delete and install discussion then can I ask you what numbers should we look into while remapping it? Heard we have to do a good mapping otherwise it can cause issues like back pressure etc
can someone put some light on it plz

cvillebimmer

I found this 3 part video quite helpful for the deleting:

-Wes-

I am not brave enough to go that route. I bought the Malone tune for mine.