davevt

I am the proud new owner of a 95.5 S6 with 219k on the clock. No it isn't green. It's laser red. Surprisingly everything on this car works, even the POS that was replaced 2 hours before I bought it (score).

Ok, quick question. I received the "gift" of the previous owner's rear license plate because he couldn't get it off. I have surmised from searching the forum that I should use a dremel to cut the screws that retain the license plate. Then I pull the license plate off to expose the bracket. Then I will see some more screws that hold the bracket to the trunk lid. I unscrew those screws and the bracket comes off in my hand. I shake the bracket, and the old, nasty license plate retaining nuts fall out. I replace the nuts and license plate screws with new stainless steel. Lastly, reinstall in reverse of removal....And I can do it all without pulling the carpet from the inside of the trunk lid? Did I get that right?

Thanks...looking forward to many future projects. The coolant T and afterrun pump are looking nice and brittle. They're next.

Dave

Dave

GoHeels

Congrats on the Audi score, and welcome to the board Dave in vt.

I had a similar issue about a year ago, and I don't remember with as much detail as you provided, but I did remove the ~8 screws on the inside of the trunk lid so I could get at it from the back side of the plate liner. It's not difficult at all to remove that carpeted cover, and it gave me the access I needed to get the plate and the entire plate holder off, so I could hold the spinning nut with some pliers and get it apart. I guess you could Dremel it off from the front, but I wanted to fix it back like it was supposed to be, and you need the entire middle section out to do that anyway.

So once I had those parts removed - the liner had 2 or 4 bolts/screws holding it to the trunk lid with 2 strips double sided tape I believe - you can try and reattach the stripped and spinning nuts. I used epoxy and some masking tape to recreate the plastic that was stripped out on 1 of my 2 plate nuts. So essentially mine is back to the way it was originally. JBWeld would probably be the perfect product to do this.

I know this probably sounds confusing, but it was pretty simple really once I started taking the plate and it's liner out. That middle section that holds the plate is painted the color of your car, and is only plastic so it's not tuff enough to handle someone cranking hard on a screwdriver or wrench.

Post some pics of your new Audi if you get the chance. We don't see that many red S6's really.

GoHeels

...and yep, my coolant "tee" broke about a year ago. And the dash lights come on quickly when your coolant disappears in seconds. Here's a picture of the replacement "tee" from the dealership.

Keep in mind, the plastic coolant fitting on the back of the engine about 1 foot from the "tee" is also susceptible to breaking, so have a new one on hand if you think it might be old too. You can find metal versions like this one I picked up online from a poster last month.

UrS4boy

Congrats on your "new" UrS6. If you haven't found this Engine Bay Device map with live links (click on the labels to find out more info), then you might want to check it out:

http://members.shaw.ca/speedtek/UrS%...ice%20Map.html

I *was* going to correct you on your UrS6 paint colour, i.e. Tornado red, not laser red but then I found the 95/95.5 paint colours below. That said, check your build tag (in the trunk or the warranty booklet if you got that) for the paint code. I am quite sure Laser Red was not an UrS6 colour (correct me via the build tag, as needed)

davevt

Dave F: thanks for all that info. Now I have a mystery to solve. The paint code says Y3D, which would be tornado red. But I also have a business card in the stack of receipts from the shop that repainted the car ~5 years ago. The card has "laser red" written on the back.

Thanks everyone for the warm welcome. Here is a crappy cell phone pic I just took in the parking lot. I'll do some better photos when it's sunny out. By then I will have learned how to post pics the right way. https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/...133802_449.jpg

-Dave in VT

GoHeels

Yeah, it looks very good, and stock on the exterior at least. Except perhaps you passenger mirror has been swapped for a full size.

To post pics, I usually hit "Quick Reply" and do my typing, then hit "Go Advanced" and hit the paper clip at the top of the box to add pics/files from the computer. You also hit Upload each time you choose one. I also un-check "Show your signature" so it isn't on every post. You can hit "Preview Post" each time to see the changes before you "Submit Post".

davevt

Thanks for those instructions. I also need to edit the photos my phone takes to reduce them down to AW-acceptable size. The car is bone stock. I found the original window sticker in the glovebox. Plus about $15k worth of repair receipts. The build quality on this car is incredible. No interior squeaks or rattles - unlike my wife's 2012 Subaru Impreza.

The temperature up/down buttons on the CC unit sometime don't respond to a push. I assume either the tabs holding the CC unit broke or I have an intermittent wiring issue. Another weekend project and AW search...

On the plus side, the stock leather seats are still soft. The previous owner must have had a 55 gallon drum of leather conditioner.

GoHeels

That's nice to have all those records of when what was done to the car already.

I agree, the build quality is certainly better than most. I'm pretty sure our quarter-panels are double galvanized. Not sure how much salt is on the roads up there, but you might need to keep an eye on things under the car like the e-brake cable, brake and suspension parts, and fuel lines etc for rusting. It's best to try and stay ahead of the issues with some preventative care if possible.

My CC unit was replaced right before I bought the car, so if original it's probably not surprising that it has some sort of issue. If you feel the entire CC unit is not mounted properly, you can carefully pry the whole trim plate off and inspect the mounting. You can probably find a good used one on forum if needed. I sorta wish we had a turn **** for temp instead of the "+/-" buttons.

moorewr

I am going to have to try this again with my spun nuts. I took the carpeted cover out and couldn't see where to attack the license holder from that side.

davevt

I elected to attack it from the outside. It took 5 minutes to remove the stuck screws with a cutting wheel and then remove the plate bracket. Now some nice new stainless steel hardware is in there, and oh, the original 18 year-old dealer's plastic license place frame is in the trash.

I didn't pull the carpet. I could see how, if you didn't want to make a mess and scatter metal shavings across your bumper, you might want to pull the carpet and attack it from the back. I just put a dropcloth over the bumper...