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 combination wrench or 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. Four 6mm black speed nuts
4. Four
6mm black screws
with integral washers
5. Seven silver OE Dzus screws
for B5 Audi A4, four silver OE Dzus screws for B6-B7 Audi A4 or Passat VW/Audi
part number 8D0 805 121
6. Four white nylon washers to
be used with the silver Dzus screws.
7. Six silver OE Dzus
receptacles/clips with VW/Audi part number 8D0 805 960
8. Two slightly longer black or brown OE Dzus
screws for Passat or B6-B7 Audi A4 only with VW/Audi part number 3B0 805
121.
9. Two shiny 10mm bolts with 17mm
hex heads (10mm x 30mm long with 1.5 thread pitch, zinc plated)
10. 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)
11. 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.
12. 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.
13. Two 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 and 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 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 13mm tubular projecting shank of the black rivnut with the
"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 second hexagonal subframe hole.
Install Dzus receptacles and 6mm speed nuts onto
"wings" and attach them to the car:
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. For all cars: There are two Dzus receptacles to install
per wing. On the shorter flange with two holes only, install one Dzus clip per
hole like this.
2. For 1996-2001 B5 Audi A4 and 1998-2005 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 longer flange
with six holes, one side will have two 6mm speed nuts installed in the left
holes and one side will have two clips in the right side like this. To
install the speed nuts just slide them onto the wings like this until
they click into the hole.
3. For 2002-2007 B6 and B7 Audi A4 only: On the longer flange with six
holes, the speed nuts will install into the outside holes on both wings like
this. To install the speed nuts just slide them onto the wings like
this until they click into the hole.
4. For 1996-2001 B5 Audi A4 and 1998-2005 Passat
only: Use the crease on the wheel housings and the crease in the wings as a
guide for alignment (The yellow line in this
picture is where the crease is.). Place the wings against the front
side of the wheel housings and loosely
attach them to the wheel housings by threading in the black 6mm
screws. Leaving them loose at this point will allow the maximum amount of
adjustment. You will fully tighten the 6mm screws at the very end of the
install. Please note that the wings must not touch
the sway bar.
5. For 2002-2007 B6 and B7 Audi A4 only: Position a wing behind the plastic wheel house liner and line up the holes to the speed nuts. Hand thread two 6mm screws through the plastic into each of the speed nuts and leave them loose! Leaving them loose at this point will allow the maximum amount of adjustment. You will fully tighten the 6mm screws at the very end of the install. You might have to press pretty firmly on the wing to get the screws started on the later Audi A4. Once the first wing is attached, attach the other wing on the other side of the car. Please note that 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) (Passat 1.8T
Picture 1, 2, 3). Install the
provided Dzus receptacles/clips at these points if your car does not already
have them installed. 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 a usable 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 might have to pull the front center of the plate down
slightly to clear the 6mm
stud attachment. On initial install for the on B6-B7 Audi A4, the Panzer
will be a tight fit 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 and washer 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 darn tight".
5. Using the four 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 and then tighten the 6mm black wing
screws until they are good and tight. You won't ever have to touch these
screws again.
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.
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...
