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Hi all,

B7 RS4 Avant.

My front bumper and bonnet shut line is too wide. It's driving me mad. It's prob 12mm ish.

Is there an easy fix?

I watched a volkswizard buying guide on YouTube and the shut lines at the front apparently are a common issue for bumpers that have been removed.

I know mine has been off at least twice as both the aux rads have been replaced.

I don't want to take the bumper off if I'm honest, is there an easy fix. Lots of searches seem to diagnose what the issue is but none I have found seem to show the solution.

I phoned a garage (VAG specialist) and they sounded flummoxed about the issue , I thought it was a reasonably common problem??

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12mm? That's huge. Can't see there being anywhere near that kind of adjustment possible. Has it been in a bump?

/I misread. I thought the gap was between the bumper and the wing

Removing the bumper sounds intimidating but it's actually pretty easy. I did a guide for the C5 RS6 (timing belt DIY) in the FAQ. It's pretty much exactly the same procedure for the B7.

There is about 30mm in the adjusters so you’ll definitely be able to get rid of the gap.

Not sure what solution or easy fix you are looking for? To adjust the gap and get the adjusters you need to remove the bumper.


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I think i thought that the easy way would be to not have to remove the bumper... Looks like the bumper will be coming off then

It does seem daunting, I'm nervous to mess around the car, it's only about 9 days old to me!



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Masking tape is your friend !!! .
Tape up the wing edges and have an extra pair of hands on standby. It'll make life so much easier .
It's only nuts and bolts at the end of the day .
It's also a wise idea too have some cardboard or something soft too put the bumper on when you take it off , standing it up on its edges will damage the edges so lay it down on something soft.

I tried adjusting my bumper but couldn't get it to slot onto the adjusters. It seemed that the bottom of the headlights were preventing me lifting the bumper enough to get it onto the adjusters. Is there any up/down adjustment on the headlights, or do they fit in a fixed position? (I didn't try to loosen them as I didn't want to change their alignment)

Loosen the headlights using the three torx, one on the right and one on the left. Loosen the top one too. One of them is down a hole.

The headlights are self levelling so will sort them selves out if you do not fit them in exactly the same place.


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Jon_J wrote: ↑

Sun May 13, 2018 9:17 am

The headlights are self levelling so will sort them selves out if you do not fit them in exactly the same place.

I'm not sure this is the case. I understood that the headlights will adjust up or down based on information from the suspension height sensors, but the baseline aim must be adjusted manually when the car is level.

Shoppinit wrote:

Jon_J wrote: ↑

Sun May 13, 2018 9:17 am

The headlights are self levelling so will sort them selves out if you do not fit them in exactly the same place.

I'm not sure this is the case. I understood that the headlights will adjust up or down based on information from the suspension height sensors, but the baseline aim must be adjusted manually when the car is level.

Hmm

You may be correct. In which case you still need to undo the headlight, adjust the bumper and then take it somewhere for headlight alignment. I’ve never had my alignment redone and it goes through MOT without an issue.


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What I do is I park the car facing a wall then chalk the aim and beam pattern on the wall. That way when I put the headlights back, I can adjust the aim back to how it was.

All very helpful, thank you. I'll find a suitable day and give it a go.

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Shoppinit wrote: ↑

Sun May 13, 2018 9:20 am

Jon_J wrote: ↑

Sun May 13, 2018 9:17 am

The headlights are self levelling so will sort them selves out if you do not fit them in exactly the same place.

I'm not sure this is the case. I understood that the headlights will adjust up or down based on information from the suspension height sensors, but the baseline aim must be adjusted manually when the car is level.

Exactly that. If the base line is either high or low, then it does not have the full scope of movement to adjust for loads/bumps.

Surrey Sam wrote:

Shoppinit wrote: ↑

Sun May 13, 2018 9:20 am

Jon_J wrote: ↑

Sun May 13, 2018 9:17 am

The headlights are self levelling so will sort them selves out if you do not fit them in exactly the same place.

I'm not sure this is the case. I understood that the headlights will adjust up or down based on information from the suspension height sensors, but the baseline aim must be adjusted manually when the car is level.

Exactly that. If the base line is either high or low, then it does not have the full scope of movement to adjust for loads/bumps.

You learn something every day lol


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Well the job is done. Massive thanks to Jon_J for essentially doing the job for me. Top bloke!

Seems the job is made somewhat easier by having the right tools!

Long reach Torx and Super long socket extension seemed very useful.

Bumper much happier now, not 100% but it'll be off again soon as it appears my Aux rad is leaking! Yippee!

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