Stevey Y

Hi Ryan, good pictures although they look pretty horrific they will definitely give anyone viewing them a real good idea of how the exhaust gas treatment system works and what can stop it doing its job, I might assume your car does not run on adblue as there seems to be a distinct absence of crystallisation on the EGR cooler which I am reliably informed normally causes the blockages in the cooler. The blockages shown are pretty standard for a high milage Diesel engine the oily crud is caused by the the crankcase gas being sucked into the intake system via the PCV unit this is basically engine oil vapour and moisture based contaminants from the combustion process, this is not easily burnt and forms the oily tar in the bottom vents of the cooler especially with the latest fad for cooler running engines to combat the Nox situation, not ideal really, which is why I am researching the possibilities of a catch tank system, ok it will be a pain emptying the tank every week but at least it stops 80% of the solid and water getting into the induction system and causing the the problems you have now. Unfortunately from what I can remember the increased back pressure caused by the DPF blockage will actually kill the turbo due to the decreased flow in the exhaust, the only saving grace with the rocker situation is that the rockers are designed to break rather than hold the valve down until it gets close and personal with the top of the piston and mullers the piston crown whilst turning the valve into a piece of modern art, I always thought that was a bright idea of PSA to make the rockers so they deform a bit and then pop off of the mounting and fall into the deep oil channel under the camshaft I have even seen realtime where the rocker has failed on one of the exhaust valves but the engine still runs even though not very well because it still has one of the two valves working, in the final analysis its a lot cheaper than new valves and pistons. I really admire your resolution in pursuing this as I know from experience its not a nice place to be, so far into this now that giving up would be a costly experience and will rob you of what will be a usable vehicle in the end, the only other thing that I might suggest is ask them as nicely as possible to put some clingfilm or plastic caps over the fuel rail outlets as any debris that get in there will definitely cause injector problems in the future. Regards Steve.

Hi Mate, if the wings are the only problem you have with the bodywork you are having it large, I have recently seen a few Ford cabs that are not even five years old with metal maggot appearing in really weird places, but the make that takes first prize is a BMW X five that takes suspension rot to a whole new level, still could be worse like my dads old Austin Westminster he bought with a years MOT the next MOT revealed that beneath the inch of underseal some clown had filled the chassis rail with concrete in places and then undersealed the life out of it, the car was only seven years old, he never lived that one down as all his mates named every car after that a blue circle special. Steve.

Wish you all the best with it, the only other thing I would be buying is an OBD Eleven set up which you can run on your phone so you can carry it in the car and find out what the EML is about any time you like they are about the cheapest diagnostic tool that will give you good solid information. Steve.

Hi it depends which camera you have, you normally have the rear view camera as an add on with Nextbase or Blackvue, if you look on youtube the rear install is pretty much the same for any vehicle is all you need is a good set of plastic trim removers and some patience, the only advice I can give is try and run your cable down along the sill trim as much as possible as if you run it along the head lining all the way it will kill the DAB radio signal, when it reaches up to the head lining in the rear you may have to buy some ferrite core to cut ou the interference from the rear camera. Steve.

What is OEM, most of the manufactures use who ever is the cheapest at the time, pierburg, denso, marelli, febi, they are all about the same and I am sure the garage can recommend a make that they use and trust, believe me when I tell you there are loads of them, just steer clear of the Chinese imports on eBay , at least if the garage supplies the part you have some come back if it fails again. Regards Steve

Hi Paul, having wracked up 870,000 miles between three of my last cabs [Fords] I can honestly say that there are a lot of people out there that actually know what they are looking at, I actually got a good return on all three of my cars despite starship milage purly because I had replaced all the appropriate parts on them, clutch, timing belt, EGR valves and sensors at their due times and had the bills for those parts as I fitted most of them myself which took a lot of garage labour out of the equation, a sort of potted personal service history. When I was researching the A6 as a cab I had looked at a few of them with 100,000 plus miles on them and nearly bought one of them but when I got there to view the car it was an automatic not a manual as advertised so I had to decline as where I live is lots of hills which tend to kill auto boxes in short order when the car is used as a cab, the main niggles for any potential buyer are switches that don't work, dash lights that stay on, and most of all tatty or badly worn trim/paint work. Your car is still a baby in the world of informed diesel owners, my car is close to 90k and I have no intention of getting rid as I have another four years licence life and possibly another 200k to do before its decommissioning, and I will bet someone will still want it. Regards Steve.

Hi Dan good skills at least you will get an accurate idea of whats going on, BTW your name is on your profile. please inform us of the outcome. Regards Steve.

Hi, I think Dan was just thinking out loud and if as I suggested he gets a good independent garage to look at it, they may well be able to check soot/ash loadings to confirm if the DPF is blocked or one of the pipes to the sensor is compromised/collapsed, or even the sensor itself is finished, they all work on exactly the same principle and build, I had one apart once they have a high temperature plastic membrane stretched across the middle with a small PCB which has a reading strip attached to the membrane the exhaust pressure from the upstream and downstream either side of the DPF, if the membrane position remains fairly static that is deemed normal, if the membrane starts to deform on the upstream side i.e excess pressure it will register a code, in my case the membrane had ruptured allowing the upstream pressure unrestricted flow therefore registering a potential blockage in the DPF exhaust gas will always take the path of least resistance. The pipes that serve the pressure sensor are made of a high grade silicone but considering they live in a hostile environment, exhaust gas and unburnt fuel, over time and milage they will at some point fail. Steve

Hi I am sure there must be an independent garage that has the ability to read your car and if it s the DPF pressure sensor they are cheap and easy enough to swap, try googling in German car specialist in your area I believe you will be surprised at how many come up Regards Steve.

Hi, get yourself VCDS that will give you a definitive list of codes with the part number of which ever sensor etc is at fault, I have found through experience that most VAG built vehicles won't put the light out even if you have replaced the offending part unless you physically delete the code after fitting, I have always been more of a fan of manufacturer specific diagnostic programs as the only generic readers that seem to work well are Snap on, or Bosch K series, but I don't know about you but most mere mortals don't have the two or three grand to spare on the unit, never mind the subscription fees per year. Regards Steve.

Hi Bob, pleased to help, it may be well worth buying the injectors as at least you will have spare units, the only advice I would give you is if you do end up buying them is to put them in a sealy bag with a light spray of WD40 force as much air out of the bag as you can before storing as these are piezo injectors and they can be a bit twitchy about dirt when stored, other than that I don't think our Kev will see you far wrong I get a feeling that Kev is the same as me if I see a real bargain and it fits my car I will buy it, this policy works from the point of view that due to the accelerated milage I do its always handy to have a consumable part handy, point in case I bought an oxygen sensor a while ago for the Audi it was new in the box for fifty five quid, yesterday my EML came on and scanned up an oxygen sensor fault intermittent apparently, but at least I can change it before it goes terminal, looked at what I could get today and it was nothing Bosch for less than about a hundred quid, therefore my buy was an absolute bargain, and in the final analysis what is this forum for if not to help each other run our cars more cheaply without going into insolvency. Regards Steve.

No worries, yes I think the fog lights would be better wired from scratch as at least you could go down the route of Can-bus error free bulbs this would mean the BCM will be none the wiser to the extra equipment/load. Regards Steve.

Don't take it personally Gareth it was never aimed at yourself but in reality it would be an exercise in futility as any quote Audi proffered wouldn't even be on the same planet as the quote the guy got from his garage, in fact it might make them look like a viable proposition which from my perspective negates the whole point of these forums, anyone considered the possibility of getting him in touch with Kev as he stated he has some previously enjoyed mint injectors which I am sure that Kev would not be adverse to parting with for a negotiated fee plus postage, that might be his most efficient and cheap route. Regards Steve.

Hi Guys, do you reckon the garage owner has a mask and a pair of pistols?, if that was the price of all four fitted I would be thinking thats fair enough, I would not be going anywhere near an Audi dealers as thats the place you go if you are self employed and made to much money you need a stinking great bill for your year end accounts. Try ringing a company called United Diesels they are on the net and I have used them many times and they are more than fair in as much as they tell you which injector you need then offer the options of refurbished, new, or another manufacturer equivalent then you can buy what you need and go find a garage that will fit for a more reasonable price. Steve.

Hi, I used a Fuchs branded oil on my A6 as I was advised by an oils specialist that this has very high modular test passes and he also informed me that Fuchs have been supplying most of the German car producers for years, the batch I got was on eBay and was about half the price Audi wanted. With regard to the drain plug that will be on the bottom of the box and the filler plug will be on the side, easy enough to spot, some use hex headed plugs and some standard bolt heads but if you have a fairly comprehensive tool kit this should not be a problem drain . Other than that the only other thing I would advise is that you take the side filler plug out first, I wish I had a tenner for the amount of times I have seen people take the drain plug out first, drain the oil and then cant get the filler plug out, no oil in the box means you are up poo creek, at least if you do it in reverse sequence if you cant remove the plug at least you can drive the car until you can get help. The fog lights are another matter in so much as the loom for them is probably in place with the plugs but I suspect that if the car was produced with out fogs once fitted this may well be a case of changing the switch panel unless already fitted and then get the fog lights activated using VCDS for which you will need the coding for the lights or possibly have to have the BCM reprogrammed to accept them. Regards Steve.

Hi Ryan, bored again today so I spent a bit of time looking around the engine on my car, the inlet manifold is unlike anything I have ever seen its an all aluminium work of art with the Throttle valve at the bulkhead end and behind the throttle is the EGR valve this seems to enter the manifold further down from the throttle so it doesn't seem to go in on the fresh air side of the turbo pipe. I did a bit of research on the inlet manifold it would appear there are no swirl flaps in the manifold just a rather complex little intercooler system for the EGR every thing on the manifold is water cooled and looks like hours of FUN to strip out. With regard to the throaty induction roar it sounds like the induction pipe that runs from the other side of the MAF sensor is getting extra air from somewhere have a look at the polythene pipe where it attaches to the MAF sensor then inspect the pipe as far down towards the rear of the engine as you can, I have had this before where there is a rubber joint between the turbo intake and the polythene pipe, the rubber union had split and the car sounded deeper as you say when revved, but the easiest place to start is where the polythene pipe joins the air box as I have had problems when I disconnect the pipe to get the air filter out, the problem is that the pipe is so flimsy when you push it back on that the lower edge folds under and leaves a gap one side. The problem is the MAF won't spot the extra air coming in as it won't register a fault because it considers it doesn't exist, the only thing that bought the problem to light was the induction roar and the fact that the car was regenerating the DPF about five times in every hundred miles as the ECU picks up the extra air via the MAP sensor readings and adjusts the fueling to compensate so the thing over fuels and blocks the DPF quicker. Regards Steve.

Hi Gents, pleased to report that I checked for the sensor code tonight, nothing it was a clear sweep so it looks like the cleaning of the sensor was worthwhile being as the code frequency was every two days.

Hi Ryan, I am guessing that they are talking about the inlet manifold and an educated guess would be that the swirl flap mechanism has failed, these monstrosities are a brilliant idea in principle, but being as on our engines they are cheaply made they tend to give problems as plastic limiters are fitted to stop the flaps from over running. It could of course be just good old fashioned gummed up manifold as this item has to deal with EGR gas as well as oil vapour scavenged from the crankcase ventilation system, I had this with my last cab which did not have swirl flaps but at 270,000 I had the inlet manifold off to clean it out the inlet ports were actually only using about a third of the port to breath the rest was black tar , the tar is caused where the EGR gas meets the cooler crankcase gas which has a lot of engine oil vapour in it which is hard to burn so it contents itself by forming tar. Ask them if they can run a scan on the car and see if it throws up any codes relating to the swirl flap mechanism, keep on with the updates as its all good info. Regards Steve.

Hi, thats the ticket please let us know how you get on as this will be solid useful information for others who may get the same problem in the future. Regards Steve.

Hi get yourself a copy of VCDS and the Ross Tech cable that goes with it, the start up cost can be high, software, cable, suitable laptop loaded with windows XP but if you intend to keep the car it gives you an explanation of the code and the O.E. number of the offending part plus the ability to code in the new part, you don't need an Audi dealer.

Hi Thomas, could it be the backplate rubbing a little where he wrestled with the hub during the bearing change, done that one a few times and then had to crawl under the car to pull it back a bit further which normally cured the problem. Regards Steve.

Hi, I don't think that the ballast modules have any effect on the high beam as high beam is commanded by the shutter systems within the headlight unit, therefore think it could well be the headlight range control module which if replaced has to be re coded to the car.

Hi Ryan, I don't think the Dpf ash level is your problem, as why would the car have run at all if the DPF is totally blocked, think about it Ross Tech reckon the max loading is around 45% when it should kick off its own regeneration, as I said the workings of the Audi are fairly new to me but I have in the past had plenty of problems with the last Ford I owned not regenerating because the vaporiser unit had failed and due to readings on Forscan I once had a loading of 220% which I got round by doing a twenty five minute forced regen whilst driving up the A12, if the car is static Wurth do a wonderful cleaning kit you can squirt through temp sensor hole, leave it overnight and then run the car to get rid of any residue, reset the DPF learned values and off you go. On cheaper cars the DPF core or cake is made of cordierite this is a very good filter but has a lower melting point when compared with the more expensive cars silicon carbide core, the advantage of this is that the manufacturers of these offer refurbished units at half the price of new and the only refurbishing they will have done is sonic cleaning. Audi diesels have no vaporiser units as they are post injection regenerated engines, this means that when the ECU receives readings from the DPF pressure sensor telling it that the soot levels are high it retards the timing slightly and over injects diesel into the bores this won't burn very efficiently but the heavily vaporised fuel is flung into the exhaust where it meets the primary chamber at the front of the DPF, this then combusts and burns the soot particles turning them to ash, during the regeneration cycle the the EGR valve is shut and I would guess Adblue injection is suspended as either of these elements would pollute the extra fuel which would in turn reduce the efficiency of the regeneration. Steve.

Hi Chaps, today was good as I decided to pack up work early and it wasn't raining, after checking that the orange ball in the sky [the sun] would not hurt me I have taken advantage of the extra light and hunted down my air quality sensor, it was surprisingly easy to find considering the lack of location information that exists on the internet plus the fact I am fed up with clearing the code for it which is intermittent but it stops a load of sub sections in the aircon from working when it throws a wobbly. The offending sensor is under the plastic scuttle cover just underneath the windscreen wipers, this is removed by simply pulling off the rubber strip that seals it off from the engine bay, lift the plastic scuttle cover whilst pulling it towards the front of the car, once removed all becomes apparent the sensor sits in a little plastic loop in the casting for the air intake, you have to twist it until one of the plastic lugs lines up with the relief in the loop, pull it at a slight angle and it pops out, the hardest part of the whole procedure is taking the wiring plug off, this is a proper little bargain hunter as the only way to get it off is stick a small electrical flat blade screwdriver under a small square tang at the back of the connector where the wires enter the connector, then a bit of persistence wiggling it off it pops. Being as my fault is intermittent I suspect that dirt/grease might be the cause so before replacing the sensor I have opted to give it a soak and light brushing in a tub of isopropyl alcohol and see if that cures it, ten pence worth of alcohol verses sixty quid for a new sensor its worth a try?. 20210218_160153.jpg.zip 20210218_160210.jpg.zip

Hi Ryan, thanks for letting us know the final outcome and posting the videos, good skills, at least anyone like myself can whip the cam cover off just to get a quick visual, to be fair I think I would end up giving it to a garage as removing the timing belt pullys is no simple task and you need an upgraded pin kit to lock the cams and crank back into position, the lifetime warranty is a real deal as you won't have to worry about it ever again, price wise take some consolation from thinking about what Audi would have charged to do the job at least you escaped that, take care and good luck. Steve.