Stevey Y

Hi the sealed bit is a load of garbage, they only ever did a sealed gearbox 2009-2011 with catastrophic results, Ford did a sealed box on the early MK4 Mondeo it was designated power shift and was a huge failure, when I asked the dealer when I first got my car at 38k the exact term was gearbox is FILLED FOR LIFE, then emailed Audi in Germany who said, No change the oil every 50k or five years, if you think about it all that high grade sintered steel flying about in a bath of oil with the occasional bit flying off which is suspended in the oil until it by force of gravity hits the bottom of the casing, now imagine the same scenario with burnt worn oil, believe me it wont end well, I change my oil every year and as you said add SLIK50 you can't go wrong with that and a couple of bottles of Fuchs Titan, new box [manual] is just over five grand +fitting, DONT GO THERE. Steve.

Hi the specialist is probably right its the fuel especially if you have used E10 or supermarket fuel, a coil pack would definitely throw a code. Steve.

Hi good pics and there is no real reason why you wont replicate that experience barring MR KHAN making the ring part of the 406, how's the rebuild going. Steve.

Hi now would be a good time to change the gear oil and filters if its Auto and just the oil if its manual, the entry for the water I have no idea but if you can drain it invest in a Waxoyl kit and using the hose supplied Waxoyl the sills to death through the drain holes. Steve.

Hi the rear spring is a fail the timing belt is not a fail but will ruin the engine if it snaps, any idea when the last change was, you can't tell by looking at it the change is based on time or milage, the fuel filter is not a failure nor is the pollen filter and the throttle body, the engine light isa fail so I personally would get another garage to scan it for faultsand go from there, if you post the codes we can help with that. Steve.

Hi Mike still fascinated to know how the EGR gas made it in to an air box system that only allows air in one way, in being the operative term, I have in the past changed filter elements at about 2k-1 month when they have the hay wagons out during the harvest in Autumn, drive behind anything that smokes and is diesel for a couple of miles and that will soon foul it up thats the idea of a filter, ergo the rule of change once a year or with every service whichever comes first. Steve.

Hi much as I hate to dispute the EGR flow theory, Darrel is talking Scallops as the EGR flow has no way of back feeding into the air box, what you have there is a years worth of airborne contaminants, the most obvious thing being that exhaust gas is very, very hot and if it was coming back to the filter it would melt the whole thing in short order, I have even seen blocked DPF units that have had holes burnt into them where the hot gas has burnt through a carbonised steel casing to escape, allied to the fact your EGR was blocked and the gas is injected further down the stream before the throttle how was it getting all the way back through the intercooler past the opposing cooled air and back up to the induction trunking, sounds like a bit of a fairy story. If I wanted injectors I would try United Diesels with 30 years plus in the game they are a safe bet. Steve.

Hi thats a waste of time they will only tell you that A its changed at the fitters visual inspection B no one requested a change, their attitude is !Removed! as they are all franchises and charge the non changed filter every time to the parent company, £150.00 for an oil and filter change really?, they all lie without thinking about it which is why I do all my own servicing, sorry to tell you this but you are going to have to swallow this one, Audi service history is worth less than a Tescos premium bog roll, I change all my filters and oil at 9k as dirty filters and oil cause the degradation in the mechanical areas at an alarming rate, here's a picture of my air filter at 9k spot the new one both filters are Bosch which are much cheaper than the stuff in badge engineered Audi boxes, must be doing something right the cars at nearly 170k. Steve.

Hi the only way to find out is have the car scanned for codes, absent any codes have the coolant system pressure tested, unfortunately it sound like a head gasket has a small leak between a water and oil gallery. Steve.

Hi no you will have to replace the filter housing, other than that put the union back in with something like liquid metal and make sure the reciprocating thread on the housing is ultra clean and dry before attempting this. Steve.

Hi did you have the new battery coded to the car, if you don't have that done when fitted the car overcharges because it thinks it still has the old unit in it therefore killing the new unit double quick. Steve.

Hi if you are going to get the adblue mapped out make sure you use a top notch company as there are plenty out there that do it but with varying degrees of success and they will get you to sign a disclaimer telling them that the car was going to be used off road only, do not map out the EGR or DPF as that will come back to bite you. Steve.

Hi the natural regeneration process is not affected by the low pressure cooler being blocked and will carry on regardless of this I assumed that the EGR cleaner when mine was going would keep it clear in the end I was using a bottle every week but unfortunately the outcome was the same, replacement as the cooler had rotted out and was feeding water into the tubes which resulted in water loss and the tailpipes going white. Steve.

Hi yes do not delete the code and go to them and lie through your teeth say the light has been on a couple of times, normally the light comes on and stays on because its so blocked with adblue crystals, its crap design the last one I saw fitted was down at my local garage, I took the old unit to the sink and ran it under hot tap nothing flowing through the holes at first then a sudden gush of water and it was pretty much clear except for some carboned up tubes it was probably 75% clear so that would lead you to believe that the main problem is the crystals of adblue and replacement is the only real option. Steve.

Hi somewhere on OBD Eleven should be an adaption facility this trains the new unit to learn its values again via the ECU which then thinks ok the units new and cancels the old learned values and starts to re learn its new operating strategy, it can be left and will work it out itself but I have always found the re adaption method cancels any funny running while it learns, your type of valve is not dissimilar to mine and they normally fail because the valve in the cut out leaks excess gas into the engine, nowadays thats known as excessive EGR flow. Steve.

Hi from your pictures it looks like the male solid pipe screws into the metal bit attached to the rubber it may well be worth trying a motor factor to see if they have a similar rubber hose even if its a bit longer you can easily loose a couple of inches when routing the pipe. Steve.

Hi the genuine item is probably made by another company anyway, probably Valeo or similar why pay so much more for the box, just don't forget to adapt the new unit. Steve.

Hi its the EGR thats causing the Turbo problem as its clogging the variable vane bit up with crud, just replace it as if its the original its not worth the time taking it off cleaning it and putting it back on to find it still plays up, what did you have a remap or one of those disaster in waiting tuning boxes. Steve.

Hi I am pretty sure they are attached to the metal pipes I don't think they are generic but if you order a new one that on inspection should give you a clue as to what you have to undo to renew it. Steve.

Hi I have used both of those sites they are ok but slow delivering, B4s are good shocks I run them try parts in motion on eBay might be dearer but if you work out the postage from the other sites its not a lot dearer and you can confirm fitment via your vin and reg. Steve.

Hi like most manufacturers Audi think that most of their customers are brain dead, fortunately most are not and the ones that ignore it anyway are the ones you see stuffed in the concrete centre reservations or up someone else's rear, after twenty years as a cabbie and a lot of motorway driving I have worked out there is no depths to which human stupidity will not plummet, hopefully VCDS will have a way of deactivating this pest soon. Steve.

Hi personally I would hold out for another manual the auto box can be a real expensive item when they go wrong and second hand units command much higher prices where as manual units are cheaper due to the lack of demand, the clue is with that one they rarely go wrong if you change the oil every 50k it should outlast the car. Steve.

Hi Adrian, as Steve said you have to get the engine code which will definitely be in the handbook, armed with that just google Audi A4 2011 [engine code] oil consumption problems, that will throw it up, can you please confirm petrol/diesel as both engines are very different problem wise, if its a 2.0 petrol it is probably suffering the ring problems, as for getting it rebuilt I would asses that would be the thick end of £4000 and you may be better served buying a reconditioned unit from eBay and just bolting on your ancillaries from the old engine, other than that you can try to live with it. Steve.

Hi from 09-13 they sold a lot of cars like this, get your engine code and then go on the net with it, somewhere on there is a list of all the affected engines, assuming this is the petrol version, if not and its diesel it could be a number of problems ranging from injector seals to a failed PCV valve not to mention gearbox rear crank seal. Steve.

Hi it may well be an idea to mention where you have moved to, therefore engendering replies from people in that area, Surrey is a big county. Steve.