START STRIPPING
1
The Prestige mechanics started work by removing the gas and oil in the air-conditioning system, which cannot be released into the atmosphere, collecting 365g of refrigeration gas (R134a) and 3ccs of oil. Next, they plugged in a laptop to the OBDII port and looked for fault codes, finding one that related to the camshaft position sensor. Then they removed the battery.
2
Moving on to the interior, the front seats were extracted by undoing four 8mm multi-splined bolts for each, followed by the rear seat base and back, held in with 17mm bolts. They also removed the boot board, spacesaver spare wheel and several trim panels inside the boot.
STEERING WHEEL, AIRBAG & INSTRUMENTS 3
The airbag and steering wheel are sold together (ebay forbids the sale of airbags on their own). So, after undoing the Allen key bolts at the back of the steering wheel, the airbag was released and its plug connector detached. Then the steering wheel’s centre nut was undone to remove it.
4
The steering angle sensor is known to fail on the Audi TT, so secondhand units are a popular item for around £70. The sensor can be accessed once the steering wheel has been removed. It has a plug connector and is secured with retaining clips.
5
The ignition barrel is impossible to remove unless you use a long, thin metal rod to release it, as shown here. Prestige admits that this had them confused at first, until they discovered the correct method of removing the barrel.
6
The LCD display on the dashboard can fail, so there is a good demand for secondhand units. The cluster shown here includes an immobiliser, which can be recoded to allow it to be fitted to another Audi TT.
7
The glovebox is secured to the dashboard as a complete unit, so it can be detached and sold together with an ignition key (if a full lockset is being sold), or else the lock can be extracted for a customer’s lock to be fitted.
8
The stereo couldn’t be removed from the front in this case, so the centre console had to be dismantled to reach around the back of the stereo and extract it. This car has an aftermarket tracking device fitted, which appeared to be inactive.
REAR LIGHTS, TAILGATE & FILLER CAP 9
The rear lights are easy to access from within the boot, where the backs of the units can be undone and taken out. Next, the trim panels inside the tailgate are removed to be able to detach and withdraw the wiring for the radio aerial and high-level brake light.
10
After detaching the tailgate’s gas rams and supporting it with a correct-length piece of wood, four 13mm bolts were undone and the tailgate was lifted away. A tailgate usually sells for around £140.
11
A popular seller is the fuel filler cap at £19.99. It’s secured with three 5mm Allen key bolts – all the rest are dummy bolts. The release cable needs to be detached before the cap can be completely removed.
DOORS, MIRRORS & GLASS 12
The door mirrors are secured with bolts accessed from inside each unit, so the first job is to prise off the glass, then extract a metal clip and horseshoe clip to release each one. The mount for each door mirror is secured with two Torx T30 bolts.
13
After removing a doorcard, the window regulator (glass, motor and guides) can be freed by undoing two 13mm bolts at the bottom and two 16mm nuts on adjustable studs at the front and rear edges of the door. The complete assembly is lifted out.
14
Unlike most cars, where the door glass can be lifted out separately, the TT’S glass can only be removed after the window regulator assembly has already been extracted. The glass is secured to the regulator with Torx T30 bolts.
15
The door lock barrel is extracted from outside the door by undoing a Torx T20 bolt from inside. Next, the latch/lock inside the door was removed after undoing two 8mm multi-splined bolts. The doors will be tackled in Step 38.
STEERING COLUMN & DASHBOARD 16
The steering column consists of two parts: the upper section is secured with four 6mm Allen key bolts, while the lower part of the column is held by two 13mm bolts and a 13mm pinch bolt on the steering rack.
17
The centre console switches can be pushed out – both they and the vents sell well. Once the dashboard has been stripped back, there are several Torx T25 bolts to undo and a large airbag bracket to remove, after which it can be manoeuvred out.
18
The speakers can be extracted from the rear and reused, as can the convenience module shown here, which can be reprogrammed for another car. It helps to operate the boot, door locks and electric windows. The seatbelts can also be taken out.
UNDER THE BONNET 19
The bonnet is secured by four 13mm bolts, but there are a couple of gas rams to detach before it can be removed. The plastic scuttle panel underneath is a popular seller because the clear plastic panel for the VIN often turns opaque.
20
The wiper motor and linkage can be pulled out as a whole assembly, once the wiper arms have been removed (secured with 13mm nuts). The motor and linkage are secured with 10mm bolts.
21
The large dashboard beam is held by a long 8mm Allen key bolt, accessed from behind the wiper motor. Then there are two 13mm bolts inside the A-posts and one on top, plus one 13mm bolt on top of dash and a 10mm bolt under the steering column height adjuster.
CARPETS & HEADLINING 22
The one-piece moulded interior carpet can be withdrawn through the rear tailgate once all of its fittings have been detached. The headlining has to be unclipped from the rear of the roof, then around the remaining edges, including several fittings across the front, before it can be extracted as a single panel.
23 UNDERNEATH THE TT 24
After lunch, the TT was raised on a two-post ramp to drain the oils out of the engine, gearbox and rear Haldex differential.
25
The exhaust system can be detached in the centre, but the clamp was corroded, so Prestige cut through it with an angle grinder.
UNDERNEATH THE TT 26
The rear half of the exhaust system was detached from its hangers and freed, then the heatshield above was removed to access a plug connector for the electronic Haldex diff.
27
The propshaft is secured to the rear diff with several multisplined bolts. At the front, the subframe has to be dropped down a little to access more bolts that secure it to the transfer box. There’s also a centre mount to remove before the propshaft can be manoeuvred out.
BUMPERS, WINGS & HEADLIGHTS 28
All of the wheelarch liners were taken off, which are secured with Torx T25 screws. At the rear, the liners have to be detached to access the top shock absorber mounting bolts to allow removal of the rear subframe assembly.
29
The rear bumper is secured with 10mm bolts inside the wheelarches, along with several more across the rear tailgate’s slam panel and a couple of Torx T25 screws.
30
The washer bottle is located inside the NSF wheelarch and held by two 10mm bolts. Next, the front bumper was removed, secured with two crosshead screws on the underside and six Torx T30 screws along the top (the liner fittings also kept it in position).
31
The wings and headlights can be removed at the same time. Each headlight is secured with three Torx T30 bolts. The wings are held by two Torx T30 bolts at the front and rear, plus three along the top.
32
The crash panel is secured with 13mm bolts, then a plastic front support panel can be removed, which is fitted with 10mm multisplined bolts across the top and Torx T30 fittings around the radiator.
ENGINES & SUBFRAMES 33
The front driveshafts are bolted to the gearbox and secured to the hubs with large hub nuts. These need to be undone to be able to drop the front subframe assembly, which is separate to the engine and gearbox.
34
The coolant was drained, then the radiator was removed along with the aircon radiator and the small intercooler. The power steering pipes and hoses were set aside; they had been poorly repaired in the past.
35
After undoing the top mounts for the front struts (21mm nuts), the remaining bolts underneath were withdrawn and the front subframe was lowered to the ground and moved away.
36
Removal of the rear subframe required the 16mm bolts for the trailing arms to be undone, followed by four 18mm bolts for the subframe and a 16mm bolt for the top of each shock absorber.
37
After detaching the engine wiring loom and heater hoses, then undoing the engine and gearbox mounts, the engine, gearbox and remains of the exhaust system were lifted away using an engine crane.
38
The doors had already been stripped in Steps 13-15, so all that remained was to undo a series of Torx T45 and 13mm bolts before each could be lifted off the TT.
39
The climate control assembly is mounted under the dashboard and can be dismantled in situ, but by undoing two 10mm nuts at the engine side of the front bulkhead, the whole unit can be lifted free.
40
The final job is to drain out the petrol, starting with the removal of the in-tank fuel pump, located inside the rear seat squab (the other side houses the sender unit). Prestige syphons out the petrol using a compressed air system.
41
The stripped TT bodyshell isn’t completely bare, but Prestige has removed all of the sellable parts. The shell will be scrapped and weighed in as mixed metal for around £50.