underbody mystery part
 

I have a 2001 A4 avant 1.8T, with a manual transmission.

I've searched high and low on the internet, and just cannot seem to find this part listed anywhere. I went to a salvage yard, and they called it a tie-bar. It's not on any parts diagrams I have seen.

It bolts underneath the body, below the rear of the transmission, bolts directly up the body. Its all rusted from nasty PA winters, salt, and scraping the crown of dirt roads. It seems to be something I can fabricate, but I recently moved so my workshop is in storage.

Anyone know what to call it, tie-bar, cross-member, doo-hicky??? or can point me to a parts diagram with it on it?

http://origincache-prn.fbcdn.net/926...80373027_n.jpg

ETKA calls it a brace, not that it really helps. Part number is 8D0399375 which unfortunately costs $85. But there is 8D0399403A which is for 6-speeds that costs $40, I can't see why it wouldn't fit, assuming the bars are the same length.

awesome!!! thanks for the info.

Hey...
 

Any idea why my pre-facelift car doesn't have one of these. Do all you guys have a brace here? Mine certainly doesn't. (lord knows I've been under there enough to know) Wonder what the germans found to add it there in the first place.

Apparently it didn't come on every motor/transmission combo, but more likely a mechanic forgot to put it back on at some point. It ties the two sides of the subframe together, so more rigidity, just how much it helps I have no idea.

I thought it only came with 2001 models, but could be entirely wrong.

My '98.5 1.8TM doesn't have one. The brackets which connect the subframe to the chassis don't even have mounting points for the tie bar.

I'm gonna take a look next time I'm under there. Don't know if there are mounting holes or not.

My '99.5 has one, I always assumed they all had them until recently. Maybe it was used only on v6's until '00 or '01.

My 98.5 doesn't have one, but it almost looks like the rear belly pan mount, just from how it is angled in the middle. But it looks to far back to be it

Is that connecting both sides of the chassis rails?

If so, I would wonder what it does and if it provides any rigidity at all?