55k Mile Service DIY = Save 400$

[IanB]

Just thought I would post my experience on the 55k mile service.
First you need to source the parts, I choose to do oil, plugs, and air filter. The cabin filter I will do in another 20k. (it was a 50$ part)

Total comes to around 120$ for everything from Carson and Riverside Audi.

The first thing you should do is take a look at your engine compartment, and remove the plastic covers. Both pull straight up.
You will see in this picture, that we will be moving (not removing) the coolant expansion tank, and the air filter 'box'. The later will be removed to replace the element, the former so you can access the plugs with the correct wrench extensions.



So, remove the one screw for the expansion tank, and then lift and pull towards the front of the car, this will remove the expansion tank.



Now that is out of the way, lets work on the airbox. You will be removing the 'accordion looking flexible pipe that runs into the throttle body' first. Just unscrew the ring that clamps it down. The picture only shows the TB one. There is another located directly on the airbox. Remove that screw as well.



Now, try to remove the airbox, it's just sitting in there, no fasteners, so just pull and shimney it out of the way. It also comes apart in two pieces, I felt I should remove and clean out the entire thing. So thats what I did.



Now that you have everything out of the way, it's time to take a look at the coils/harness going to the plugs. You will be pushing the harness down and away from the coils. I found this pretty difficult, and ended up breaking a few clips, so just be careful. Before you remove the harness, you will need to remove some Hex/Star fasteners that help the harness stay in place. (D2 starpoint is what worked for me, not even sure if D2 is a size??)



Try not to break anything, but this technique did 'work'. Just not very well.



Now that you have the harness 'off' you can pull out the coils. Mine were on there pretty good, so I had to use some leverage. You will see that this is also probably not the best way, but it was what worked. I will say that the coils are not very delicate, so don't be afraid to apply more pressure than you think you 'should'.



Here is the coil.



Now get your 12" 3/8th extension, and your spark plug socket. Use it to remove the spark plug.



Ok, here is what my old plugs looked like at 55k, all were in pretty good shape. The residue you might see, is just some electric grease probably put on by a dealer service before I had the car.



Put your new plug in, and finger-tighten like your dad taught you, then grab the wrench.



Now press your coil back in, and to 'snug' it down, I just pushed firmly with the butt of my hand. But you want it down snug, and it does take some pressure.



Repeat for all 6 or 8 cyclenders. ~grab beer~, then lets put it back together.

Push your harness back on and make sure you get it to 'clip' in. Now replace your few D2 starpoint screws (what a bs place to use hex/star pointed fasteners, I mean normal screws would have been fine)



Now lets get back to replacing the filter element in the airbox.



Remove the filter, (it should just pull straight out) and replace the rubber ring (you can see this in the picture below) then put your new filter in, there are some helpful orientation indents, so just align those before you push to secure your filter.



Now take your cleaned and replaced element, and drop it back into the car, the fasteners a bit difficult to get. So the second picture is the angle I found worked best to get the second clip on.





Re-fit your accordion hose, and tighten down the screw clamps.



Do an oil change....(I won't go into that) but the only hard part, is that the filter is on top of the engine under the audio logo plastic engine shield, not underneath the engine, and it is a 1 1/2 inch socket to remove the plastic housing the filter is attached too. (actually 1 1/2" is to big, but it worked fine for me)

Enjoy your 55k serviced car, and your 400$ saved!

[KevinGary]

and have the dealer continue to maintain the car.

[S4GARO]

[Egil A64.2s - S6]

[pierreb]

[habu]

Thanks you for taking the time to post this great piece of information. My '06 Avant has 24k miles on her and when the included maintenance runs out at 45 this will be a big factor in helping me determine whether to keep her. Right now I cannot see anything out there to compare but who knows what will be available in 2 years. Anyway, thanks again for the effort that helps many of us save some money.

[Keifer]

Nice. I'm going to start doing my own oil changes too. Sick of paying $175 at Fairfield Audi in CT.

[05whtaudia6]

[05whtaudia6]

[Turborusty]