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-Detachable-Electric-Kit-Audi-A8-S8-1994On-D2-4D-incl-Quattro-/221934577566?fits=Car+Make%3AAudi%7CModel%3AA8&hash=item33ac54e79e:g:YXoAAOSw5ZBWPesz

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-A8-1994-2001-D2-4D-Quattro-TDI-S8-Detachable-Towbar-Electric-Kit-13Pin-/201604662554?hash=item2ef093051a:g:GzQAAOSwbYZXYYJ 7

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! :cool:

Robert

[steamship]

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??:Confused:

Do you have a recommendation?

Thanks,

Robert

[steamship]

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.

[oldnick]

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.

with the ball fitted no part of my audi towball is lower than the bottom of the bumper and it touches even so on occasion so I regard that as minimum acceptable clearance ; the one you illustrate clearly is completely below bumper height so would have less clearance .....3 inches from what you say ; I doubt that audi would go to the extent of having to cut the back bumper to fit a tow hitch if they thought the clearance satisfactory without doing so

with regard to the exhaust it doesn't cause any problems being suspended on rubber mountings which allow it to move upwards if it touches

however , it depends what you want to tow I suppose , I use the maximum capacity and go to odd places living in the countryside , if you intend to tow lighter weights with a lower nose weight it certainly would be less critical , my trailer is 2 tonnes

[steamship]

with the ball fitted no part of my audi towball is lower than the bottom of the bumper and it touches even so on occasion so I regard that as minimum acceptable clearance ; the one you illustrate clearly is completely below bumper height so would have less clearance .....3 inches from what you say ; I doubt that audi would go to the extent of having to cut the back bumper to fit a tow hitch if they thought the clearance satisfactory without doing so

with regard to the exhaust it doesn't cause any problems being suspended on rubber mountings which allow it to move upwards if it touches

however , it depends what you want to tow I suppose , I use the maximum capacity and go to odd places living in the countryside , if you intend to tow lighter weights with a lower nose weight it certainly would be less critical , my trailer is 2 tonnes

I see what you're getting at now, with respect to how (and why) the Audi one is fitted. I haven't had any issues so far, other than the up ramp in the local multi-story, but that was because I took it at a quicker pace than normal. I just approach it slightly slower and it's fine.

As for usage, I did four runs with roughly 7 ton of rubble, and had no issues at all. This driving up a severely potholed lane, with a steep incline onto the main road, and eventually onto a rural building site. The only downside being the amount of muck on the car :)

[YorkshireBloke]

Hi again,

A forum member has PMd me re a towbar he has to sell, am clarifying which model right now. I think it is this item number 201309387154. Frankly I am amazed at the choice of A8 detachable towbars! :Confused:

As the weather is too bad to do the outside paint job on the house we have been planning for literally MONTHS I may drive to North Lincs and buy this SH towbar if I can get any tips or info on it.

I have asked for info on it but for now it looks like it comes from PPUH Auto-HAC, Slovenia. Will post again when I get info.

Oldnick felt the deeply curved swans neck of Steamship's towbar pushed too low the fixing, leading to the grounding issues mentioned.

Alternatively would a more straight towbar (like this one, held by two bolts so detachable with some fiddle-faff) need a higher mounted fixing and therefore much more towbar cutting?? Or would it just be even lower?? :Confused::-(:tuttut:


Any thoughts (even if just opinions) would be appreciated. I would like to get summat out of this written off weekend and a run to North Lincs with coffee in Lincoln would do the trick!! +++

Thanks for all your interest here, again vital for someone running these beauty's on a restricted budget (SWIMBO got first call on funds for house! :p)

Robert

[MikkiJayne]

I don't think that's considered a detachable bar in the traditional sense - just easier to dismantle than a normal fixed bar. I can't see that being any better than Steamship's in terms of clearance - I would expect the swan neck to still come out underneath the bumper.

Concievably of course, it could come right through the bumper if the fixings are higher up and hidden. Say, a inch or two higher than Steamship's coming right through the black bit of the bumper. But in that case it wouldn't be removable without pulling the bumper.

[steamship]

Robert

Sorry I missed your post last night, in order to respond. However, I've taken another photo of the towbar in place, and a spark plug box for scale. The top of the ball is 390mm from the ground.

During the times I've used it, it's never been an issue height wise, and that's over uneven ground with a heavily loaded trailer. I bought mine from The_Laird (Jim), so you could send him a PM to see what he thought of it.

[YorkshireBloke]

Hi All,

Thanks to everyone who posted.

I think I will buy the easily detachable one fitted by Steamship with full instructions: Ta! +++.

Will make a project for Autumn or Spring: we are taking car off the road to do wheels, aircon relay issue and to spare the car from salt... Also engine really dirty and so I plan removing the under trays and having a good ferkle round, check for oil leaks etc.

I have a full tanks of LPG and petrol so will start and move car every few days, stop the aircon seals failing / brakes binding etc. :-(

The towbar may be a nice item for anyone who wants a swan-neck fixed towbar! Maybe the Forum user will post on items to sell??

Robert

[Dezzy]

I never had to remove the arch liners to fit mine, have a look at my album under das 8 there is a photo when I fitted it. I also had the added luxury of a full cable stuffed away back there had the euro type plug but cut that off and joined the wires.

[27litres]

Interesting discussion about ground clearance.
The actual height of the towbar off the ground when fitted is only half the story. It's all very well that it's 2.5 spark plug boxes off the ground, but that isn't going to stop it striking the ground on occasion.
You need to look at what is called the departure angle (4x4 lovers will know about approach and departure angles).
Basically, you draw a line from the bottom of the rear wheel to the lowest part of the car to the rear. The larger the angle the more clearance the car has. The car design will put the angle somewhere in line with the lowest part of the rear bumper or rear most section of the exhaust depending how far that sticks out the rear of the car. That line will rarely strike the exhaust forward of the rear bumper as that should be designed out by the manufacturer.

Anything such as a towbar that sticks out below the bumper level or out to the rear significantly will lessen the departure angle and make ground strikes more likely.

I have an AutoHak detachable towbar on my D2. It sticks down below the bumper about 3" similar to Steamships (Bosal? PF Jones?). And with the swan neck attached it mounts very similar to Steamships as well (maybe a slightly higher angle), making the lowest point on the departure angle the bottom of the hitch mount.
I get occasional ground strikes (in a S8) over steep driveways and speed humps and the like. It doesn't happen very often.

I also have (but have not yet gone about fitting) a Westfalia vertical mount factory towbar. The ultimate in ground clearance with the swan neck removed! Obviously I bought this used (Westfalia haven't made this model in 10 years) and the swan neck shows evidence of ground strikes - even on the factory bar!
Before locating the Westfalia bar, I also approached AutoHak's Australian distributor and bought the parts required to convert the detachable bar to a vertical mount bar using parts from their D3 model.
So I'm now undecided which path to head down!

[oldnick]

and?