Dieselgeek.com B5 Panzer Plate skid
plate install
For 1996-2007 B5-B7 Audi A4 and 1998-2005 B5-5.5 VW
Passat
Note: C5 Audi A6 owners should use any B6-B7 specific notes during
install.
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 you can use 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 53" wide B5-B6-B7 Panzer skid plate
2. Two
aluminum side pieces or "wings".
These double as install
tools for the rivnut anchors like this.
3. Ten silver OE Dzus screws
for B5 Audi A4, Eight silver OE Dzus screws for B6-B7 Audi A4 or 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 or B6-B7 Audi A4
only
7. Two shiny 10mm bolts with 17mm
hex heads (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 for the subframe to be installed for the Panzer
Plate.
10. One 6mm gold-colored lock nut w/shoulder and
stainless washer, Passat only. Audi B6-B7 owners can either discard these
or keep them for other uses.
11. Three self-tapping 6mm screws
with built-in washers for spoiler attachment, B5 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, since these are the same as the ones
provided.
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.
Install two rivnut threaded anchors:
1. Grease the threads
of the 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 30
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. On
the flange with two holes only, install one Dzus clip per
hole like this.
2. For B5 Audi A4 and Passat only:
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 six 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. For B6-B7 Audi A4 only: On the flange with six holes, the clips
will install into the outside holes on both left
and right wings like this.
4. 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. (B6-B7 Audi A4
may not require nylon washers for this step.) The yellow line in this
pic is where the crease is. You may use 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. B6-B7 Audi
A4 with four cylinder turbo engines only will have an anchor point on the right
side and center only. This is OK.
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. On initial install, the Panzer will
be a tight fit on B6-B7 Audi A4 but in a week or two the front spoiler will
mold itself to the Panzer Plate contours for an easy subsequent install.
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,
B5 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). The B6 and B7
Audi A4 will not use the front dimpled hole like the B5 cars but instead they
will use the adjacent hole to the left on the closer to the front of the skid
plate. 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 B5Audi
A4 and S4. For 2002-2007 B6 and B7 Audi A4 once the front mounts are
visually aligned, attach the plate with two black Dzus screws on the middle
and passenger side front mounts. Turn all Dzus 1/4 turn
fasteners clockwise to their stops. You may use a one inch diameter washer
as a screwdriver. For Passat, tighten the single 6mm nut to 10-15 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". For the B6-B7
Audi A4 only you will use the smaller holes
in the Panzer skid plate to affix the wings to the skid plate.
6. Finish install
by tightening the two 10mm center bolts to no more than 30 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!
B5 Audi A4 Spoiler Attachment Screws:
The stock B5 Audi A4 plastic front 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. 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 over tighten 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...
