Im replacing the rear drive flangeoil seal on an04' a4 wgaon w/ quattro.ive removed the capto access the shaft behind the flange, and removed the snap ring holding the flange in the tranny but the flange stillwill not budge, is there something elase that need to be removed?

Orig. post is old, I hope you got it figured out. Coincidentally, I am in the same tough spot on my 98 A4 2.8 Quattro, but have gone one step further. The drive flange can be pulled (wacked) out (after moving the snap ring) as described in the Bentley Manual, but it will only move forward a 50mm or so before it stops. I removed the nose of the diff from the main case and found an oil control shield. the shield has a hole in it that allows the shaft to pass through, but not the end of the shaft that contains the splines. Finger Trap. Drive flange at one end, big female splines at the other, both seem unremovable and are too big to slip through the nose. The only way I see this happening is the factory press fitting the splined portion or the drive flange onto the intermediate shaft. See pictures.
1st pic is the drive flange end (mates with drive shaft) second is the splined end that mates with the pinion. Notice the int. shaft is small enough to go through the hole, but not the flange.

I am new to the forums, but not audis, or wrenching so any questions relating to the following cars are welcome:
GTI mk4andmk5, Audi 4KQ, Corvette C4andC5, Porsche Boxster, Chevy Cavalier&S10, Pontiac Fiero, DSMs and assorted motorbikes.

[IMG]local://upfiles/47037/CBCDA21BC6B6456497440A2B2D256923.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]local://upfiles/47037/EC8609596D27492DA3A86AD34D5F7AAC.jpg[/IMG]

Follow up - I went groveling to the Audi dealer and talked to one of the techs. He confirmed that the female splines were pressed onto the intermediate shaft. He pulled them off for me at no charge. Kudos to the dealer!

I finished up the seal replacement by using a bushing/seal press from Harbor Freight and was able to press the female splines back on using my 12 ton press in my shop. I suppose a 2x4 and hammer would have worked too, but I like the control that the press gives me. Its hard to "undo" a imprecise whack with the hammer.

Its 30 degrees out now and I am gravity feeding the molasses-thick diff oil. It may take all night (bottle is clamped inverted to the fuel door and diff will fill itself overnight) Test drive tomorrow.