Carterste76

Hi thanks for the reply, greatly appreciated. Im speaking to one this morning hopefully but my fear is the access, you can barely get a wrench in there let alone to drill the bolt to apply an extraction tool, I’m fearing it’s gearbox down to get required access.

Hi all. Newbie so go easy on me plus I’ve had a bad enough day as it is! I’ve recently purchased a 2014 A5 Cab 3.0tdi 204 for my wife. No history of gearbox service so decided to do the oil and filter change as it’s done 109k. Filter is a pig to get to, tried from underneath but not great so ended up going from above and removing the scuttle panel for better access. Managed to get in…..just and got out the first 2 of the 3 small T30 bolts that holds the filter cartridge to the gearbox. Last bolt was solid and with limited room and leverage it sheared off. I continued to clean the surface replace with the new cartridge and it was quite fiddly to get it to seat flush. I edged my bets to see if a combination of the two remaining bolts and the solid trans pipes above would be enough to create a good enough seal. Due to limited space I couldn’t get my torque wrench in so I had to judge it by feel and edge my bets. Got everything tightened but still wasn’t convinced it was seated fully although could only do by touch. I then committed the cardinal sin and tried the dreaded extra qtr turn……………yes it pinged!!! New bolts and filter were OEM from Audi so I did set off with best of intentions. Everything filled up with new oil but as soon as I start it, there’s a fairly rapid leak from the filter so obviously not creating the seal as feared. Upshot is that even if I remove the DPF there won’t be enough access from above to get in to drill and extract the snapped M6x16 bolts, so I thinking is this a gearbox dropped and do on a bench job?? Gutted is the operative word, I guess it’s all part of the learning curve that is DIY vehicle maintenance and I suppose it needs berks like me to make these mistakes so others can learn from them eh???? I think I know the outcome but thought I’ve nothing to lose by throwing myself at someone’s mercy. Theres a couple of pics showing access but if it helps someone else at some point then so be it. Cheers guys, appreciate any assistance. Steve