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No Steve, both types were new parts. It seems that one is better quality than the other… Mike 😎

I had to remove the door card today and - although the one surviving clip of the earlier type broke - ALL the ones I sourced at Amazon survived.

Well, good news and bad. You do need to remove the door card to change the switch, which is held in place by a couple of metal spring clips. None of the new style door card clips broke when removing and refitting the card! 😃 Unfortunately, that's the end of the good news. The switch I'd bought from eBay has a different connector on it - so couldn't be used. Plus I ham-fistedly managed to break the old switch getting it out 🤦‍♂️ To rub salt into the wound - Audi have discontinued the switch (part number is 8E2 962 1085 PR), so I've ordered a used part from eBay, leaving the plug hanging out of the hole in the door card. It'll be a simple matter of connecting the plug and then popping it into the housing when it arrives. I'm going to see if I can replace the cover (which was the only snag) of the switch when it arrives with that of the switch. I bought it from China, and I'm not going to bother going through the rigmarole of returning it. Ho-hum. How about those door card clips, though! 😃😆

Battery would have been my first thought - and starter motor would have been my second. I had a raft of problems with a failing starter on a BMW motorcycle, that were completely illogical at the time. Please drop back in and update us on the solution when you find it. 👍 Mike 😎

The lock/unlock switch on the driver’s side door card on the convertible has had a hard life. Since I can get a new eBay replacement for just over six quid, I thought I’d fit a new one. Do I need to remove the door card to replace it, or can I prise it out with a spudger or similar? Cheers, Mike 😎

Hi Tony, I have, thankfully, not come across this snag yet - but this turned up in my feed a couple of weeks ago and may be of some use? Mike 😎

Hi Peter, I have, thankfully, not come across this snag yet - but this turned up in my feed a couple of weeks ago and may be of some use? Mike 😎

They are in very specific points - what is underneath the bumps the rust has formed on? 🤔

I can't believe how much fuss there is over this sort of thing. We stopped using 'Manpower' decades ago, in favour of 'staffing' or 'personnel' - this is just a logical extension of this. With everything going on that we should be getting fed up with, I'm not surprised the judge threw it out - he/she (see what I did there?) probably considered it a frivolous lawsuit... Mike 😎 (He, him)

Better pic of the seats. Mike 😎

I let the nice chaps down at Tesco give the old girl a bit of a clean-up today... That's more like it... Job now properly complete. Mike 😎

I actually had a filter removal tool that fitted - it’s the same size as my motorcycle one. It had just been severely overtightened 🤨 Good tip on running the lift pump rather than cranking the engine 👍 I think I’d prefer that to trying to fill the filter. 🤔 Can’t tell you how satisfying it is to have gone through the diagnostic process and finally resolved the problem. I now need to clean it - it’s filthy… Mike 😎

Damn - I’ll never be able to unsee that now… 🤣😂🤣

So, my other car is a Škoda (but I can stop anytime). It has a really natty washer bottle cap, which I took off and tried on my A4 Convertible - and it fits fine. It looks like this closed... ...but opens up to become a funnel 👍 I bought mine for £8.99 from eBay here... Mike 😎

So, I decided that Friday would be a better day to do this - as my mate Dave was available to give me a hand today... I start off by breaking down the vast cardboard box the under-trays came in, and use it as a working surface to stop stuff getting on the driveway. I jack and axle-stand the car up, then lay out the parts and tools I'll need on the garage floor... I begin with a couple of easy jobs - replacing the £305 £19 hose 😆 - Beelzebub's spring clip was positioned by Dave with the biggest set of plumbers grips I've ever seen - the metal end was held in place by the clip built into the turbo... Then the main feed from the MAS to the turbo - I tightened the two 10mm bolts up using a short ratchet, as space was tight (plus I have hands like shovels). I used a trick a mechanic mate of mine showed me years ago to set the right hand bolt in place. I put a couple of layers of kitchen roll between the bolt and the socket, making it impossible to accidentally lose the bolt before you get it started... OK - time to get a bit grubby. I get under the car and unbolt the front engine mount from the block - colloquially known as the Snubber. As you can see, this is likely the original one, and is badly perished - in fact, it starts coming apart in my hand. I cut it off using a Stanley knife and bin it... It is remarkably easy to get the new bush on... ...and I manage to refit it, by carefully tightening each of the three bolts securing it in turn, saving me having to loosen the nuts on the socket... Whilst underneath, I reach back and undo the two remaining fasteners holding the damaged gearbox under-tray in place and bring it out... It seems to have a hard life... 🤨 I come up for air and fit the new battery cover in place - working as designed for the first time since I have had the car 😆 Next up - new fuel filter. I must go back and check the old one to see if it has a date on it - because I'm pretty sure it was the original...😱 There's an excellent tutorial guide on how to do this - pretty simple - job here. I fit the two remaining turbo hoses, from underneath the car, without any drama - my hands were too dirty to take pics, though... We start the car up - it took a long time for the diesel to get to the injectors via the new filter - and let it idle for a few minutes to warm the oil. It sounds way better already... 😃 This should be tightened to 25Nm - says so on the (plastic) lid. OMG - it was tightened to Godzilla hand tight. My oil filter socket started slipping - so we put a layer of cloth between the filter top and the socket for some extra stiction, which worked - but that was not 25Nm... 🤨 Once the oil was warm, we switched off and Dave volunteered to go underneath to drain it. A bit thin and watery, he reckoned. We changed the filter and O-ring - tightening to exactly 25Nm when done... 😃 Filled up with 3.8 litres of Quantum's finest, then started up again and checked for leaks. There being none, Dave, once again, nobly volunteered to get back underneath (I'm going to owe him so much beer) and fit the new gearbox and engine under trays - which at least had the advantage of coming with new fasteners. I must say, the quality and fit of these was a bit disappointing. Time will tell whether they are up to the task... 🤔 I started reassembling the top of the engine - replacing the air intake duct and - finally - fitting the engine cover. We removed the axle stands and then checked the oil - exactly on the 'Max' mark 👍 Time to take it out for a test drive. As soon as I drove out onto the road, I knew we'd fixed it. It picked up immediately, without any smoke and - critically - without any intake roar. I drove down to the A47 and drove about four miles in 4th gear - the revs around 4k, then turned off and stopped the engine. On restart, the DPF warning light had gone out - Yay! 🥳 I drove back home and ran the OBDEleven. As expected, it had numerous faults, but I just cleared them all and rescanned it. It came up with the expected three faults - all relating to the after-market radio I have fitted. Most importantly, it does NOT have a P2279 code... 😃 Job done. 👍 Thanks everyone for your help and advice - this place is a great resource. Mike 😎

Hi Steve, Julie, This video came into my YouTube feed the other day - I don't know if it might be useful to you? Cheers, Mike 😎

Hi Jack, I can recommend a powder coater in Norwich to you - BA Wheels Unit 12, Marriott Close Norwich Norfolk NR2 4UX ‭01603 610007‬ They will let you 'drive in and drive out'. They'll take your wheels off, remove the tyres, strip the wheels chemically, powder coat them in a finish of your choice, remount the tyres and balance them, then refit them to your car. Obviously this isn't a 'while you wait' service, 😆 but they are excellent at what they do. They did my Convertible's wheels for me six years ago, and they're still like new... I have no affiliation with them, other than being a satisfied customer. A friend of mine had his Alfa wheels done last year with similar results. https://ba-wheels.co.uk/

Hi SunshineSnoopy, Have you had any luck fixing the problem with your soft top? This appeared in my YouTube feed, so I thought I’d forward it to you… Mike 😎

Blimey - I think I'll be putting air filters down as a six-month replacement on both my cars...

Some more parts arrived today, including the final hose—what on earth makes this over £300 from Audi? 🤨 …the snubber bush… …and finally the new under-trays and fixings, which came in a vast cardboard box—the size of a chest of drawers—and are really substantially built. In fact, probably better than the OEM stuff. I'm still waiting for everything to arrive before going into battle—probably Thursday, I think… Mike 😎

Mine arrived in Norfolk from Cornwall(!) - no problem at all. What colour etc are you looking for? What year/model of car? Are your current seats electric (see what I did there)?😄 I think convertibles probably have a higher proportion of owners optioning full leather - weather protection etc, which may be why you're seeing more convertible sets offered than saloons and Avants...🤔 Mike😎

Fitted a set of leather seats in my convertible, that previously had half leather. I find it much more comfortable - no sticking to the seat so far - but of course the hood is usually down, and if it's not, the AC is generally on. I paid about £250 inc delivery from a vendor on eBay - didn't bother changing door cards. Sorry - haven't a decent pic of the seats fitted. It was a straightforward job - except where I made it difficult by fitting my own aftermarket seat heaters (you can see the controls by the gearstick). Don't ever be tempted to do this - the nightmares haunt me to this day...🤦‍♂️ Mike 😎

Parts have started to arrive (I was out, but was alerted by a text saying that parcels have been left in my "Safe Space" between my buns, which was a little worrying...). This one is the hose from the bottom of the intercooler to the gallery (the original is still in good condition, but I'm replacing it anyway)... ...and this one - Pipe Five above - which is the replacement for the hose with the split in it, running from the turbo to the gallery... Since I would have to lift the car onto axle stands to fit these, and it'll be getting warmish later (It's 22C now), I won't be refitting anything until I have all the parts here (including oil and filter, and fuel filter) - probably on Wednesday or Thursday next week, when it is due to cool down (temporarily)... Mike 😎

Yep- I went back through the paperwork and couldn’t find a fuel filter change recorded. I felt it was about time, after 105k miles and 16yrs… 😆

Thanks, Gareth 👍—I've just ordered five litres of Quantum Longlife Three, for £28; and a new oil filter, fuel filter and sump plug (I change these most oil changes, as the VAG ones don't allow you to replace the crush washer), for £30. There doesn't seem to be a YouTube guide to doing the oil filter on the BPW engine. I'll go into the garage tomorrow and measure the top of the container it sits in to see if I need to get a socket to fit. I'll also do a search for how to swap the fuel filter (which is a full cartridge type, so should be fairly simple). Updates on fitting these bits will be in the “Flashing Glow Plug light etc” thread. This car is going to be serviced to within an inch of its life by the time this work is finished… 😆 Mike 😎