Space-saver spare wheel wows

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a2-1436

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Can anyone help me please?
I want to purchase a spare wheel & retro fit to my TDI butI have come across a potential problem fitting the bracket. My car is a TDI and i find that the "foam" shaped holder for the tyre sealant does not lift out. Because of it's shape it will only lift out vertically it will not slide out horizontally.It does not lift due to the large lip on the plastic plate that forms the fourth side of the battery compartment. Although the plate fits into grooves in the plastic floor moulding & would appear to lift out mine appears to be jammed. There may be a locking tab or a similar release but I cannot see or feel it.
The "foam" needs to be removed to allow access to the battery retaining bolts. I am assuming that the spare wheel bracket uses these bolts too in addition to the 2 captive bolts at the top of the floor moulding & forward of the battery
Can anyone tell me how I remove either the "foam" or the plate without destroying either of them?
Peter
A2-1436
 
Peter: I'm sure the pictures I emailed to you this morning explained/helped as I had just fitted the spare wheel bracket last night..

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[img=left]http://image1ex.villagephotos.com/180225.jpg[/img=left]
2001 A2 TDI SE Crystal Blue with Open Sky, 6CD Symphony II, BOSE upgrade, DIS and HALF a winterpack!

iPAQ 3970 with Sat-Nav sleeve, rear cupholders, luggage net and floppy wiper!

http://www.audi-a2.co.uk/uk23.htm
 
The average puncture is every 80,000miles, the average unrepairable puncture is every 800,000miles. It's A LOT easier to repair/mouse a tyre and re-inflate than swap the wheel for a spare. You gain space if you dont carry a spare and compared with a fullsize spare the fuel and weight savings are measurable...given all that...why??? :)

Ricardo
 
Funny you say that - the Lupo GTi has the same foam/compressor system as the A2 and most of the guys I know that have had puncture have had unrepairable ones (ie in side wall) - funny that eh!!
 
Averages are great aren't they. Unfortunately we have a smart with the same problem except no space saver option. Our first smart had two repairable punctures within 6 weeks - so this should have been 160,000 miles, not the 3,000 it had covered!! Luckily they were spotted whilst at home so whip the tyre off and get it to the fast fit centre at the bottom of the street!
 
Ricardo

Why - We had a Peugeot 206CC - no spare, just aerosol repair. One puncture after 5 months, not repairable and matching tyre available in 2-3 days. Space saver keeps car on the road.

Ian

2002 1.4 Petrol SE, silver with climate control.
Why are NEARLY all the A2s in Lichfield are silver ? ? ?
 
Both Kwik-fit and another place we ended up at said that they you have to replace if you use the aerosol. It might be for convenience on their part (and selling you a new tyre), but I suspect that once you use the aerosol, you cannot find the original puncture in order to repair it.
 
drdaveuk,

The aerosol is a sort of glue. It renders the tire unusable. The glue hardens and sticks to the inside. It creates an unbalance that cannot be removed, this unbalance will tear the tire apart at high speeds.

If you use the aerosol the tire can be used to drive slowly to a dealer, but after that the tire will have to be replaced.

It looks like a costy experience but I've been driving for almost 8 years and I only had a flat once. In front of my home at the parking lot. If you compare the cost of dragging a entire wheel along against the occiasional flat tire I think the aerosol solution is cheaper.

The point that bothers me is that no dealer is able or willing to lend/rent a spacesaver wheel for holidays. When I went skiing in Austria I wanted to rent a spacesaver for just in case. I didn't wanted to be stranded at the Autobahn in the middle of the night. They can sell me the tire but they don't have a loaner....

Dennis de Held

Amulet Red 1.4 Tdi
 
The point that bothers me is what do you do if the sealant will not fix the problem or, as I frequently am, you are 200 miles away from home and the tyre fitters have just closed!

Mercedes apparantly supply space savers with a lot of their new cars but I Wouldn't like to drive far on the motorway on one! Our A2 doesn't go far from home.

Ian

2002 1.4 Petrol SE, silver with climate control.
Why are NEARLY all the A2s in Lichfield are silver ? ? ?
 
Dennis: surely £80 is not a lot to spend on having your very own space saver for big trips as you jsut described? The rest of the time you leave it home...

____________________________________________________________________________________
[img=left]http://image1ex.villagephotos.com/180225.jpg[/img=left]
2001 A2 TDI SE Crystal Blue with Open Sky, 6CD Symphony II, BOSE upgrade, DIS and HALF a winterpack!

iPAQ 3970 with Sat-Nav sleeve, rear cupholders, luggage net and floppy wiper!

http://www.audi-a2.co.uk/uk23.htm
 
Johann,

My beloved A2 is a company car so any money I spend on it is wasted after 3 years from now. Maybe I'll buy a secondhand one !

ianjohnsonws14,

When the sealant doesn't fix it you'll have to call the roadside assistance AND discard the tire....Spacesavers can only be used to drive to the next exit on the freeway. In some countries like France this is even the law.

Dennis de Held

Amulet Red 1.4 Tdi
 
Dennis

In the UK there is no distance limit (as long as the tread meets legal limits) but we are supposed to keep to 50kph - not something I would want to try on a motorway/autoroute. At least the space saver gets you moving - I wouldn't want to chance the assistance people not being able to get a tyre!

Ian

2002 1.4 Petrol SE, silver with climate control.
Why are NEARLY all the A2s in Lichfield are silver ? ? ?
 
I've just put this in another topic:
I had a slow puncture and managed to get to Guildford Tyres who repaired the tyre and put me all back together for £11. They were also really careful with the alloys. I asked the guy about the squirty tyre repair stuff. He said, obviously depending on the size and location of the puncture, that you can repair the tyre after the stuff has been put in, it just takes effort to clean out the gunk. It may cost a little more but still cheaper than a new tyre!

The gunk does not render the tyre usless. There are pros and cons of each system. My parents have been in the unfortunate situation of having 2 punctures. They had one spare! A tin of gunk does 2 tyres. Whatever you do is wrong!

Fi

2002 TDi Sport Cobalt Blue, winter pack, leather, rew
 
Hmmm well I guess what I'm about to relate is a bit rare, but it did happen. Whilst driving in Birmingham at dusk I thought I drove over some stones or gravel (busy section getting onto Aston expressway) no way to avoid. The following morning I found the car sitting a bit lower, turned out somebody had spilled a load of screws, resulting in all tyres punctured, 3 unrepareable, 4 new tyres £400, nissan 200sx tho

Azure Blue A2 TDI SE
 
Hi Mart,

Now thats what you call unlucky - didn't happen to walk under a ladder holding a black cat earlier in the day did you?

Welcome to the forum by the way!!

Kaine
 
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