DJ's adventures in A2 land

Finished off the work on Audrey today - I borrowed my friends DeWalt 18v grinder to cut the nuts of the track rod ends as both of them would not undo without the threads spinning. Luckily the grinder is such a good tool it was easy to make quick progress:

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Here are the old parts - if you look carefully then you’ll see the MOT failure based on the split rubber boots was fair:

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No picture but I pulled out Audrey’s winter wheels & tyres out and fitted them instead of putting the summer tyres back on, even if it’s a little early! My rationale being I probably won’t see the car for a month or two and the temperatures here in early mornings are already getting pretty chilly!

So, ready for the retest and to have the tracking reset and all good.


EDIT: Forgot to mention two elements to finish this job off:

One was what a pleasure the Audi air compressor is to use - Such a great design with the little valve by the gauge to bleed off any excess air - in fact the least favourite aspect of using it is getting to it under the driver's footwell cover, as getting the rubber mats out, the carpet up and the cover off is a bit of a faff I find.

The second was the satisfaction of replacing both LED bulbs in the rear passenger overhead light unit with new, thereby curing the flickering that has plagued it since I acquired the car - such a simple job, I had missed the tiny cutout in the lens that enables you to pull just that off without having to remove the whole unit and dismantle it - which of course is what I did before I noticed and then had to get it all back together again!
 
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Not much to report, Akoya has now settled into being my daily driver and apart from a grumbly wheel bearing (which I am nursing by taking it easy on faster left hand corners - it doesn’t seem to be getting worse), is providing sterling service.

I had the occasion to transport one of my boys the other day, so as I didn’t want to just plonk their isofix seats straight onto the alcantara seat material, it was time to break out the genuine Audi child seat inlay (part number 4L0019819A):

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A quirk of the car is the driver’s front window keeps bouncing back down on the one-touch close setting, I had a go at re-training it but it hasn’t really worked.

One little addition I’ve made to the car that I’m pleased with is managing to find a mobile phone holder that doesn’t grip onto the somewhat fragile-looking air vents (previously the only realistic option with my original phone holder as the windscreen is too far away for the phone to mount and be in easy reach and low down / out of the way). This one instead attaches by sucker to the front quarter window in front of the door - meaning it’s nicely within easy reach of my right hand, out of the way of my field of vision and yet leaves enough room with the phone mounted to still be able to see over the top of the phone out of the window when checking the famous A2 windscreen pillar blind spot:

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It also wirelessly charges which is nice.

I have ordered a longer cable so I can run and fix it down the side of the dash in that gap between the door card, under the rubber mat and under the seat / up to the cig light socket, however the thought did occur to me that a hardwired ignition live would be much better all round. Also the fuse panel is down there isn’t it? What would be the easiest way of doing this?
 
Akoya got a bit of love today - I took the car to North Devon tyres in Honiton (a town that isn’t in North Devon, but that’s not the point), and had a set of 185/60/15 Michelin CrossClimate 2 tyres fitted to the best of all the pepperpot alloys I’d picked up mostly via Facebook ads for good prices. Excited to have these as I’m a Michelin fan following my experience of the CrossClimate+ fitted to our Touran and the Primacy 4 on Akoya’s chrome summer wheel pepperpots. I didn’t trust a tyre place to jack the car directly so took the wheels there in the boot and then fitted them once home. I’ll report back on how good they are once we’ve had some proper winter weather!

While I was under the car I searched for the source of the mystery clonks I’m hearing from the front right suspension over certain bumps, expecting there to be play in a ball joint or drop link somewhere- however I found nothing amiss - I could not even detect the duff wheel bearing either, despite there definitely being bearing noise on left hand corners. Mysterious!!

What was not mysterious however was the cause of Akoya’s reluctance to turn hard on left hand lock - behold:

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New steering rack gaiter needed fast - how hard is this to replace? Looks to be a swine for access?!

Also I took the time to give the interior of the car a good hoover and decontamination following a spell being used as a school taxi by my wife while the Touran was out of action recently. Children are grimy!!

I took the opportunity to fit the new boot sill trim that @Clackers supplied me some time back:

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Also, a satisfying job - I used a longer cable sourced from eBay to route power from the car’s cig lighter socket next to the handbrake to my mobile phone holder above the driver’s side vent more unobtrusively than the previous arrangement (i.e. the cable draped over the top of the steering wheel!!). I managed to hide the cable all the way down to the floor, under the carpet and then up out of sight under the handbrake tray trim until it pops out right where needed at the socket. My OCD is pleased:

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(@2work Tom could you right the pictures please? Thanks!)

Finally, for the last couple of tanks I’ve been running 250ml of two stroke oil to the Jaso FC semi-synthetic specification as per the thread on this subject. I have to say I’ve noted no additional benefit over running the millers additive, however I will continue until the bottle is empty, then try a couple of tanks of straight regular diesel, then try another tank of two stroke mix to be sure.
 
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Update following my plea for help on Akoya's suspension clonks over rough roads HERE:

As noted today in that thread, following my checking the top mount on the driver's side was done up tight, the clonk has not shown itself since - so I'm calling that a free fix (for now) and therefore a double-win!

As a result of the noise not being there, I'm amazed at how subjectively more refined the car feels, with only the previously-noted slight bearing noise on left hand corners remaining (but as said I can detect no play in the bearings on all 4 wheels when I rock the tyres on any axis with the car jacked so for now I'll leave well alone and monitor for any deterioration whilst keeping a look out for a good used bearing tool set). I do think the new Michelin CrossClimate2's have also genuinely improved the ride over the Primacy 4 summer tyres that were on there previously. They are super-quiet (same as the Primacy 4's, which as I noted when they went on earlier in the year, are superbly refined in themselves). They are also much better in gripping and keeping the car in-line round curvy, mud-strewn lanes which are the norm round here this time of year. At this rate I'll be keeping them on all year round and not just the colder weather!

Next job for Akoya is a good Bissell-ing of the interior to complete the valet I started the other day, some areas of carpet / upholstery are just crying out for it. I'll also give the slow-to-non-returning front seat belts a good dunking in a soapy bath as per the threads on this subject; to see if that does indeed cure their recalcitrant nature. I'm also tempted to try meths on the handbrake tray trim to see if that removes the knackered soft-touch and a colour-matched finish underneath.
 
Today I got a few hours peace and used it to do four jobs on Audrey that were all well overdue!

Behold:

1) Fit the Audi TT aluminium pedal covers. What a swine that was! Advice for anyone else doing this is ensure (in the case of the accelerator and brake pedals) that the rubber connector in the centre is pushed through the corresponding hole in the pedal and then tease out the rubber around and over the edges last. The clutch pedal responded to rage-fuelled brute force in the end! Pleased that I did not break a piece of my clutch pedal removing the old rubbers as I know other have done in the past.

2) I finally unwrapped and fitted the club footrest cover to match that @2work Tom was responsible for, complete with @depronman Paul’s 3D printed infills.

3) I then unwrapped the Bluetooth headlamp switch in its modified panel along with the stainless ring trim. Again, Tom is responsible for this as he kindly dremelled and painted the switch panel to perfection for me.

The installation went well although again was a little fiddly getting the switch connected up, the auto light sensor routed out to an innocuous position just to the left of the switch panel where it won’t be noticed but can still do it’s job effectively; and then getting the whole thing to sit home correctly -although it’s still too willing to come out out again when I pull the switch to the fog lights settings, so that needs further adjustment to make it stay home.

I then downloaded the app onto my iPhone (latest OS) but I find that when I try and pair the app to the switch the app crashes! Anyone else experienced this?

Luckily the standard setting appears to be about right, the light was fading as I finished this job and the switch activated the lights as it should - I like this mod although I would have preferred the switch to activate the sidelights first - and then as it gets darker to activate the headlamps; but I suppose having the headlamps on at the first hint of dusk is safer so that’s not really a big deal.

So here’s what Audrey’s cabin looks like now! Pleased by how much the three additions all add an extra splash of stainless steel that ties in with the other stainless touches in there - The overall effect to me is to visually brighten up the cabin and really give it a classy air that at the same time brings it up to date a little more, especially in the case of the auto switch as that now looks just like the one in my current-shape VW Touran.
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4) I finally dug out the cables for the Calix engine block heater and tried it out by having it on the whole time I was doing all of this. I must say I was expecting there to be a discernible result via the temp gauge when I ran the engine for a minute just before coming back inside - but there wasn’t, other than the heater (set to 21 degrees and in its auto setting) blowing warm air more or less straight away: So perhaps it just shortens the warmup time when the engine is under load.

Anyway, I’ve now got the cable rigged up to my outside socket next to my garage and I can therefore plug it in easily. Next step is to work out how to get wifi up to the workshop from the house so I can connect some kind of smart socket to switch it on remotely when the alarm goes off!

Next jobs on Audrey apart from the new wheel bearing are to fit the Bluetooth kit I got from Germany and also fit the Komfort blinker kit (another @2work facilitated upgrade!), plus investigate why the service flap catch appears to have jammed in the open position.

In Akoya news, @Spen has paid for her so we’re just awaiting the date she’ll be off to pastures new - Again as I said in her sale thread, I’m thrilled this special A2 will pass once again to a caring club member with an excellent track record in terms of looking after his vehicles! I’m sure she is going to be pampered.

On a slightly less positive note, I finally got round to blasting the muck off my polished pepperpots that I had foolishly left on there when they came off Akoya (summer tyres) - I’ll have to try some steel wool but it does rather look like they didn’t have any protective lacquer etc. on them and they have developed corrosion spots all over! Gutted to say the least - but lesson learned. I will get them refinished and protected in due course.

Hope others have had better luck!
 
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Today I got a few hours peace and used it to do four jobs on Audrey that were all well overdue!

Behold:

1) Fit the Audi TT aluminium pedal covers. What a swine that was! Advice for anyone else doing this is ensure (in the case of the accelerator and brake pedals) that the rubber connector in the centre is pushed through the corresponding hole in the pedal and then tease out the rubber around and over the edges last. The clutch pedal responded to rage-fuelled brute force in the end! Pleased that I did not break a piece of my clutch pedal removing the old rubbers as I know other have done in the past.

2) I finally unwrapped and fitted the club footrest cover to match that @2work Tom was responsible for, complete with @depronman Paul’s 3D printed infills.

3) I then unwrapped the Bluetooth headlamp switch in its modified panel along with the stainless ring trim. Again, Tom is responsible for this as he kindly dremelled and painted the switch panel to perfection for me.

The installation went well although again was a little fiddly getting the switch connected up, the auto light sensor routed out to an innocuous position just to the left of the switch panel where it won’t be noticed but can still do it’s job effectively; and then getting the hole thing to sit home correctly -although it’s still too willing to come out out again when I pull the switch to the fog lights settings, so that needs further adjustment to make it stay home.

I then downloaded the app onto my iPhone (latest OS) but I find that when I try and pair the app to the switch the app crashes! Anyone else experienced this?

Luckily the standard setting appears to be about right, the light was fading as I finished this job and the switch activated the lights as it should - I like this mod although I would have preferred the switch to activate the sidelights first - and then as it gets darker to activate the headlamps; but I suppose having the headlamps on at the first hint of dusk is safer so that’s not really a big deal.

So here’s what Audrey’s cabin looks like now! Pleased by how much the three additions all add an extra splash of stainless steel that ties in with the other stainless touches in there - The overall effect to me is to visually brighten up the cabin and really give it a classy air that at the same time brings it up to date a little more, especially in the case of the auto switch as that now looks just like the one in my current-shape VW Touran.View attachment 90708

4) I finally dug out the cables for the Calix engine block heater and tried it out by having it on the whole time I was doing all of this. I must say I was expecting there to be a discernible result via the temp gauge when I ran the engine for a minute just before coming back inside - but there wasn’t, other than the heater (set to 21 degrees and in its auto setting) blowing warm air more or less straight away: So perhaps it just shortens the warmup time when the engine is under load.

Anyway, I’ve now got the cable rigged up to my outside socket next to my garage and I can therefore plug it in easily. Next step is to work out how to get wifi up to the workshop from the house so I can connect some kind of smart socket to switch it on remotely when the alarm goes off!

Next jobs on Audrey apart from the new wheel bearing are to fit the Bluetooth kit I got from Germany and also fit the Komfort blinker kit (another @2work facilitated upgrade!), plus investigate why the service flap catch appears to have jammed in the open position.

In Akoya news, @Spen has paid for her so we’re just awaiting the date she’ll be off to pastures new - Again as I said in her sale thread, I’m thrilled this special A2 will pass once again to a caring club member with an excellent track record in terms of looking after his vehicles! I’m sure she is going to be pampered.

On a slightly less positive note, I finally got round to blasting the muck off my polished pepperpots that I had foolishly left on there when they came off Akoya (summer tyres) - I’ll have to try some steel wool but it does rather look like they didn’t have any protective lacquer etc. on them and they have developed corrosion spots all over! Gutted to say the least - but lesson learned. I will get them refinished and protected in due course.

Hope others have had better luck!
Hi dj_efk,
I would recommend solvo-autosol or duraglit silver polish or mothers before using the wire wool
Hope that helps
Keith
 
Well done!! This is excellent news and you must be absolutely thrilled :)

What a superb car and with your intended works sound perfectly judged. All of your careful research has really paid off.

Nice to hear the name 'Red Line Oil' in there: really top notch oils of the highest order.
Hi David, Lovely looking A2, super colour, great interior... ps thanks for the winter tyres. Best wishes Martin Taylor
 
Today I gave the go-ahead to my local body shop for some restoration work to Audrey:

- Correct all areas of the dreaded red paint lacquer peel and also repaint the bonnet (the paint seems to have reacted / bubbled)
- Remove current rear bumper, paint and fit replacement PDC bumper ready for Tom @timmus to connect this up
- Correct any scratches / other defects
- Machine polish + coat the paintwork with a dirt-repelling sealant for easy maintenance washes

By the time they're done they'll have resprayed half of the car to get it to the required standard! Once finished, I have a transporter booked to take it up to Tom at the end of the month for the following work:

1) Rear parking sensors as above - They really were much more useful in Akoya than I thought they'd be on a small car - as rear visibility when maneuvering in tight spaces isn't the best on our our cars.
2) SideGuard installation - Some of you might scratch your head on this one but I'm a big believer in investing in my (and my passengers'!) personal safety - hopefully this feature will never be used! Incidentally this philosophy is why I only buy premium tyres, Audrey now has the latest Michelin CrossClimate 2's for the cold season and then Michelin Primacy 4's on the summer wheels
3) Colour DIS - Bit of an extravagance this, but having see the pictures of it, I really couldn't resist!
4) USB Socket / hard-wiring for my phone holder to the right of the steering wheel - also I would also like a dashcam but have yet to research what the latest options are that would work well with the A2's interior - Any suggestions anyone? I was thinking one of those ones with a camera facing back that looks through the rear window as well as front-facing.
5) MFSW - I've bought an A1 wheel from Tom (@2work ) which is going in and should be a really nice subtle upgrade that looks OE - I specifically wanted one without any S-Line badging etc. :

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6) Bluetooth - I want to be able to use my phone (irregularly and when I'm expecting an important call I might add, not as a habit) without being tempted to touch it. As such I want to be able to use my new steering wheel to answer calls and adjust the volume of the call through the car's ICE system
7) Lumbar adjustment - I have yet to decide whether to get my early-style heated sports seats converted with this or not - I find them comfortable for about two hours but then find I could use a smidge more lumbar support - but not much. When I had Akoya I found the seats more comfortable albeit firmer in this area. Any got a view here?

Whilst Audrey was in very nice condition, I decided to commit to long-term ownership and hence get it to the standard and spec I really wanted using some of the proceeds generated from the sale of my BMW E9: With the context of the current fuel price crisis, the diesel A2s with their 60mpg+ economy, £30 road tax, classic car insurance status, readily available parts and relative ease of DIY maintenance have never been so relevant for someone like me that lives nowhere near a built-up area / clear air zone - and all this even whilst coming up to 20 years old!

Anyone who remembers my very first post on this forum HERE will know that I was going to buy a nearly-new Skoda Fabia estate before looking at the A2, so with all of the above I will now have spent roughly what I would have paid for such a car. Current mileage on Audrey is about 148k, I don't see why I can't cover more than that again in her if I just keep on top of things - and I doubt I will see anything like the depreciation I would have seen from the Skoda during this time should I ever come to sell!

Beyond this, future plans for the car would be to get the new old stock turbo and manifold I snapped up from eBay a while back zircon coated ready to go on at the next cambelt service in a few years' time and perhaps get the seats recoloured from swing grey to platinum as I stated previously, although I've grown to like them how they are a little more now. Perhaps if I could inspect someone else's platinum leather seats in an otherwise-soul black interior that might sway me again!
 
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Interim update from @timmus towers:

In addition to the picture shared in this post - Additional jobs being carried out are the twin boot lamp conversion (it really does get very dark down here in the sticks on cloudy nights and the A2 really should have had two lamps in the boot from new), the rear cupholder mounting installed (previously it was just placed in position behind the console, where it was easily kicked over by child feet) and a full (3) set of the later style keys programmed up to replace the knackered-looking originals so I don't feel like I'm driving an old banger!!

On this latter point, Akoya was once again the inspiration, as that car had two of these modern keys and it was odd how much nicer they were to use / made you feel about the car when using them. Very superficial I know but there you are!

On dashcam news - Tom sent me a photo of a Nextbase camera that had the rear view plug-in module fitted that looked through the rear window, along with a photo of what that module sees when installed on an A2. This convinced me to invest in a similar setup - I've bought the latest 622GW to upgrade the Touran's setup (as that is the more valuable of the two cars); the resultant liberated 522GW will then be transferred to the A2 with the rear view module installed via a NB hard-wiring kit that Tom is installing for me.

Very excited to get the car back and report on all the new upgrades / features!

Hope everyone is enjoying their weekends.
 
Guess the mod!

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Another club-produced enhancement successfully fitted!

Will report on how it is in day-to day use in due course.

Thanks again Tom for fitting it - i put it in the boot as a sort-of cheeky afterthought just before the car left here - over the moon with how good it looks.
 
Evening David,

That interior is looking pretty darn good. I bet you cannot wait to have this back on your driveway.

With all that’s been installed I’m surprised that a RNS-E hasn’t made its way in there. The ColorMFA can be set up to trigger the rear OPS display on the head unit, I found this out last week whilst playing with the various setting. It does bring the OPS display up with the front sensors also which I’m sure can be solved with a future firmware tweak.

Confirm your seats are Swing leather. I have a spare seat section of genuine Audi Swing coloured leather which I have used to recover the armrest lid so it matches the Swing leather in Project RN53. Very easy to do with a staple gun for absolute perfect results. I have more than enough left to do another…

Kind regards,

Tom
 
Oh Akoya had RNS and I found it to be technically interesting but ultimately wasted on me as tended to drive with it switched off apart from when (occasionally) I wanted to listen to the radio.

The Chorus II in Audrey does everything I need Tom and I do like it’s simple look in the dash.

That’s interesting on the leather as yes, I was thinking that perhaps making the top of the armrest match the seats rather than the rest of the interior (as the car is otherwise soul black in there) might be more to my taste. Other Tom assures me that when you’re sitting in the car it all does tie in nicely so really I’ll have to experience it for myself and then decide.
 
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Oh Akoya had RNS and I found it to be technically interesting but ultimately wasted on me as tended to drive with it switched off apart from when (occasionally) I wanted to listen to the radio.

The Chorus II in Audrey does everything I need Tom and I do like it’s simple look in the dash.

That’s interesting on the leather as yes, I was thinking that perhaps making the top of the armrest match the seats rather than the rest of the interior (as the car is otherwise soil black in there) might be more to my taste. Other Tom assures me that when you’re sitting in the car it all does tie in nicely so really I’ll have to experience it for myself and then decide.
Morning David,

Other Tom might be right but see what you think once it’s on your driveway. Taking the lid apart to recover it is so simple.

I might even do a quick write up about it on my OEM thread about it as I added factory leather to the factory cloth lid.

Kind regards,

Tom
 
Morning David,

Other Tom might be right but see what you think once it’s on your driveway. Taking the lid apart to recover it is so simple.

I might even do a quick write up about it on my OEM thread about it as I added factory leather to the factory cloth lid.

Kind regards,

Tom
Please do! I may just follow it!
 
Guess the mod!

View attachment 92942View attachment 92943View attachment 92944View attachment 92945

Another club-produced enhancement successfully fitted!

Will report on how it is in day-to day use in due course.

Thanks again Tom for fitting it - i put it in the boot as a sort-of cheeky afterthought just before the car left here - over the moon with how good it looks.

Excited to see this looks like a standard MK4 Golf item? I remember doing this Mod to my MK1 Octavia.

How easy is it to fit to the A2?
 
Excited to see this looks like a standard MK4 Golf item? I remember doing this Mod to my MK1 Octavia.

How easy is it to fit to the A2?
Jason, see HERE - You'll get to take a look at it when I bring your bonnet up to you.

It was fitted by @timmus - but his comment was that it took some fiddling / filing to fit well as the tolerances are tight).
 
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