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Decided today would be a good day to change the brake fluid, and while I was at it I'd flush the clutch circuit too, since I suspect it's never been done in 14 years.

Well, what an absolute tw@! of a job. I spent a good three hours rolling around under the car trying to get the bleed valve undone and still have nothing to show for it except for some holes in my knuckles. Thanks for that one, Audi.

So I'm hoping someone here can share some experience of how your'e supposed to get to the little bastard.

Firstly, forgive the stupid question, but is the thing on the left of the picture actually the clutch bleed valve? It's not really in the same place as the drawings in the service manual, but I can't find anything else which might be plausible. Second question: any idea what size it is? I assumed it would be 11mm, the same as the brake bleed valves, but that doesn't seem to work, and since I can barely reach it, far less see it, I can't figure out if it's too big, too small, or about right. I've tried sockets, ring spanners, ratcheting ring spanners, open-ended-spanners, nothing seems to fit. Any tips for getting it undone?



(Incidentally, I've already dropped the gearbox cross-member and unbolted the drive shaft, to get slightly more access.)

Right, I figured it out last night, so for the benefit of anyone in the same position in future:

Yes, that is the clutch bleed valve. It's 9mm, and it's fiddly but possible to get in there with an open-ended spanner to loosen it.

It turns out it's actually just about possible to see what you're doing if you peer in from the left wheel arch past the subframe, at least once you've dropped the back of the gearbox down by unbolting the cross-member.

I was going to say until I read your 2nd post. Yes you need to drop the gear box.