DIY Towbar fitting, D2

[YorkshireBloke]

Hi Friends,

I need to get me a towbar on the D2 and am quoted about £350.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Towbar-Det...oAAOSw5ZBWPesz

The £114 price is tempting me: how easy is a towbar to fit folks??

Robert

[MikkiJayne]

Usually pretty simple. Bumper off, generally replace the bumper reinforcement with the towbar, re-fit, wire up. Sometimes you need to trim the bumper to clear the bar or the attachment for the swan-neck.

You'll need a relay box for the trailer wiring otherwise it upsets the bulb failure detection - that'll be £30 ish.

2-3 hours work on an A4 or A6. An A8 is probably a bit more complicated, just because!

[steamship]

Robert

It's pretty easy to fit one to the D2. However, the picture of the one you linked to is different from the one I fitted to mine recently. Mine looks more like this one:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Audi-A8-19...QAAOSwbYZXYYJ7

I'd normally try and take photos of jobs I do, so I can write them up for anyone else thinking of doing the same thing, but never did it for this. From memory, what's involved is as follows:

1. Unclip rear wheel arch liners from bumper
2. Unclip large piece of plastic underneath right side of car
3. Remove two large bolts securing bumper to bumper pistons
4. Pull bumper backwards 2-3 inches. Whacking it with your hand from the bumper ends helps get it moving
5. While still resting on side clips, detach cable for reversing sensors at the left side, underneath the lights
6. Pull bumper off completely
7. If you have the threaded section for the tow hook on the right hand side, this needs to be removed. There will be three bolts holding this in position
8. You will need to remove the bumper piston(s) in order to insert one of the bolts. If you're lucky with part 7 above, the bolt may be seized in placed and you won't have to remove the piston
8A. You also need to drop the rear of the exhaust down, as well as the heat shielding to get at the bolt holes. I just took it off the rear rubber exhaust mounts and had a few blocks in place to support it
9. The hardest part is next and that is getting the towbar held in place, whilst securing it in place. There will be six bolts in total
10. Assuming you have the 13 pin plug in place, you now have to get the wiring inside the car. If you're patient enough, you can feed the cables through the large grommet the reversing sensor wires come through
11. To wire it up inside the car, there is an earth point down below the light cluster, near the outer corner of the car (between the outer skin and inner boot lining). You may need a torch to see exactly where
12. Luckily, the rear lights have additional spade connectors on them, which allows attachment of the towbar loom. Again, from memory, I connected two on the left and three on the right. I didn't wire up the reverse light (since it's in the bootlid). As to the towbar loom itself, I just ran it across the back of the boot (nearest the bumper, that is) underneath the floor mat

After that, and you've tested everything is working, it's time to put it all back together again in reverse, so heat shield, exhaust, bumper piston(s), bumper halfway, reversing sensor wire, bumper full way and bolted, wheel arch liners in place and secured with clips. Finally, you may have to cut a section of the large plastic liner (2 above), to get it to fit around towbar.

Hope this gives you some idea of how it's done, and I hope it doesn't take you as long. I bought mine from The_Laird in June 2015 and it took to May 2016 to fit it, and another 10 weeks to wire it

[MikkiJayne]

Do you have any pictures of it fitted please? Can you see the hardware when the swan-neck is removed?

[YorkshireBloke]

Steamship,

Brilliant explanation and Big Respect if you've got MikkiJayne asking you for info!

Robert

[steamship]

Originally Posted by MikkiJayne

Do you have any pictures of it fitted please? Can you see the hardware when the swan-neck is removed?

Could take one for you when the rain stops. It sits roughly three inches below the base of the bumper, so it's pretty low. I just have to go slowly up the up ramp in my local multi-story, so it doesn't scrape.

Edit: Photos attached. Please excuse the dirt. Getting rid of 7 tons of concrete and bricks three weeks ago plus tearing a ligament in my back means no washing the car... and the muddy lane doesn't help

[MikkiJayne]

Thanks

[oldnick]

frankly I wouldn't buy anything as low as the one shown by steamship, the audi bar is at a height that requires a bumper cut out is not just because of the fitting on the bar he shows scraping with the ball removed but because even with the audi bumper cut out one my trailer touches quite easily

but if you belong to the flat earth society maybe it would be OK?

[YorkshireBloke]

Hi Oldic,

How low is too low??

Do you have a recommendation?

Thanks,

Robert

[steamship]

Originally Posted by oldnick

frankly I wouldn't buy anything as low as the one shown by steamship, the audi bar is at a height that requires a bumper cut out is not just because of the fitting on the bar he shows scraping with the ball removed but because even with the audi bumper cut out one my trailer touches quite easily

but if you belong to the flat earth society maybe it would be OK?

Curious as to why you consider it low, when the exhaust is obviously lower.

I've also read the rest of your statement, but can't figure out what you're trying to say with regards to my bumper and an Audi bumper.