Scuttle Drain

[briang9]

Well result eventually, 8mm plumbing pipe and water option didn't work, pipe was just too inflexible to get into the space, and couldn't get a decent seal from the pipe to the hose, so abandoned that and got a length of brake pipe and local tyre fitter let me use his air hose, taped the brake pipe on the end of the air hose and hey result in about 2 mins, highly recommend the brake pipe option to anybody doing this, it is just so much more pliable and easier to work with and the smaller bore concentrates the air better as well I think, was great to pour water into the tray and see it run from the drains under the car. Did the orange drains in the tunnel as well, but managed to puncture onehowever quick call to the dealer and twelve hours later and £22 lighter had a new one, impressed that the parts guy manged to get the right part to be honest from some of the horror stories on here. Getting the transmission tunnel cover on the drivers side back on was a bu**er but all done, just waiting on the mats to dry out properly and job done

cheers

[daviesbike]

im also having problems with wet carpets on the passenger side however if i pour water into the cowl it runs away just fine so im a bit stumped to be honest ???

[briang9]

It will be the orange drains in the trans tunnel, link here but this is for an American left hand drive car, so you dont need to remove the throttle stop etc, probably best doing them both but getting the drivers side off and on is a right PITA, amazing how much water collects in there, I even had it coming out of the vents in the rear, and you could hear it sloshing around, I actually took my drains out but you will need to cut the sound deadening stuff around them to get them back in, just use a Stanley knife to cut enough to get your fingers in then stick it back with D/S carpet tape. Be careful if you stick anything into the orange drains, I managed to puncture one and they are £22 from Audi, good luck!!

[daviesbike]

well im not sure because i have the wooden ply that covers the relay box under the carpet that has all swolen and distorted and the carpet was really dripping wet i took it out and it was like 12kilos i swear just full of water where would it come from would it be those orange drains ? and would i need an airline to clear it as under the bonnet is spotless there are no leaves or anything blocking i just cant fathem it out

[Conan_the_Librarian]

It could be Botang's hole!

[A8 Owner]

Not on your own, Mine keep blocking up. I dont even bother to put pass side tunnel cover back on now. As said above its the orange bit most of the time.
Saying that tho. Yesterday car was still dripping on floor under car and water was dripping out of black pipe on to carpet.
Ive tryed alsorts of things even cut the end off orange bit, so its a round hole.
Ive had air lines up and down line,
Never no probs with driverside tho.

Theres a tell tell sign to listen out for tho LOL. Before you get the wet carpets. turn heater fan on. it makes a different sound, when water is blocked.
Nice and quite normal, a little whistle/rough sound, just before wet carpets LOL.
When you think you got it all sorted, Month to 2 months later it happens again
I now keep a small bowl, and piece of hose with hazlock connection. To put on the black pipe, if fan makes the sound when out. Just let it pour into bowl as i drive, til i can get home, or rain stops. You might get a shock how quick it fills, while driving.

This time i thought i had it cured, so much so was going to put side panel back on. It had been about 3 months since last time

[ainarssems]

When i did mine for the first time they got blocked in months or 2 time again.

The problem is that some of the dirt remains there and with the moisture coming from aircon condensate bacteria and fungus keeps growing there and blocks it very soon. Second time I gave them a good wash with water, then poured some Dettol anti mold and mildew cleaner through them to kill everything in there and after putting everything back together finished off with aircon cleaner spray in air intake to kill the bacteria in whole HVAC unit. Here it is in Halfords: http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/s...egoryId_165632 but I bought in local shop for £6.99 or £7.99. You should also be able to pick some up on e-bay.

It has been over year now and they have not got blocked again.

[The_Laird]

After reading this thread I went and checked mine as I had the condensor drains cleared by A4 Audi about a year ago. Still dry as a bone!
They also removed the funny rubber 'valves' from under the wheel arches, declaring "it's not supposed to be an amphibious vehicle - they're more trouble than tey're worth!"

[moltuae]

Just wanted to add to this thread another much quicker/easier method that worked for me recently ...

I know some people are probably gonna gasp in horror when I say this, but I used Mr Muscle Kitchen & Bathroom Drain Gel and it worked a treat.

I would've used the tried and tested method, except I didn't have any copper pipe and I needed to use the car immediately to respond to an IT emergency call. Also, it was snowing/raining quite heavily at the time and I didn't want to get the carpets any wetter than they had already become.

I did stop to think whether such drain cleaner could do any harm but, thinking about it logically, I decided that if it was harmless enough when used on plastic sink drains and U-bends, it's unlikely to do any harm to any of the car's plastics, since these will, if anything, be made from tougher stuff, capable of withstanding the harsher environment in which they reside. I had used the same product countless times around the house and I knew it worked well and was safe to use.

Here's what I did:

• Got a length of rubber hose and syphoned out as much of the standing water as possible.
• Frantically spat out accidently sucked up dirty water and washed mouth out several times.
• Poured in about 400-500ml of drain cleaner.
• Waited about 20-30 mins (may be best to wait slightly longer, but I was in a rush).
• Poured in a kettle of recently boiled water.

Immediately the water started pouring out of the drain. I poured a few more kettle-fulls through, just to be sure and, so far, the drain has remained unblocked.
(and I don't seem to have contracted any life-threatening disease from the mouthful of dirty water I nearly swallowed, which is a bonus).


EDIT: I'm tempted to get some of this ... and perhaps pour a cap-full down every few weeks as a preventative measure.
(UPDATE: The link directly above was referring to this product, which seems to be no longer available unfortunately)

[green A8]

Originally Posted by Conan_the_Librarian

It could be Botang's hole!

I tried showing this thread to a friend who owns a D2 with a damp A8 interior.

For some reason none of the photos seem to want to load. We tried to gain access on three 'puters, no joy. Am I the only one with this problem?