What have you done to your Audi A4 B7 today?

[WOMBLERULZ]

Got to put back sets back in then in for mot . I bet no more than 400 miles this year . But swap front brakes back to std 320 ignor the torch.

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[Charlie Farley]

On a more positive note, my weekly VCDS scan on the old bus was all clear again.

 

[Rob Avant]

Got my headrest tubes installed to the rear bench, so fitted the headrests and finally the interior swap is complete! The tubes with the buttons were on back order so took a bit longer to arrive.

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And an (admittedly small) milestone reached just as I got home after work!

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Where did you source the headrest tubes from? I need two for one of the rear seats. Audi are asking silly money for the adjustable one with the button, over £100!

 

[NM07]

Where did you source the headrest tubes from? I need two for one of the rear seats. Audi are asking silly money for the adjustable one with the button, over £100!

I had no choice but to get them from Audi direct I couldn't source them anywhere else, as they are near impossible to remove without breaking, so there are barely any used ones available

 

[Charlie Farley]

How are they held in then?

 

[NM07]

It's kind of hard to describe. When you install the rear seat back, there are two locating tabs at the bottom that go in first, then the top half of the seat is pressed into place and is held in by two securing clips (much like the two on the seat base). On the saloon at least, there are metal cylinders welded to the rear bulkhead, and the headrest tubes are installed last and go through the seat back and into these metal cylinders. The tubes themselves have barbs on them, the barbs compress when sliding through the cylinders, then open up again when they reach the other side to lock them into place. I've illustrated where the tubes go in this picture (very poorly ):

So once they're in place, it is impossible to get access to the bottom of the tube to compress the barbs to allow them to be slid back upwards to remove them, as the base of the bench is secured in place with locating tabs, and the locating tabs cannot be removed until the top of the seat has been popped out, which itself requires removing the headrest tubes! Terrible design really. The only way I have ever been able to remove the rear tubes is by sticking a screwdriver down the hole and destroying them from the inside, the broken barbs then fall down behind the seat back and I remove the shrapnel once I've got the seat back out.

 

[Charlie Farley]

I see, not one of Audi's better designs again.
I was thinking it was a general seat back issue but seems to be saloons then as My Avant is totally different, well they are folding so would be.

thanks for clearing that one up chap.

 

[Charlie Farley]

Just thought though, my friends B7 S4 saloon has folding rears and I don't recall seeing that setup in his car.

 

[Charlie Farley]

Must be applicable to saloons with fixed rear seats then.

 

[Rob Avant]

Yep. Utter garbage, terrible design. I have to remove the rear headrests when I put the child seats in (which is rare as we usually use the Mrs motor to ferry them around) Each time one side felt weaker and looser until this happened

 

[Charlie Farley]

That's not good at all.
And Audi want over £100 for a pair, i don't think so.
not sure what the answer is but there must be another way.

 

[NM07]

Yep I can't imagine it would be an issue for the saloons with folding rear seats, as there won't be a metal bulkhead with the mounting brackets to fix the seat back to. I imaging the folding rear seated saloons are much more similar to the avant, where the tube goes down into the seat back itself and some sort of releasable retaining latch on either side.

 

[NM07]

That's not good at all.
And Audi want over £100 for a pair, i don't think so.
not sure what the answer is but there must be another way.

I wish it was for the pair. It's actually £108 per side.
Here's my invoice for a full set for the back. Brought a tear to my eye but had no other option.

 

[Charlie Farley]

I feel for your wallet chap...

 

[NM07]

What's even worse is the one without the button (identical in literally every other way, apart from the button!) is £13.70. And the centre tube with the button is £15.23!
The mind boggles.

 

[Charlie Farley]

Luckily it's not an issue that has affected my old bus yet, and at those prices even if it did I wouldn't be paying that sort of money.

 

[Charlie Farley]

It's just bonkers pricing, but to be expected from Audi though.

 

[NM07]

Luckily it's not an issue that has affected my old bus yet, and at those prices even if it did I wouldn't be paying that sort of money.

I searched all the usual auction sites for ages trying to find a set, but alas had zero luck. When removed they all look like the pic Rob posted above.

It was my last option to buy from Audi, but the rear seat looked so crap without them as you could see the inner foam I couldn't live with it for long.

What's even worse is that the tubes cost the same as the whole ****** leather interior!

Sorry for the rant, it's a bit of a sore spot for me

 

[NM07]

One thing I will promise is that seat back will never ever ever be coming out for the rest of the cars life

 

[Charlie Farley]

Well, Audi B7 ownership is always an enlightening experience, sometimes for all the wrong reasons.

 

[Charlie Farley]

In the last 8 years of ownership of my B7 bus, I have found out the hard way and expensive way on numerous areas of the car, and fully expect some more to ping up as time goes by.

 

[NM07]

Well, Audi B7 ownership is always an enlightening experience, sometimes for all the wrong reasons.

Well put Still love it though even if it likes to eat my wallet for breakfast...

 

[Charlie Farley]

So off with the 3" decat pipe today and back on with the boring OE unit.
I've been chomping on the bit for a few days so just decided to get it done ready for the MOT, along with a new rear wiper blade that didn't fit..lol
The old bus seems a bit lame now, a bit subdued with the OE cat back on, still only for a short period.

whilst on route to ECP for the wiper arm that didn't fit, no change there with ECP, I had a close encounter at the traffic lights with a MAMIL that jumped a red light,
what a prize plank, anyway dashcam going back in tomorrow as I have an impending feeling.

 

[NM07]

Thought I'd have a go at fitting the new RS4 pedal covers today. I can say with complete confidence that was the most frustrating, annoying, and patience-trying job I've ever had to do on the B7. Truly awful. Took me a good hour and a half to fit the new pedal covers, including removing the accelerator assembly itself so I could do it on the bench as there was no way in hell I could have done that one while on the car. But alas, I won the fight, and they are on And look really good too I reckon.

Naturally I had to give them a test, so took it out for a spirited drive to clear out the pipes ahead of the MoT on Wednesday. I can't believe how much better it drives and how much stronger it pulls with the new injectors and tandem pump. Overall well chuffed, good Sunday's work I think.

Time for a coffee.

 

[Charlie Farley]

Thought I'd have a go at fitting the new RS4 pedal covers today. I can say with complete confidence that was the most frustrating, annoying, and patience-trying job I've ever had to do on the B7. Truly awful. Took me a good hour and a half to fit the new pedal covers, including removing the accelerator assembly itself so I could do it on the bench as there was no way in hell I could have done that one while on the car. But alas, I won the fight, and they are on And look really good too I reckon.

View attachment 254075

Naturally I had to give them a test, so took it out for a spirited drive to clear the pipes out ahead of the MoT on Wednesday. I can't believe how much better it drives and how much stronger it pulls with the new injectors and tandem pump. Overall well chuffed, good Sunday's work I think.

Time for a coffee.

They look great and worth the hassle too, you're not alone as most guys find them totally infuriating to fit.
There worth a good 10 BHP gain all day long.

 

[Rob Avant]

I wish it was for the pair. It's actually £108 per side.
Here's my invoice for a full set for the back. Brought a tear to my eye but had no other option.

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Wow. That’s expensive. As you say it’s unbelievably frustrating that the one without a button is so much cheaper, I think they make these prices up as they go along. Think for the two I need it worked out around £150.
I’m going to spend the money on some S3 injections and fix the headrest at a later date!

 

[Rob Avant]

What's even worse is the one without the button (identical in literally every other way, apart from the button!) is £13.70. And the centre tube with the button is £15.23!
The mind boggles.

Were the centre headrest tubes a completely different fit to the outside ones? Just thinking I might be able to modify it to fit

 

[NM07]

Were the centre headrest tubes a completely different fit to the outside ones? Just thinking I might be able to modify it to fit

Quite different I'm afraid mate, they go into their respective mounts at a different angle so the bezel won't sit flush if you try and use it on the outside headrest holes

 

[Rob Avant]

Quite different I'm afraid mate, they go into their respective mounts at a different angle so the bezel won't sit flush if you try and use it on the outside headrest holes

Nightmare! Might just glue them back together and hope for the best

 

[Charlie Farley]

maybe hot glue them back in.

 

[quattrogone]

Nightmare! Might just glue them back together and hope for the best

Maybe someone who's good with autocad and has a 3d printer could make a few quid (but not as much as Audi lol)

 

[Rob Avant]

Nearly 400 mile trip to Wales and back today, first time the old wagon has done that much work in one day for quite sometime. Went to look at a possible weekend project car that turned out to be terrible. On the plus side some awesome driving roads, beautiful scenery and my love for the old wagon has been firmly rekindled

 

[Charlie Farley]

Hi Rob,
sounds like you had a good day out, well putting to one side the car you went to view that is.
B7 buses are so good I agree 100%

 

[Rob Avant]

Yep the old wagon performed perfectly. MPG wasn’t too good though, used about £90’s worth of Shell’s finest super juice. Worth it though as it was a fun drive. Think I’m going to concentrate my efforts on improving the old wagon this summer and get the big turbo sorted

 

[Charlie Farley]

Yep the old wagon performed perfectly. MPG wasn’t too good though, used about £90’s worth of Shell’s finest super juice. Worth it though as it was a fun drive. Think I’m going to concentrate my efforts on improving the old wagon this summer and get the big turbo sorted

Sounds like a plan.
As they say, you don't need a new car to have a very good car.

 

[Bobbytea]

A momentous day! Difficult to get a clear photo.


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[Charlie Farley]

wish I could get 54.8 mpg.

 

[Bobbytea]

wish I could get 54.8 mpg.

Ha! Me too, that’s the trip. I did manage 38mpg yesterday though…


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[Charlie Farley]

Still not too shabby , i'd love to see more than 25mpg on an average day and 38mpg i'd be dancing around the house...

 

[Bobbytea]

25! Wow that is low - are you just blatting it everywhere!?

Even when pushing on, I normally get around 28-30


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