Bald Eagle

Now I never said you were cheap, I just questioned whether the Audi was the right choice. Please don't try to turn my words into an insult, as none was intended. Most of my cars have been old Fords, Fiats, Vauxhalls, British Leyland etc and I fixed them myself when they went wrong to save money. My last one was a Mondeo that was nine years old when I got rid of it. This is my first Audi and I found out about Audi labour rates and cost of parts etc before buying. I didn't say they were any more reliable that other brands, just more expensive. I did say there were different points of view on whether the quality justifies the price, which certainly fits in with the experiences of your friends.

Hi Sally, I don't want to upset you, but if you can't afford the Audi dealer, I would question if it was a wise choice to buy an Audi. They are premium cars for a reason - because the cars and their upkeep are priced above many other brands. There are different points of view on whether the quality justifies the price, but the simple fact is that they are expensive to buy and expensive to run.

A mate of mine has a 2.0 TFSi A5 that was using a lot of oil. It turned out that Audi had a batch of bad piston rings that were causing the problem. Audi had it back and replaced them free of charge, which of course required an engine rebuild. No charge for parts or labour. I think it's a 2011 car, as it's a company car and he's been talking choosing about the next one. Here's a link I found: http://www.lemonlaw.com/wordpress/audi-oil-consumption-problem/

That's OK if the badger is tame enough, but last time I tried that, the badger nearly had my fingers off! :D

Describe it like it is. "Moderately good condition, broken bolt hole on rear of casing but otherwise sound (if it is)" Then describe the condition of the working parts of the gearbox in the same open honest way. If you miss out a defect, the buyer will want their money back and your seller rating will plummet.

I'm sorry I can't help with the gearbox, but it definitely sounds faulty. I would get it looked at. If you find the car rolls back when you are facing up a hill, why not try pulling the handbrake on? If it is the auto handbrake with a switch, it will release as the engine starts tries to move the car. If it is the traditional lever type, then as the front of the car starts to rise, release the handbrake. Good luck!

I've heard that warming glued-on badges with a hair dryer softens the glue enough for you to gently ease the badge off. Don't know if the Audi "four rings" are stuck on, though.

Would this be any good to get some charge in the battery so you can open the boot? It plugs into your car's cigar lighter socket and takes current from another car via its lighter socket. http://www.demon-tweeks.co.uk/Product.do?method=view&n=643&g=247289&p=190502&c=215&utm_source=Google&utm_medium=Base&utm_campaign=Battery%20Chargers%20&%20Conditioners&gclid=CIjy1qHE9rsCFWnjwgodMwkA4Q

One word: SPAMALOT

I just though of another reason for low power: inlet / exhaust valves not sealing. If you get the cylinders compression tested, then this will show up the possibility of leaks from poorly seating valves, worn/damaged piston rings or leaking head gasket. It won't say which of the above is causing the problem, though.

Hi Ash, Thanks for the good wishes! I've had the Cat off a Mondeo 2.2 TDCi, but not off an Audi, so don't really know the details for your motor, sorry. Generally, remove the heat shield above the turbo, remove the heat shields from the cat itself, remove the exhaust, unbolt the cat from the turbo, and remove the cat. Maybe best to leave this one. Blow-by is when some of the expanding gases that should force the pistons down are wasted because the piston rings don't seal properly against the inside of the cylinders, letting some gases blow by the piston instead of pushing it and providing power. Yes, Vagcom should show up faults in the fuel pump Some people find that K&N filters actually reduce the engine power because they draw warm air from inside the engine bay instead of cold air that the standard air filter setup uses. Best of luck!

I would rather spend my money on good tyres to keep my car safe, then see how much I have left to spend on modding the car - rather than the other way round. The scrapyards are full of wrecked cars on cheap tyres. Cheap tyres take longer to stop the car when some numpty pulls out in front of you, and they understeer when you swerve, so you spend on getting your car fixed instead, once you get out of hospital, if you survive the crash. There is only a patch of tyre about the size of your handprint between your car and the road, so you need the best grip you can get in that area. ChingaLingWingMinger £40 tyres are about as much use as a chocolate teapot at keeping your car on the road. My advice is to put the 17" wheels back on and get a set of Goodyear Asymmetric 2 to fit them. Sell the 18" alloys to help pay for the other goodies you want. Hope I haven't gone too far over the top trying to convince you! :)

Oops posted by accident

Blanking off the EGR on an old diesel is a good start, but it could be closing the stable door after the horse has bolted. That's because the EGR doesn't just recirculate exhaust gas, it recirculates soot and unburned diesel as well. These two mix together and coat the inside of the entire induction system with a thick, sticky goo. This builds up and can entirely block the inside of the inlet manifold and inlet ports as well as the EGR valve itself. My last car was a diesel and it had a 5mm layer of this gunk all over the inside of the manifold. Cleaning this and the EGR valve gained me 15 bhp and a much smoother, more responsive engine. A thicker layer would have robbed me of more power. I've seen photos of EGR's that were almost entirely full of this stuff, so the manifold would be the same. I strongly suggest you get the inlet manifold off and clean inside it and the inlet ports as well. Just make sure no muck gets down into the engine. You will probably need new manifold gaskets to ensure a good seal. Use Carb cleaner and wear rubber gloves, no kidding. Check the air filter element is not clogged. Check all the hoses between the turbo and the inlet manifold in case any are leaking and losing your turbo boost pressure. Check that the outside of the intercooler is not blocked by dirt and debris. If it is not cooling the inlet air, it will be robbing you of power. Get some fuel system cleaner like PowerEnhancer. This cleans the injectors, fuel pump, and combustion chambers and costs about £20 when on offer. Make sure you follow the instructions fully. Birmingham Audi are doing an offer at the moment for something similar for £15. Or you could try TerraClean (instead of PowerEnhancer), which is like a power washer that cleans inside the engine's combustion chambers. Expensive at about £70 or more a go. Start using a good fuel like Shell VPower that continues cleaning the fuel system after the PowerEnhancer has done its job. Use it exclusively for the first month then one fill-up in every four or five to keep the muck from building up. Take off the catalytic converter, turn it upside down and thump it fairy gently to loosen and remove the built-up soot inside it, then put it back on. This reduces the resistance to the exhaust gas flow. There might be blow-by around the piston rings, losing pressure and therefore losing power. There might be a leak from the cylinder head gasket, also losing pressure and therefore losing power. Have the fuel pump checked to see if it is giving enough pressure to get the right amount of fuel through the injectors. Have the injectors checked to ensure they are working properly.

Here is a supplier of a good tyre. They are 87W speed rating and you should really have 92Y, but I haven't found that rating in the size you need. Although they are XL extra load, which is what you need. http://www.mytyres.co.uk/cgi-bin/rshop.pl?s_p=Goodyear-EAGLE-F1-Asymmetric-225_35-R18-87W-XL-with-rim-protection-_MFS__-AO&details=Ordern&typ=R-204413&cart_id=20770642.110.12045&ranzahl=4&Breite=225&Quer=35&Felge=18&Speed=Y&weiter=0&kategorie=1&Ang_pro_Seite=10&Transport=P&F_F=1&dsco=110&sowigan=So&rsmFahrzeugart=PKW