thxguy

Even though it is simple enough to do- I could not find any pics on the notorious drain grommets under the battery- so I cleared mine out today and took lots of pics.

Last night before I removed the battery - I used my shop vac and literally sucked out 1.5 GALLONS!! of water from this area- so this is something I will keep my eyes on- I also had a little waterfall in my passenger side footwell after a fast left turn! Did not want to soak my TCU!

So here's a step-by-step for this simple procedure
Total time: 20 Min
Needed:
1. Wet-Dry Shop Vac
2. Socket set w/ 10mm and 1/2 " sockets
3.Needle Nose Pliers
4. Radio Code

Step 1- Remove the plastic cover over the battery / Brake areas by pulling off the rubber gasket towards you, then simply lift the enitre section out. (Thanks to Boston Driver for the great How-To on removal of the cowl / cover on this area)

https://forums.audiworld.com/a6/msgs/728243.phtml

Once you have this plasticky thing out- remove the battery (10mm socket to un-do the connections to the terminals.

Lift out the battery- it's heavy- so watch it.

Once you have the battery out- you can remove the battery tray- I Used a 1/2" socket- 4 bolts to remove- 2 on the firewall, and 2 in the vertical orientation towards the front of the car.

<a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/thxguyca/A628/photo#5136873056214237266"><img src="http://lh6.google.com/thxguyca/R0nW1AvswFI/AAAAAAAABfY/huZWapua2pw/s800/DSC_8541.JPG" /></a>

When the tray is out- you will have a clear view of the first drain hole- Here is mine- with enough of the leaves removed so you can see it- When I first opened it up - you literally could not see the drain hole!

<a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/thxguyca/A628/photo#5136872785631297522"><img src="http://lh3.google.com/thxguyca/R0nWlQvsv_I/AAAAAAAABeo/EH9qJSyfLE4/s800/DSC_8523.JPG" /></a>

There is a second drain like this one- just behind the brake booster- that is what you need the needle nose pliers for- Yank it out.

This is what the drain plug looked like prior to cleaning...

<a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/thxguyca/A628/photo#5136872837170905090"><img src="http://lh3.google.com/thxguyca/R0nWoQvswAI/AAAAAAAABew/q1T_CTD1phU/s800/DSC_8527.JPG" /></a>
<a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/thxguyca/A628/photo#5136872880120578066"><img src="http://lh5.google.com/thxguyca/R0nWqwvswBI/AAAAAAAABe4/oghN9VJfdT0/s800/DSC_8528.JPG" /></a>

and this is what it should look like -

<a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/thxguyca/A628/photo#5136872918775283746"><img src="http://lh6.google.com/thxguyca/R0nWtAvswCI/AAAAAAAABfA/ujmFW3q1YP8/s800/DSC_8535.JPG" /></a>
<a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/thxguyca/A628/photo#5136872961724956722"><img src="http://lh4.google.com/thxguyca/R0nWvgvswDI/AAAAAAAABfI/BBP5lfVO8E4/s800/DSC_8532.JPG" /></a>

The rubber grommets slip easily back into their holes- I used a shop vac to clear all the debris I could see everywhere out- I don't want to have to do this again soon!

I would caution you not to run your car without these- as it looks like a fair bit of road 'stuff could fly up - salt, debris etc into the battery area- and then into the cabin.

Then re-install the battery tray, put the battery back in, re-install the plastic cover, and you're done!

Hope this helps anyone who does not know what these silly drain holes look like out!
Cheers- J

Boston Driver

so there is little chance of it flooding as easily, and hopefully smaller debris simply gets flushed out with the rain.

Your post reminds me that I should check that area out anyway...just in case...

BoneDaddy

at least both of mine are thin black plastic, but they look very similar (thinner material, and mine had slits on the outside to alow more flex, perhaps that is why they have only issued recalls on the 2002+ cars for this problem)

JimmyC83

good writeup

Grapeking

Excellent write-up, well done!

audikillsbmw

You never responded to my exhaust post :P

CEB

He was probably too exhausted to respond....

JimmyC83

well i'm going in to pick up the blades and talk with mr. billy about that maybe tomorrow...hes been very busy lately so most likely next year around mid January i hope.

audikillsbmw

uh.. So you took it off the car?

JimmyC83

i can have a local place do the pipe changeout but it would be an insult to mr. billy. i'd rather let him specialize it himself. and the cars going in for the valve cover gasket tuesday morning or so, so i'll inquire about gutting the pre-cats with him or going VAST and exchanging for cores... which in total should yield the right decibel boost im looking for. gotta let billy celebrate the holidays as he has a family away from his shop too =)