Bumper Gap

[drbru]

Strange one this and I know its been discussed before....

car went into an audi service centre (wont mention who just yet) to have the fan control unit replaced... To replace this unit, I was told that the three bolts that sit pretty much on top of the grill were the only bolts loosened as the two bolts further down into the bumper which are hard to access had seezed...

Either way, by loosening the three bolts at the top, they were able to get down and replace the control unit. I was told nothing else was losened

However Ive now been left with a gap that Im not too happy about between the bonnet and the bumper...Not a big gap, but one that is annoying me and one that definately wasnt there before..


Doesnt look like the service centre will rectify at present and not going to kick up a fuss at this stage as they have been good to me in the past...All I know is the increase in the gap was caused by them and not me whilst they were working on the car.

So, time to have a go myself...

Im familiar with how "the bumper" lift mechanism works courtesey of this very useful video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HThSU7wQ ... e=youtu.be

Planning on giving the seized bolts on good spray of pentrating grease which will hopefully unsieze them

After I loosen the top three bolts on top of the grill, am I right in thinking that all I need to do is turn the 2 previously seized bolts in a clockwise direction to get the bumper shifted up by 1/2 a cm or so? ( This is all obviously assuming that the bumper has been mounted correctly in the first place within the grooves of the "lifting bolts"

Any advise would be greatly appreciated but ive looked at all previous threads so think I can do it as long as I can turn the bolts and assuming the bumper is mounted correctly..

Am I missing anything else?

Cheers

[MB2]

You have seen you need to lossen the bolts in the arches etc. haven't you ? The "After I loosen the top three bolts on top of the grill" worried me a bit but yes, it seems they do the actual adjusting

[drbru]

I was under the impression that the bolts in the arches could be left alone and that the two bolts which are difficult to access are the ones which you need to rotate to move the bumper up and down (obviously the 3 bolts on top need to be loose to do this)

[MB2]

I am almost 100% certain you will have to loosen the bolts in the arches to allow the bumper to be moved by the 3 bolts you mention - hopefully someone who has done this can chime in ?

[KernowPete]

I had to loosen all bolts/fixings to do mine, including the ones in the wheel arches which are a pig to get at. I too was hopeful that I could get away with just loosening the ones at the top but it made no difference at all so I had to go the whole hog. Be prepared for skinned knuckles, and it helps if you've got a helper (eg girlfriend) with slim arms and small hands to get into the tight spaces behind the wings.

Good luck!

[Shadow6ix]

Having done this myself I have to say I'm still undertain whether or not the height should adjust simply by screwing anit-clockwise with bumper attached, or if you do indeed have to lift the bumper off the mounts first (unscrewing ALL fixing screws) to rotate the larger height adjusting screw.

This all starts to sound very complicated, but having set the height adjust section to something I thought looked right on the screw (there is a measurement on a diagram posted somewhere, I'll try and find it again), I then lifted the bumper in to the mount, and on tightening the torx bolt at the top I found I came to a point where the bolt just simply got tight.

In conclusion, I think the smaller threaded torx screw section tightens down on to the bumper tabs to hold in it place, and because it's tight around those tabs it can no-longer rotate any further to change the height of the larger screw. This is, I would suggest by design, to allow the bumper to be held firmly in place without further altering it's position. In order to adjust the height, you would need to remove the bumper sufficiently in order to screw out the main height screw to the desired position. Now it's perfectly possible I guess that some mounts have perished and/or are siezed without being tight enough on the bumper tab to allow a height adjustment as is, but I think ideally you should find the screw gets tight as any other screw would, and will then move no further, and that's as it should be.

Bottom line, expect to have to undo the whole bumper (not remove completely) to adjust the height screw by hand.

Did that make ANY sense?

[Shadow6ix]

Well, this is the diagram: A63-10064

http://forum.rs246.com/download/file.ph ... &mode=view

Dimension 'a' is what I was talking about, but then it says in order to fit, the support bracket must be fully screwed in so, who knows.

I've also just noticed near the top it says "if the support bracket does not extend, apply locking fluid", but do they mean it should extend with the bumper on or off? I'm not sure.

[drbru]

OK this gets even stranger and I have to admit Im quite peed off now...

So I sorted out the gap in the bumper no problem at all...Loosened the top three bolts then turned the 2 deeper bolts clockwise which in turn raised the bumper which now sits perfectly!

So whats this I hear about siezed bolts etc etc... I wreckon the tech working on the car at Audi just couldnt be bothered to finish off the job properly as it was late Friday afternoon and they just tried to fob me off.

I wont name and shame the garage just yet as I want to complain to them tom and see what they have to say....

All in all though with regards to the bumper itself...If it has been properly mounted on the raising bolts then turning them closewise will lift them up...Easy job, first time Ive worked on my car and got it done in under five mins

[Ice_Coffee]

I have attached the official Audi instructions for replacing the fan control unit, from what I can work out 1 of 2 things may have happened.

A) They followed the correct instructions as per the Audi manual and your entire bumper was removed, meaning they are now lying to you about not messing with your bumper

B) They cut corners during installation and did not follow the instruction (ie did not remove your bumper) in which case I expect the bill was proportionately reduced to reflect the reduced work, as charging the full amount would be theft.

So, just what are they admitting to here ?





Instruction number 1 **REMOVE BUMPER COVER**

and just so there is no confusion the top of PAGE 2 is very clear on what a BUMPER COVER looks like.


Im sorry but a garage not doing a proper job because of a few seized bolts is a bit like a surgeon not operating because there is too much blood, in their line of work it is par for the course.

[drbru]

The plot thickens!

I was told the front bumper was not removed because of the seized bolts...

Apparently they were able to just undo the top three bolts and slide their hands down to get to the control unit

However...As ive just found out the bolts were not siezed so I honestly dont have a clue what was done...Either way, it was all covered under warranty

[drbru]

OK so Ive made a formal complaint to the garage and they are now looking into what has happened. They seemed very sympathic and apologised but I will call back in a couple of weeks to find out what exactly happened as they will need to explain this to me for me to use them again

[Ice_Coffee]

I hope you get a good outcome

[Steve_C]

Good luck and let us know the conclusion.