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Author
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Date
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| Removing the Rear Deck
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Dan Masi
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1996
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The whole rear deck removes as one piece. The rear speakers are top-mounted, and can only be accessed by removing the rear deck. First, disconnect the center brake light; you'll find the connector by going into the trunk and looking up through a hole in the deck frame near the center brake light. The front lip of the deck is held in place by three snap fittings... pop the front of the deck upwards to free those fittings. [oops, memory lapse... I think there may also be 2 or 3 screws that you have to remove from the trunk... take a look, it'll be obvious]. Once free, the rear deck slides forward.
Submitted by Richard Sonnenblick in 2000:
Please add the following to the 'rear deck removal' faq. There are many folks posting to the A4 and audio forums who think you need to drill out the child seat restraint hooks. Ouch.
Later model A4s have child seat anchors screwed into the rear deck. These must be removed before the rear deck will slide forward and out.
There is no need to drill these out; the plastic covers over the retention hooks snap-click off (just use your index finger and thumb to pop it off, starting at the hook end), and you can use a 13mm wrench to remove the bolts from the top. From there on the FAQ directions are entirely appropriate for a these later models.
A couple more tips:
As you pull the deck towards the front of the car, try to keep it low, so that you don't scratch the upholstery on the C-pillars on either side of the deck.
Watch out for the two foam cubes (approx ~2"x2"x2") that will pop out (near the rear window) as you slide the deck forward. I assume these were Audi's solution to the vibrating decks of model years' past. When I pushed the deck back into position, I stuffed these cubes between the deck and the sheet metal below, approximately on either side of the center brake light. I didn't bother with the pillow stuffing because these cubes seemed to add sufficient tension to the deck-metal assembly. Once the foam cubes are in place, you'll need to push the deck *downwards* as you push it back the remaining 2-3" into its final position, so that the three plastic clips from the deck properly clip into the sheet metal. Work in one side, then the middle, then the other side, so that you get each plastic clip to seat properly.
Submitted by Christian Long in 2000:
If your A4 has the child safety seat anchors in the rear deck, you will have to remove those anchors first. Use a flat head screwdriver to gently pry the 3 plastic caps off of the anchors, and that will reveal the metal hooks and the 13mm bolts that hold the anchors to the car's chassis through the rear deck.
Next, disconnect the CHMSL (3rd brake light) wires, the plug can be found underneath the CHMSL inside the trunk.
The front lip of the rear deck is held in place by 3 plastic snap fittings. Pull up on the front of the rear deck and the snap fittings will pop loose. Now the rear deck is free to pull out by sliding it forward out of the rear window area.
There are 3 hooks that hold the rear portion of the rear deck to the chassis, and they pose no problem when removing the rear deck. Once the 3 snap fittings are free, just slide the rear deck forward 1-inch and that will clear the 3 hooks. It is important to make sure these are aligned properly when snapping the rear deck back in place.
NOTE: the A4 speakers are mounted to the chassis underneath the rear deck, not the rear deck itself. If you are looking to access the rear speakers, the rear deck must be removed.
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