Hi everyone,

I'm hoping someone can help because I'm completely stuck at this point.

I have a 2002 Audi A4 B6 Avant 1.8T with the AVJ engine and an FPS gearbox, and I'm currently replacing the oil pan myself. Unfortunately, the job requires the front subframe to be lowered or removed, and according to Audi the front subframe stretch bolt N90956803 must be replaced.

The problem is that I cannot find this bolt anywhere. I understand that N90956803 superseded the older part number N90956801, but neither part seems to be available.

Over the last few days, I have contacted TPS, local Audi dealerships, Flying Spares and suppliers in both Europe and the United States, but nobody appears to have any stock. I even placed an order with ECS Tuning in America, but they would not accept my payment method and the order had to be cancelled.

As this is a torque-to-yield stretch bolt, I understand that Audi recommends replacing it rather than reusing the old one, which is why I am reluctant to continue the job without finding the correct part.

Has anybody here replaced the oil pan on an AVJ powered A4 B6 without completely removing the subframe? Is there another method to complete the job? Alternatively, does anybody know where genuine N90956803 bolts can still be purchased, whether in the UK, Europe or elsewhere?

At this point, I genuinely don't know what to do next. The car is currently off the road, I can't complete the repair and the whole situation has become extremely stressful.

Any help or advice would be hugely appreciated.

Thank you.

So the key information for this part is its M12 x 1.5 pitch x 120mm. Tough times call for tough measures. Could N90924103 be used instead?

As far as I can see the only difference is it’s 130mm. It’s a subframe bolt, so will be torque to yield and have the strength characterises of the original bolt. Remove 10mm off end, clean thread, etc.

Great and helpful find Richard.

Buy an M12 x 1.5 nut and screw that on and leave it on, before cutting the bolt to size. Dress the cut end and remove the nut - that will aid thread cleaning.

Regards,

Gareth.

50 minutes ago, Magnet said:

Buy an M12 x 1.5 nut and screw that on and leave it on, before cutting the bolt to size. Dress the cut end and remove the nut - that will aid thread cleaning.

Is that torque to yield though Gareth? TTY fasteners are designed to stretch once torqued to final specification, whereas high tensile bolts can theoretically be reused.

I know the frustration of searching for a part number and going down every route to source, but if the same characteristics of the bolt was used, I don’t foresee an issue. Your idea to add a nut is good, simply to clean the thread on removing once cut, then dispose.

3 hours ago, spartacus 68 said:

So the key information for this part is its M12 x 1.5 pitch x 120mm. Tough times call for tough measures. Could N90924103 be used instead?

As far as I can see the only difference is it’s 130mm. It’s a subframe bolt, so will be torque to yield and have the strength characterises of the original bolt. Remove 10mm off end, clean thread, etc.

Hi Richard, thanks for the suggestion. I do have ETKA and ElsaWin, but I can't work out which vehicle N90924103 originally belongs to or find the illustration for it.

I found N90924103 on PartSouq, but it appears to be used elsewhere in the suspension rather than on the subframe.

Have you personally used N90924103 as a replacement for N90956803 on a B6 A4 subframe, or are you suggesting it because the dimensions and thread match?

My original N90956803 bolts are torqued to 110 Nm + 90° in ElsaWin, so I just want to make sure the replacement bolt has the same torque to yield characteristics before I cut 10 mm off it and use it.

Thanks.