Stevey Y

Hi happy days the callipers are even cheaper for the manual hand brake. Steve.

Hi here's the item number. Steve.

Hi its most likely the throttle body, had the same with my daughters Q3 and that was the problem if you can get a diagnostic code that will nail the problem. Steve.

PS when you took the pads out was the rear braking system in service mode?

Hi no, this is what happens when the pads are allowed to go to the bottom limit the rubber boot won't stretch any further and the piston pops out, in the picture it does look very corroded so I would suggest buying new callipers as your ones are most likely seized and won't do the seals inside the calliper any favours, exchange units are fairly cheap. Steve.

Hi sorry no thats what reversing sensors are for. Steve.

Hi the fitting of the motorised mirrors and other extras saves a massive amount of time and build reading as the line moves, whatever the customer specified is added at the end of the line by the mainframe computer that programs the ECU/BCM no man hours except for pushing a button, Mercedes,Porsche, Bently, Peugeot, Fiat,Alfa Romeo, Ford are all the same, they don't tell the customer thats what they are doing and if you asked they would probably tell you they had to fit different mirrors. Steve.

Hi I would be taking my advice from the mechanic as he obviously uses a supplier he trusts and has not had any problems with, in essence there are turbo reconditions and turbo reconditions, the clue lies in the price, how many parts did they actually replace or not to save money and what are the chances of redress if it goes horribly wrong, at least with your guy if there is a problem they will be less inclined to argue the toss as he fitted it and the supplier won't want to loose the business, I have used Essex turbos for twenty years and never had a problem, yes they are dearer than some other companies but they are happy to show you real time their reconditioning methods. Steve.

Hi they normally fit a space saver which is 17 inch but has a larger series tyre to make it up to the original diameter of your 18 inch alloy but you can fit any size as long as it meets the original rolling diameter. Steve.

Hi Steve this is how weird it gets, a few years ago through the Alfa Owners club they were seeing if any members had Alfa GTVs that might have taken part in a late sixties alpine rally that some really rich guys wanted to re create using any cars that had actually done it or the same model car to take part in the re run, the models required appeared droves, Austin Healys MGs Volvos Fiats and Fords, they needed one more car a Honda two seater sports car but they were told there are none left in the world, two weeks before the rally one turned up with some top uk management from Honda whom had convinced the boys in Japan that this was a top flight PR opportunity as back then the Honda came in third, the scrutineers were not having it at first as they stated the rule was the car had to be original and not brand new, Honda argued it was original but had been made from spare parts all over Hondas warehousing in the world, all the part stickers dates tallied up so they had to include it, I am sure they have your sump but can't be bothered to dig it out, me personally I would get a second hand unit maybe try our Kev as if he hasn't got one he will know where one is. Steve.

Hi Clifford yes indeed, the ECU makes the decisions about injection cycles based on information from the various sensors, Oxygen ,MAF,MAP,Coolant etc. and armed with learned information patterns will make small adjustments to the fuelling on each cylinder as the injectors wear, fuel supplied by the rail is also monitored by the ECU and controlled by it therefore there is always a slight over abundance of fuel to each injector to allow for sudden demand such as heavy acceleration, the overfill is cleared by the leak back system which is nominally small, this becomes a torrent when the injector becomes worn badly and the ECU can't control the fuelling or make corrections, the idea of recoding is to let the ECU know it has different injectors so it adjusts its fuelling peramiters to allow for nil wear and begin the process relearning what the new units will do. Steve.

Hi the mirrors have all the fittings for folding it just needs activating if you can find someone with the latest version of VCDS they can activate them, my car has not got folding mirrors but I was able to activate the mirrors tilting when reversing and the boot operation from inside the car opening and closing also I can use the key fob to close boot as well as open it none of which was operating when I bought it, BMWs are the same but because they changed the software you now can't do it yourself, Dealer only so they now charge a monthly subscription for three years to activate things such as heated seats, its all built in to the car it just needs waking up. Steve.

Hi yes they need coding otherwise it won't run properly, the coding sends the balance information to the ECU so it knows the injectors are new and will treat them accordingly. Steve.

Hi the engine mount would have to be removed anyway to gain access to the EGR, BUT without codes we are fishing in the dark, I suspect the low pressure EGR cooler which is sited in the DPF chamber and is very difficult to change, if you look on this post at dragons posting history he had the same problem and got his done at a VAG specialist near him for about a grand, go to a good independent garage and get them to scan the car then come back and post the codes. Steve.

Hi its most likely the outer CV joint the boots on them frequently fail and let all the grease out, the boots are crap I am now on my third set of shafts which I bought second hand from an older vehicle touch wood they seem to be standing up better than the originals did, there are about seven Avants licensed as cabs in my area ranging from 2014 to 2019 all have reported the same problem. Steve.

Hi it sounds like an ECU problem at source, get it removed and sent off for testing, any half way decent independent garage is capable of doing that for you. Steve.

Hi anything is possible but it will be a lot of work and parts, you will need another gearbox, brake master cylinder and pipework, clutch assembly inc DMF with the crank adapter to take the new flywheel, new console inside to take the now manual gearstick and a pedal box, in my humble opinion it would be far more cost effective to have your old box reconditioned if you take into account the eye watering cost of the labour involved in converting an old car. Steve.

Hi no disrespect intended but the older the car gets the more chance its a dodgy connector/wiring as unfortunately due to this country's love of road salt the plastics get coated and degrade quickly, Audis are not that bad for this in real terms all my Fords and most French cars are even worse at about three years because they they are so environmentally conscious they use low chlorine plastics [cheaper], I would get another grommet, give them both a coating in silicone grease, job done. Steve.

Hi there is a little plastic nozzle attached to the spindle under the black plastic cover for the spindle and wiper arm, the water comes through the middle of the spindle and the washer nozzle just pushes on, pull it off and give it a soak in warm water then blow through it, alternatively buy a new one they are only about a fiver, but first get someone to try the rear wash just to make sure the water is coming out of the spindle. Steve.

Hi the mechanic condemned the cat on my neighbours car three years ago and its passed all subsequent MOTs with flying colours just off the back of a bottle of cataclean every year and no lights on dash, the little known thing is a cat will throw a light at about 95% efficiency its the way the software is written. Steve.

Hi just send the existing unit to ECU Testing and they will fix it. Steve.

Hi if you have to get a new one it ain't tragic and from memory they are just plug in and play. Steve.

Hi anew unit is between 13-20£ on eBay

Hi the bit you are looking for is in/on side of air cleaner box/filter housing, you have to pull it out to get to the wiring plug that connects it, check the wiring and plug before condemning the unit. Steve.

Hi they have probably told him it needs a new tank, much more fun and money from their perspective. Steve.