3 hours to replace a hose?!

[Chris Thorp]

On Aug 29, 2006, at 7:35 PM, Tigran Varosyan wrote:

>
> Well fine, not like I have much of an option, I elected to cough it  
> up. So I
> ask the service tech, what they would charge to put this thing in.  
> He comes
> back with a quote of over $300!! I was like WTF! He said that it  
> was hard to
> get to and that it's a 3 hour job!
>
> The one end of the hose is right there, does not look hard. I have  
> yet to
> investigate where the other side goes to, but does it really need 3  
> hours to
> get to?! Jesus! What did I get myself into?! I have no manual,  
> could someone
> maybe send me a few pictures or instructions on what the heck I  
> will be
> doing this weekend?
I've BTDT on my '95 A6.  It's a royal PITA.  Unless you can bend in  
ways that I can't, you'll have to pull the MC and brake booster.   
That would be all fine and good, but the nuts for the booster are up  
under the dash, through the brake pedal bracket, and have somewhat  
long bolts sticking out of the nuts.

I guess the real piece of advice if you try this is to get about  
12-15 inches worth of 1/4" drive socket extension, and an appropriate  
deep socket for the nuts (can't remember the size).  A 3/8 drive  
won't fit through the brake pedal bracket holes, and a normal socket  
will just spin because there is a bunch of bolt sticking out beyond  
the head of the nut.  It is still a matter of luck to get onto the  
bolts after a bit of jiggling the end of the string of extensions  
around.

Took me about 4-5 hours.  Will likely take you 3 or so, with that  
nugget of BTDT in the previous paragraph.

Don't forget that after putting the MC, you'll need to bleed the  
brakes and clutch.

-Chris