DIY: S-Tronic Knob swap

[Poodini]

No. Otherwise I'd be upshit creek!


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[Poodini]

Does the button HAVE to be deactivated in order to install? I thought that was only in reference to the stock one prior to removal


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[JeriQo]

No. Otherwise I'd be upshit creek!


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good call. yeah thats im scared to do this mod.

i think im gonna pick up a chinese 8.5 boot and knob. just saw it going for 37 bucks

[The Infiltrator]

good call. yeah thats im scared to do this mod.

i think im gonna pick up a chinese 8.5 boot and knob. just saw it going for 37 bucks

It's easy, just do it.

[JeriQo]

It's easy, just do it.

i havent had a clean track record when it comes to aesthetic modding :(

thats risky for me

[The Infiltrator]

i havent had a clean track record when it comes to aesthetic modding :(

thats risky for me

If you lived closer I'd do it for ya. lol

[JeriQo]

If you lived closer I'd do it for ya. lol

id help out poodini as well

[The Infiltrator]

id help out poodini as well

yeah I tried but never ran into this issue. I've been very lucky with my build!

[Poodini]

Appreciate you 2 trying to help as always!
I'm not giving up that's for damn sure though!
If all other methods fail, I'll swing by local Audi dealership and see if the have that hook tool and be done with this nonsense!!


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[JeriQo]

If anyones interested.. 8.5 knob for $35
Just bought it lol



http://pages.ebay.com/motors/link/?n...525500&alt=web


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[Poodini]

FINALLY!...



Shout out to JeriQo, Infiltrator, and of course, the man who set this DIY off, Brainpan!

Thanks for putting up with my poor dexterity!

LOVIN' IT!!


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[JeriQo]

FINALLY!...



Shout out to JeriQo, Infiltrator, and of course, the man who set this DIY off, Brainpan!

Thanks for putting up with my poor dexterity!

LOVIN' IT!!


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nice! did you end up buying a tool or that coat hammer thing?

[Poodini]

Coat hanger action!
No need to drop ridiculous amount for a hook tool you'll only use for this..




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[The Infiltrator]

Coat hanger action!
No need to drop ridiculous amount for a hook tool you'll only use for this..




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Win!

[cjpatel]

I made my attempt to install this today and it was going great until I got to attaching the new STronic Shift Knob into the car. Naturally when I pressed the shift button it locked up and would not release, so I had to remove it and found the youtube video which shows how to release the shift button. I released the shift button in about 30 minutes then back at it again. Same problem happened again.

BUT While trying to sand down the white plastic piece, I actually broke it off. I had to temporarily fix the plastic stick in its upward position (or the car wouldn't shift into gear). But now what? How do I replace the plastic piece? Or is this beyond a DIY?

[HackDevil]

Thank you sir!


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[The Infiltrator]

I made my attempt to install this today and it was going great until I got to attaching the new STronic Shift Knob into the car. Naturally when I pressed the shift button it locked up and would not release, so I had to remove it and found the youtube video which shows how to release the shift button. I released the shift button in about 30 minutes then back at it again. Same problem happened again.

BUT While trying to sand down the white plastic piece, I actually broke it off. I had to temporarily fix the plastic stick in its upward position (or the car wouldn't shift into gear). But now what? How do I replace the plastic piece? Or is this beyond a DIY?

There a thread around here somewhere or maybe it's in this one for tapping the plastic piece. You can drill a small hole in the plastic piece on the shifter and the broken piece. Then get a double sided screw and screw both of them together. Done.

[4point2]

Mine's in too! BTW the coat hanger reset tool doesn't actually work on this style of knob. I had to actually disassemble the shifter itself to latch the button out. ONce it was apart it was obvious the tool wouldn't work as the catch pin needs to roll forward further than the tool can pull it, it needs to then be pushed out, kinda tough to explain, but anyway i got it working. Thinking I want to get a leather boot to go under there instead of the shift gate at some point to really finish off the look

[4point2]

BUT While trying to sand down the white plastic piece, I actually broke it off... is this beyond a DIY?

As posted above, there's a way to drill, then tap the two pieces depending on where and how you broke it. Otherwise you have to get a new shifter linkage assembly cos apparently Audi doesn't sell just the white piece. As you can imagine, that assembly isn't cheap if bought new (like $500 iirc) and is several hours labour to install i read somewhere. I'd def try to fix it first

[HackDevil]

Can you post the link? Mine is depressed and I can't get it out


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[earhythmic]

Oh Jeebus. After feeling a DSG knob in an S4 last week I really wanted to do this to my AR, but reading all these horror stories makes me want the stick with the RS6 side button one. 😰

[JeriQo]

Can you post the link? Mine is depressed and I can't get it out


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Go a few pages back. Theres alot of info here

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[Poodini]

Oh Jeebus. After feeling a DSG knob in an S4 last week I really wanted to do this to my AR, but reading all these horror stories makes me want the stick with the RS6 side button one.

Speaking from personal experience, I too was apprehensive with the thought of having to heat a plastic stalk and turn it 90 degrees. Didn't help that reading through the posts, some had, as feared, snapped off the shaft, thus torpedoing your DIY AND you can't drive it til fixed! Given mine is my daily driver, with 4 1/2 y.o. twins needing transport to daycare/preschool/etc., my wife would've CUT ME!

That said, I had previously done the J-Code mod which was no walk in the park per se! Having to heat the lamp's sealant to remove the front lense (either w/ heat gun or pop-in-the-oven trick) easily was a sketchier proposition. Once you had gotten to that juncture, it was either stop, turn back, and re-fit back onto the car or simply GOING FOR IT! Having read/reached out to other members having successfully doing it gave me the confidence to trust the process.
BAM!


The takeaway is, do your research, have the RIGHT TOOLS for the job, give yourself ample time i.e., DON'T RUSH IT!, and follow the instructions carefully and don't look for shortcuts! More intricate mods involving rewiring, coding, BIG installs, etc are the last things you want to short change yourself by hurrying through it. REACH OUT TO OTHER AZ'ers, esp those that performed the mod in question. We are here as enthusiasts, eager to learn so what little I've contributed is a direct result from my communicating with others on here. Far and away your best resource!

If you had asked me 2-3 years ago would I have ever thought of attempting half the stuff I've done, I would've laughed. I'm def NOT your average AZ tool wielder. What most mods would take say an hour, hour 1/2, I'd prob avg. double that time. A because I want to do it right and B, I'm not as mechanically savvy.

So, don't get discouraged by the horror stories! If you want it bad enough, I say go for it. If a schlep like myself can, certainly you can. Just be thorough, take your time esp with heating the stalk, never leaving the heat gun in one position for long. You wanna even out the heat distribution so as you're slowly turning, you're not potentially cracking a section that hadn't got enough heat. Long needle nose pliers or, better still a long surgical type forceps clamp to secure it while heating/turning and you're good to go!

Apologies for the long winded post.

🏼️

[JeriQo]

^ that gives me so much anxiety putting car parts in the oven lol!
only thing i put there are chocolate chip cookies and salmon

cant you just heat gun it?

[earhythmic]

^^ if you think the J-code mod was more involved than twisting the shifter mechanism then I'm all in! I did the J-code thing the first week I had the car and didn't find it too bad. For the record I used a heat gun, I too find it a little disconcerting to put my headlights in the oven lol

[HackDevil]

I don't understand. Can someone elaborate?


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[HackDevil]

Never mind, figured it out. I'm gonna have to science the shit out of this. Just call this the Hack Devil Method


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[cjpatel]

There a thread around here somewhere or maybe it's in this one for tapping the plastic piece. You can drill a small hole in the plastic piece on the shifter and the broken piece. Then get a double sided screw and screw both of them together. Done.

I was thinking that, but decided to go super glue instead and it held up 100%. I'll report back if any issues come up. The shiftknob is stuck closed, but that doesnt bother me. I historically drove BMW's and never needed to press the brake and shift knob button to get the car into gear.

As posted above, there's a way to drill, then tap the two pieces depending on where and how you broke it. Otherwise you have to get a new shifter linkage assembly cos apparently Audi doesn't sell just the white piece. As you can imagine, that assembly isn't cheap if bought new (like $500 iirc) and is several hours labour to install i read somewhere. I'd def try to fix it first

I think I'll just be keeping my repaired version until something major comes up.

[JeriQo]

I don't understand. Can someone elaborate?


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that thread method got lost in the mix here lol!
its for the b8 knob, not s-tronic.

[JeriQo]

Never mind, figured it out. I'm gonna have to science the shit out of this. Just call this the Hack Devil Method


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youre gonna help out ALOT of people from this vid. cheers, hack devil

[HackDevil]

youre gonna help out ALOT of people from this vid. cheers, hack devil

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[4point2]

just to chime in on the Stronic version. The tape method gets the button out, but it doesn't reset it. I ended up pulling the bottom satin silver piece off, then removing the leather section by just pulling with both hands. Then I could get to the reset nubbin inside and latch the button out with a little screwdriver.

[Poodini]

^ that gives me so much anxiety putting car parts in the oven lol!
only thing i put there are chocolate chip cookies and salmon

cant you just heat gun it?

Bake at 210-220 degrees for 12-16 minutes. Remove from oven. Slowly with a flat detailing tool, work your way around the lense seal. Pry from loosened end up slowly until the lense is removed.

Slice and serve!



J-Code was more like a free jump. Either you trusted it or didn't. Glad it paid off. Same goes with the S-Tronic knob switch. Just slow'n'steady with the heat gun and keep moving it so as not to overheat a particular spot.

[JeriQo]

Bake at 210-220 degrees for 12-16 minutes. Remove from oven. Slowly with a flat detailing tool, work your way around the lense seal. Pry from loosened end up slowly until the lense is removed.

Slice and serve!



J-Code was more like a free jump. Either you trusted it or didn't. Glad it paid off. Same goes with the S-Tronic knob switch. Just slow'n'steady with the heat gun and keep moving it so as not to overheat a particular spot.

i just disabled those ambers with carista

[earhythmic]

This may or may not be the place the ask this, but I'm up in the air between going with one of these S-tronic knobs or the BFI auto knob. The S-tronic knobs come with a new boot, but the BFI doesn't...does anyone know where I can order just the automatic boot to my liking if I go the BFI route? Black leather with silver stitching is what I'm after.

[auditd0rk]

This may or may not be the place the ask this, but I'm up in the air between going with one of these S-tronic knobs or the BFI auto knob. The S-tronic knobs come with a new boot, but the BFI doesn't...does anyone know where I can order just the automatic boot to my liking if I go the BFI route? Black leather with silver stitching is what I'm after.

You might be able to source the boot through Europrice.

[JeriQo]

This may or may not be the place the ask this, but I'm up in the air between going with one of these S-tronic knobs or the BFI auto knob. The S-tronic knobs come with a new boot, but the BFI doesn't...does anyone know where I can order just the automatic boot to my liking if I go the BFI route? Black leather with silver stitching is what I'm after.

Did my own stitching on the oem boot. These are the cheaper chinese knobs tho. And it also came with a boot but just swapped the knob out.





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[Poodini]

Did my own stitching on the oem boot. These are the cheaper chinese knobs tho. And it also came with a boot but just swapped the knob out.





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Nice! Guessing it was a much more straightforward swap. Digging that red stitching!

[earhythmic]

Just did mine, as others have posted, it's a slight PITA. The hardest part is figuring out how the latching mechanism works to reset it after you botch it first time. It's working now, but I'll have to have at it again later to sand down the plastic thing since I'm not getting a smooth button press, but at least I can change gears. Also the little spring on the metal latching pin came off when trying to reset it and for the life of me can't find where it connects to. Anyone have an exploded view of the shifter, or a close up high res pic looking in with the front button opened up?

Edit: success! Just required more sanding around the plastic stalk and a little grease. Feels great now!

[audis4culver]

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/336362665901028362/This was a nice write up. I did mine over the weekend and thought I would give you all the experience I had with this because I had one important difference. I bought my knob from here : http://stores.ebay.co.uk/bency-INC came with the boot and white stitching I wanted for by B8 S4. The pull trigger came closed. So I started the process as brainpan describes and the heating of the stock was pretty dicey at best but after a few minutes I was amazed that I was able to get this to work. No sand paper needed in my situation. Here is the important part and why I wanted to post this.. I tried for hours to get the pull trigger back to its original unlocked position prior to install.. created my own tools and I got it to work one time but somehow locked it again and could not replicate it. So, I noticed how i could pull the trigger out with my fingers, hold it there, and behind the trigger is a little grey/silver looking t-shaped metal piece that if you hold the knob, while pulling the lever out and slightly shake it - this metal piece will swing back and forth. So I held the knob upside down so I could see the t-shaped piece in the downward position. I then slowly took the knob and placed it over the gear shaft and pushed it all the way down, still holding the lever out with my fingers. It locked into place with the lever out. Also, my stock knob had the metal clip securing the knob to the gear shaft that I had to take off as Brainpan describes... but my new knob came with an additional plastic locking ring that when I placed the knob back on the shaft, I just had to turn the plastic locking ring and it locked onto the shaft. Just my two cents. Mainly wanted to say that I did not have to have the trigger locked in the out position prior to install. Pull the trigger out with your fingers and push it onto the gear stock - it should lock in to place.