Stevey Y

Hi Nick I would definitely get a second opinion as I know my guy got me to buy a new belt for one of my cabs even though it had only been on there for three weeks and the water pump had started leaking so that was being done under warranty by the supplier, its a bit like using brake pads that have only half worn on new discs. When I bought my car the service history said it had been fitted with a new belt kit under warranty at 36k because of a squeaky idler pulley so they had fitted new pulley tensioner and belt as its good mechanical practise, as for the journey thats fine its stuck open not shut which would be a new world of problems. Steve.

Hi, Just an educated guess but I have worked on a couple of 1.6 Skodas and the map sensors on them are at the front of the engine where the boost pipe runs across the front and the MAP is mounted on a rigid plastic pipe in the middle, easily spotted as its the only thing on the boost pipe under there that has wires and a plug on it. Steve.

Hi Jon, I looked at these this morning just not the one Kev found which to be fair at that price has to be worth a punt, I would genuinely believe it may well do the job based on Kev extended knowledge of older Audis especially as he only has a couple and you don't keep this one man collection going without having some idea about whats, what. they are very different from Ford/Vauxhall as they don't come with the pedal attached which should make it easier to swap. Steve.

Hi Jon just spoken to a mate who has suggested that you try and get the manufacturer number off of your old unit not the Audi number he says its probably a Bosch part so look for any other numbers other than the Audi one. Steve.

Hi don't just buy a job lot, just buy the one that looks the same as yours with the same part number bar the letters, I know they are a pain in so much as they get the engine to have flat spots which will make it a bad drive, I am pretty sure that it will work apart from which the garage should be able to get the current part number out of the main dealer, BTW I used my old Ford as a cab and it already had 130k on it when I fitted the new pedal, believe me when I say if the position sensor gets fixed you should see 160k easily. Steve.

Hi, no it was a Map sensor and an oxygen sensor and then rear pads all of which I bought without the correct letter at the end of the part number but fitted and work ok, I think its a bit of smoke and mirrors as remembering back to my Ford days I had to get a throttle position sensor and ended up going to Ford to get it, the price for my one for 2.2 titanium x was £104.00 but I think the guy on the parts counter must have been on a promise as he pulled me to one side and suggested I bought the £46.00 item with different letters on the end of the part number, apparently this one was fitted to the Focus and most Volvos at that time, the only difference was the letters which commanded the different price, it worked perfectly for the next 160k and the only difference between what I bought and should have bought was the Focus pedal did not have the holes for the go faster alloy pedal cover, soon sorted that, mark the holes on the new pedal, drill the new pedal and pop rivet the cover on. Steve.

Hi I think that your problem is that there was probably a part number supersession shortly after your car was built, I have had the same problem with my car but have found out that the supersession part number is not recognised but the old number minus the letters is, if the part looks the same it probably is the same as I am led to believe they changed the letters at the end which designates the year they changed suppliers. Worth a try. Steve,

Hi Clifford, lets try again, I was not suggesting the glow plugs had all failed at once just that they may be weak due to age/wear if you go on the net there are plenty of testaments to the problems old glow plugs cause without actually throwing up a code, the codes are only triggered when the plug fails, open circuit or to ground. With regard to the guesses yes they are just that but based on prior experience of problems like this I thought it was worth suggesting the two most likely candidates that won't cost the earth to change, maybe I should tell him to go to Audi and chuck a few hundred quid at it, thats the idea of the forum to remotely advise people from your own experiences, example being Don G he had a MAF code up so he changed it and still had the code back so I guessed from experience that the MAP sensor would need changing, he changed it, the code and light disappeared for a hundred miles but the EML re emerged but this time with a DPF code so I again from experience advised him that the DPF would need a regeneration and the codes clearing, he did just that and the car is now running well with no lights according to his last post, I am sure if you have any more concise suggestions this guy would be all over you like a rash, hate to state the obvious but the guy knows a bit about cars but not enough to satisfy the need for conclusive evidence required apparently.

If you read the post Clifford the Easy Start did not work so with regard to low compression if it was that low the engine wouldn't start at all let alone start and run ok on some occasions, its a duty cycle fault not compression.

Hi Gareth, I agree with the no avail bit, you do get quite a bit of this on this forum , using reverse psychology I think what happens is they buy these cars off of the back of rave reviews from their mates and a lot of other experts who have never owned an Audi but know someone who has, the old statement They Never go Wrong is applied and its a done deal, no consideration is given when buying older vehicles so they get very aggrieved when they go wrong as they were told it wouldn't. Both yourself and every other long term member on this site are all aware of the fact that at some point your car will go wrong, thats the whole point of this forum but certain individuals such as this one expect someone with the most sketchy information to pull the right answer out of their backside or if in this case it sounds like It may cost money they shy away from it, I bought my first Audi off of the back of my mechanics statement, if you look after it like you have with your other cabs its its more than good for the miles, he was right they do go wrong same as anything, but not that often. Steve.

Hi the cold weather thing is a myth as these engines are post injection regeneration engines and rely heavily on glow plugs during regeneration and when starting, even my car has the glow plug light come on for a couple of seconds if I start it after running it and in the mornings from cold when the ambient temperature is ten degrees its at least ten seconds before it cranks when the lights gone out. Steve.

Hi Steve, have you ever watched chasing cars, I would like to see a video of the official who serves the writ saying that the guy who paid three million dollars for his 1960 Ferrari GTO that he can never drive it again I would bet the film would start with the worlds supply of expletives and a hail of buckshot as the official left the premises like an unmarked missile, lets be honest these people who will try to make driving our cars illegal are the same people who own great big Range Rovers and run about in Jaguars all of their career, talk about double standards, bet you never see Boris leaving Number 10 in a Nissan Leaf. Steve.

Hi Ryan this is a tough one I honestly believe it will not be the turbo but there is an easy way to check, get an assistant to turn the key to position two where the dash lights up if you can see the turbo control box you should see it move the arm that opens and closes the vanes inside the turbo to the start position try turning on and off without running the engine to see if it comes up to position every time. The sequence for starting should be ignition on, glow plug light on doing its duty cycle as soon as that goes off the engine light will be on until the engine is cranked and it goes out when started, I am leaning more towards glow plugs being weak as the only time they throw up a code is when they are completely knackered and not when weak or under heating Steve.

Hi pretty much any where on the web or eBay, its a bit of a pain to do but I did the lenses on my old Mondeo you will need a good quality sealant to glue the new one in and almost surgical skill to trim the excess when cured but in view of the cost saving its well worth the effort, have a gander at the youtube vids first to get an idea of whats involved and some of them from memory have links to where you can buy what you need. Steve.

Hi you can buy a new glass a lot cheaper than a new unit, it all depends if you fancy taking the headlight out and have the patience to take the old lens off, plenty of videos on the subject on youtube. Steve.

Hi I think they are talking about the thermostatic shield on the water pump they are famous for sticking open and if they are changing the pump they will have to change the cam belt as a kit hence the price, better stuck open than shut and cooking the engine. Steve.

Hi did you do the adaptation of the new EGR valve?, my idea would be glow plugs as you mentioned it stats with easy start, apart from that I would be looking at the fuel metering solenoid on the fuel rail as if thats playing up you don't get a code. Steve.

Hi thats why the A6 I have has leather, and yeah they do tend to think its the firms vehicle, this is how stupid it gets with the younger idiots a group of girls one night going Clacton from where I am based they were quoted by the company £100 when we got near the drop the one sitting next to me tells me I have to do the job for £50 or she would call the police and tell them I groped her, I told her that I didn't care and the firm had her credit card details so either way I was going to get my money, when I dropped them she stood outside the car screaming to anyone that was listening that I had assaulted her, of course the drunken knight in shining armour arrives and calls the police who were there in a jiffy, the bad news was that the whole episode was recorded on the CCTV in the cabin, her dad turns up all angry until he found out his daughter was about to get nicked for false accusation and bilking, he then brokers a deal with the officer who asked me if her dad gives you £200 cash will you drop the charges, I kept them sweating for five minutes and then agreed to it. I after that came to the conclusion that they are all untrustworthy scum until otherwise advised, if you are going to get this car you will need CCTV as that proves any abuse or damage, they don't like it when they are caught out, other than that I hope your new car attracts the better clients from the area you work and I can vouch for the Audi durability. Steve.

Good skills Gareth, you will now be equipped for another 160k by which time we will all be past caring and if still driving it will be a golf buggy and have Greta Thunberg as a pin up, those that cant afford a £50,000 reasonably priced Audi all electric will have to content themselves with magazines like What Cart and Classic Pony even practical Cart owner, which will show you how to grease up wooden stub axles and replace timber sides on your pony and trap. Steve.

Hi before condemning the turbo try giving it a good blast with Lucas turbo and ego cleaner which is simply sprayed down the air intake pipe while the engine is running that should loosen it, my money is on a worn EGR valve which won't normally show up a code until knackered but is still capable of leaking extra gas which in turn eventually clogs the turbo and kills the cat. Steve.

Hi, your licensing officers must be very understanding, my mate has a Mercedes estate and had a run in last year with a drunk with a broken bottle who did not want to pay the fare, in the drunks opinion why should he give the driver seven quid when the driver could obviously afford a car like that, the end of it was my mate flattened the bottle man and stayed put until the police arrived, guess who got nicked and guess who got the five star treatment in an ambulance, my mate got suspended for six months right at the start of the lockdown, no great loss for three months, I have also owned three contemptible buckets and covered over 800,000 miles between the the three of them, all Fords and must have gotten most of my more lucrative jobs with a bit of wit knowledge and good looks, not the bucket, and the one experience based con elusion is they have no real respect for cabs and when it comes to throwing up in them it won't matter if its a Dacia or a Maybach the end results the same. Steve.

Why would you buy an A8 for a cab, unless you do a lot of airport work with civilised customers the usual drunks will kick it to pieces they have had a go at my entry level Avant but the upside is my mate owns a VAG breakers. Steve.

Hi get the car plugged in and diagnosed so that you have the codes for whatever is wrong, other than that it could be a sensor,EGR valve, sticky turbo vanes, DPF, the list is endless and without codes I wouldn't care to speculate. Steve.

Hi, is there a lot of blue smoke from the exhaust when you accelerate, if not I would get the car checked for major oil leaks before condemning the engine, the only other thing it could be is one of Audis famous loose engines which I have no doubt some of the members on here have come across. Steve.

Hi unfortunately the fact remains that wider bigger wheels wear tyres a lot quicker than say smaller wheels with higher ratio tyres as because of the appalling roads in this country the lower profile tyre has nowhere to go when rapidly compressed so it either deforms to absorb the impact which causes severe stress to the tread area or bursts and hammers the rim, this negates the whole point of the tyres being pneumatic and makes the tyre manufacturers a small fortune which recoups some of the money they had to spend to get the car manufacturer to use their tyres. Steve.