Dieselgeek.com B5 Panzer Plate skid
plate install
For 1996-2001 Audi A4 and 1998-2005 VW Passat
Tools
required:
1. Car ramps and wheel chocks or jack,
jack-stands and wheel chocks or a car lift
2. Safety goggles
3. Medium or large-bladed regular screwdriver for Dzus
screws or use our supplied one
inch diameter washers like this.
4. 10mm wrench or 10mm socket and socket wrench
5. 17mm socket in 3/8" or 1/2" drive size
6. Torque wrench for optimal rivnut setting
7. Brake cleaner for de-greasing area around rivnut
mounting location
8. Optional: two part epoxy for rivnut
"bulletproofing" --JB Weld brand works great!
Parts list:
1. One 54" wide B5 Panzer skid plate
2. Two
aluminum side pieces or "wings".
These double as install
tools for the rivnut anchors like this.
3. Eleven silver OE Dzus screws for
Audi A4, Eight silver OE Dzus screws for Passat VW/Audi part number 8D0 805 121
4. Ten white nylon washers
5. Ten silver OE Dzus
receptacles/clips with VW/Audi part number 8D0 805 960
6. Two slightly longer black or brown OE Dzus
screws with VW/Audi part number 3B0 805 121, for Passat only
7. Three shiny 10mm bolts with 17mm
hex heads (one is a spare) (10mm x 30mm long with 1.5 thread pitch, zinc plated)
8. Five 1.5" diameter fender washers (two
are for bolts above, one is a spare (two are optional spacers for all vehicles with
Sport suspension or Passat Wagon/A4 Avant)
9. Two large black
rivnuts with Audi/VW part number N 909 147 01. These
are the permanent threaded anchors to be installed for the Panzer Plate.
10. One 6mm gold-colored lock nut w/shoulder and
stainless washer, Passat only
11. Three self-tapping 6mm screws
with built-in washers for spoiler attachment, Audi A4 only
First-time Install Procedure:
Raise car in the air: Use either ramps and wheel chocks or a
jack and a pair of jack stands, or a car lift. Car must be raised on both
sides for procedure to work.
Remove old belly pan:
1. Put on safety goggles. Remove old
plastic belly pan if you still have one installed on your car. Save all
1/4 turn Dzus screws, if present, in provided ziploc bag. You will not
need these for the install but it's nice to have spares.
2. Remove rear
mount of belly pan, if present, with a 10mm wrench (the one with three
receptacles on it.). Remove all three 1/4 turn screw (Dzus)
receptacles, if present, and save them as spares in provided ziploc bag. You
might want to degrease them first.
Install two rivnut threaded anchors:
1. Grease the threads
of two of the three provided large silver 10mm bolts. Also, grease one side
of two of the provided large silver washers as shown in the preceding
picture.
2. Insert one of the
large greased bolts and washers through the hole of one of the side
"wings" as shown here. The greased side of the large washer rests
against the aluminum "wing".
3. Thread one of the
large black rivnuts onto the greased bolt and thread it until it is snug against the aluminum
"wing". Here is a Top view.
4. Locate the two 13mm
hexagonal holes in your subframe. The subframe is the large black steel
structure behind your oil pan. Thoroughly de-grease/clean two
inches of the area surrounding these two hexagonal holes. Brake
cleaner works great for this task.
Rivnut "Bulletproofing":
Mounting the rivnut anchors without epoxy bonding is perfectly fine but at this
point you might consider bonding the rivnut anchors to the subframe with a
two-part epoxy mixture for super-anal peace of mind (sorry if this isn't PC
enough for you). The purpose of the epoxy is to keep any road salt out of the
area in between the rivnut and subframe and to further strengthen the bond
between the rivnut and subframe. To do this you begin by mixing 1/2 ounce of a
two-part epoxy on a paperboard or plastic sheet. You then coat the topside
washer (shank side) of two of the rivnuts like this. Keep
the epoxy away from the threads of the rivnut. Remember that the
rivnuts must be installed into the subframe within 15 minutes after the epoxy
has been applied to them as the epoxy sets quickly. Also, make sure to remove
any grease or dirt from subframe before installing rivnuts. This resulting
bond will last for eons!
5. Insert the projecting shank of the black rivnut/"wing" assembly
into one of the hexagonal holes in the car's subframe. Push it into the hole
until the rivnut's large built-in washer contacts the
subframe. You may have to bump it in with a hammer. If you chose to use epoxy
on the rivnuts, the epoxy will ooze out a little when you press (and torque)
the rivnut against the subframe. Just wipe off any excess.
6. With a 17mm
box end wrench or socket, start tightening the greased 10mm bolt. As you
tighten the bolt, the rivnut's tubular section
will "mushroom" inside the subframe, locking it into place. Finish
tightening the bolt with a torque wrench set to 40 lb/ft.
After the bolt/rivnut is torqued, remove the bolt and
"wing". Repeat the process with the other greased bolt, a rivnut, and
the other hexagonal subframe hole.
Install Dzus receptacles onto "wings":
The "wings"
are permanent fixtures that attach to the wheel housing plastic on the driver's
and passenger's side of the car. They never need to be removed once installed.
The Panzer Plate attaches to these "wings".
1. There are four Dzus screw receptacles to install per side. The
two supplied "wings" are identical but there are holes in each
that correspond to the driver's side and passenger side. On the flange with two
holes only, install one
Dzus clip per hole like this.
2. On the flange with four holes, one side will have two clips in the left
holes and one side will have two clips in the right side like this.
3. Once the "wings" have all of the clips installed, you are
ready to install them onto the left and right wheel housings on the car like this.
Install "wings" on left
and right wheel housings:
1. Set eight of the silver Dzus screws on their heads and place eight of
the white nylon washers
onto the Dzus screws. These screws attach the "wings" to
both the skid plate and plastic fender well housings. See detail.
2. Using the crease on the wheel housings and the crease in the
"wings" as a guide for alignment (Picture 1, 2), place the wings
against the front side of the wheel housings and attach them to the wheel
housings with the silver Dzus screws and white plastic washers (The yellow line in this
pic is where the crease is). You may use the supplied one inch
diameter washers as a screwdriver in the wheel well area since space is
limited there. The two-hole flange of the "wings" will face the ground.
The
"wings" must not touch the sway bar.
Install Panzer Plate:
1. Place two of the large washers onto two of the large, previously greased
bolts. Place these bolts/washers near the subframe where the rivnuts
are installed so that they will be easy to reach during plate install.
Familiarize yourself with the three front mounts (Audi A4 1.8T Picture 1, 2, 3). Install the
provided Dzus receptacles/clips at these points if your car does not already
have them. The flat side of the clip faces down. Passats only have left and
right clips with a 6mm threaded stud in the center mounting point.
2. Raise the skid plate and slide it into place from the rear of the car. The
Panzer's outside edges slip in above the front spoiler
(another picture).
Also, the plate slides in between the two outside front mounts and the spoiler.
On Passat only, you will have to pull the front center of the plate down slightly
to clear the 6mm stud attachment.
3. Once the skid plate is in place, loosely thread in the two
greased 10mm bolts (with 17mm heads). If you have a station wagon, Avant, S4, or any car with Sport Suspension package or if
you have a front sway bar larger than the stock 27mm diameter bar then you will
need to place one of the extra
supplied large washers in between each of the rivnuts and Panzer Plate.
These extra washers act as spacers for the skid plate to clear the larger sway
bar. If your car has a larger sway bar and requires the spacer washers,
you may attach them to the top side of the skid plate with a dab each of black
or clear silicone adhesive so the washers never get left out. (Permatex brand,
for example, works perfectly.)
4. Once the two large bolts are threaded through the plate and spacer
washers (if specified), align the front of the plate with the three front
mounts (Picture 1, 2, 3). Once the
front mounts are visually aligned, attach the plate with two black Dzus
screws on the outside and one 6mm locknut in the center for all
Passats or with three silver Dzus screws for all Audi
A4 and S4. Turn
all Dzus 1/4 turn fasteners to their stops. You may use the supplied one inch
diameter washers as a screwdriver. For Passat, tighten the single 6mm
lock nut to 15 lb/ft. or "pretty tight".
5. Using the four remaining silver Dzus screws and white plastic washers,
attach the skid plate to the left and right "wings".
6. Finish install
by tightening the two10mm center bolts to 40 lb./ft.
You are finished. Store all left-over hardware in the heavy-duty ziploc
bag we supplied with the skid plate and store the spares bag in your glove box
or trunk. Go forth and be protected!
Audi A4 Spoiler Attachment Screws:
The stock Audi A4 black plastic spoiler can be easily hooked by
parking curbs when you have accidentally run the front of your car beyond one
of them. When you reverse the car, the spoiler catches on the parking
curb which can either pull just the spoiler off or dislodge the entire front
bumper cover. This is highly annoying and can be expensive to fix. We
have provided 6mm
self-tapping screws with built in washers to stop this from happening.
Installing these screws entails the following:
1. After your skid plate is fully installed, mark two spots, one to
the left of the left
front skid plate mount and one mark to the right of the right side front skid
plate mount. (better pics are coming...) Do not
drill in any other place.
2. Put on safety goggles. Using a 7/32" drill bit and drill
motor, push the spoiler up against the skid plate where one of the marks are
and drill a hole in the
spoiler and then into the aluminum skid plate. Repeat for the other
side of the car. Only two screws are required. A spare is provided with your
hardware kit.
3. With a 10mm socket and socket wrench, screw the 6mm screws into the
holes you have drilled. Do not overtighten them.
You are finished.
No more spoiler hang-ups!
Note: The spoilers on VW Passat are attached to the skid plate with the
front black Dzus screws and don't require these extra screws...
