Spent the afternoon De-Tangoing the RS

[coldo]

After owning the car for almost 2 weeks, i got cracking with making it mine and de-tango'd the headlights. Cheap, easy (except removing the bumper) mod, i think the car looks more modern now to be honest, a bit tougher too.

Before - notice the massive gap between bumper and bonnet, i wanted to rectify this at the same time...


The setup;


During;




My mate dressed up as a power ranger and popped over on his new 600cc ninja, so he can go into this sequence too. I look forward to pushing him along one of the many Scottish back roads oneday soon! ;


After - Unfortunately one of the adjusters on the bumper is knackered, maybe someones tried it before and broke it. Either way i will need to replace it but it is sitting a little better;



And a bonus one from last week when i went out a run with some mates, the only time my RS4 feels incapable and <beep>!



RS246.com stickers hopefully arriving in next couple of days, I think when i get one of them on i will have properly bonded with my new car That said, i'm off back to work again at the end of this month so i won't get to drive it until Xmas time... until then i will mostly be sitting online in the middle of an ocean somewhere ordering bits for my return

n00b out.

[Dec369]

Have you got a link for the clean lenses & bulbs please. Looks a lot better now was it easy enough to do ?

[coldo]

Have you got a link for the clean lenses & bulbs please. Looks a lot better now was it easy enough to do ?

Bulbs i used are here; http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/161019911644? ... 1497.l2649 Make sure you get opposite pin, not offset!

No new lenses, the orange ones simply pop out and can be binned or kept in-case you want to go back.

As for the job.. it's easy enough, my biggest struggle was removing the bumper, you need 250mm long/XL t25 and t30 torx screwdrivers - don't start without it! I got a set of various headed torx drivers on eBay for £11.29, always good to have in the tool collection anyway.

Bumper removal guide; http://www.euroaddiction.net/forum/b7-a ... moval.html

[Jaykz]

Awesome Job! I am interested in the process of splitting the headlight in the oven? Could you perhaps tell me more about this please?

[Rick_RS4]

can use a hair dryer too they glue isnt that bad, just needs warming up a bit

[Jaykz]

Great thanks...does it stick again once cold or do one need to apply more glue?

[coldo]

Awesome Job! I am interested in the process of splitting the headlight in the oven? Could you perhaps tell me more about this please?

As Rick_RS4 said you could* use a hairdryer... i started off using a hairdryer however it was taking ages and i found that as one area became soft enough to prise apart, other areas were cool and thus i risked pulling the sealant off altogether. I think using a heatgun would be much better however i don't have one and doubt i would use one enough to justify buying one. Although you can pick them up in Tesco for ~£20 but i'd question how good this would be...!

With regards to the oven method, i simply removed the headlight and all retaining clips between lens and plastic housing and popped it in the oven at 110 degrees C for 3-4 mins, straight out onto the bench and used a plastic wedge to prise the two components apart. Once i got a start i just pulled them 10mm away from each other and used a stanley blade to cut the stringy sealant.

Once the mod was carried out i pressed the lens and housing back together, put the retaining clips back on and popped it back in the oven for 3-4mins to again soften the sealant in the hope it moulds a little into a good seal. Then i refitted the headlight and job done.

[MB2]

Good job ! What happens with the headlight washers do they disconnect, are the hoses long or do they stay on the car when the bumper is dropped ?

[coldo]

Good job ! What happens with the headlight washers do they disconnect, are the hoses long or do they stay on the car when the bumper is dropped ?

All hoses and foglight cables are long enough that you can drop the bumper (carefully) and they wont strain.

The pic with the bumper off is as far away as the bumper went from the car during the whole process! No need to move it further really, unless you want to do a big clean or whatever.

[MB2]

Thanks - very helpful as all the guides I have seen don't seem to have washers - will have to get organised on this soon.

[MikeFish]

From memory there is only one hose connection between the car and bumper for both washers. I have a feeling they didn't pop off to easy though as I left mine connected and just dropped the bumper onto an old blanket as Coldo mentioned.

[alex020869]

I bought the clear indicator lenses for mine when i did them.

I used a heat gun that i paid a tenner for. Pretty easy to do if you just take your time.

Alex

[suurenmoinen]

What kind of sealant do you use? Can you get a gasket kit somewhere? or you just put it back together?

V.

[coldo]

I didn't put any new sealant on, although i was careful not to remove any sealant when peeling it apart in the first place.

I simply put it back together then popped it back in the oven to soften and mould the sealant a bit, then let it cool and refit it - it seems to have made a decent seal as we have had typically Scottish rain the last couple of days and my lights do not resemble goldfish bowls!