Stevey Y

Hi its not the rack, probably a top mount bearing been bashed to death by the lack of damping. Steve.

Hi the item I was banging on about is the springs I have never used the shocks I only ever fitted Bilstein B4/B6s but for your average mile owner the choice is unlimited. Steve.

Hi these systems are dangerous its like Google and their driverless cars around New York, thats all gone very quite, I hate to point out the obvious but there is no quicker means of processing information than that of the human brain which is programmed by repetitive experience to preempt a possible danger these systems work on mono logic which in simple terms means Its spotted a perceived problem so it jams the brakes on, human reaction I have spotted a potential problem, scrub off some speed and move to another lane and go past it. Steve.

Hi if you replace the shocks and top mounts the springs are a must Kilen or KYB are good units I have used both on my taxis and they all gave excellent milage about 100k, and possibly get some new tie rods and ends, you will soon see where the extra money went with vastly Improved handling and the extra life you get from the tyres, in fact there is no way of checking spring compression rates without specialised equipment which none of us mere mortals possess and if you start with all new they will wear nicely as a set. I can honestly say that over the 970,000 miles I have covered between four vehicles whenever I have changed my suspension the difference in ride has been like night/day and well worth the money as its like driving from new again. If you eventually get to do the backs just replace the shocks as rear springs get less of a hard time its only damper failure that snaps them I often watch other cabbies on the motorway where the rear wheel springs bounce over the bumps like Zebedee where the shocks are knackered and should only bounce once or twice instead of going up and down like crazy because the spring is doing all the work, nothing is making the spring compression gradual. Steve.

Ahh so your in the same industry as me, an abuse focus for over opinionated Dweebs that all know their rights even if they are wrong, me, I am a cab driver, I feel for you. Steve.

Hi it wouldn't take a rocket scientist to work out that the shocks/springs are toast, after the amount of years the car has been running and the corrosion on the shocks I would get the units changed on principle, if you ask most manufacturers of suspension components most use time/milage as a rule of thumb when advising on possible replacement. Steve.

Hi nothing wrong with TRW as they were fitted O.E. along with brake callipers and a ton of other stuff. Steve.

Hi not entirely as I have noted in the past that the presence of a code or EML is entirely the interpretation given by the software writer for that model its all about the monitoring system, I.E. my Mondeo used to die and then be ok once restarted no light just a code, my daughters Q3 just threw a code for the throttle position sensor on the pedal which very rarely give problems so I changed the valve on the engine side and no codes or anything for the last 20k and the major problem is that most of the time if the fault its random it will drive cycle out quickly and leave no fault, some of these Generic code readers like my guys £5000 Snap on unit won't pick up the codes thats why I am a fan of OBD Eleven and VCDS as they pick up everything because they are manufacturer specific, for the sake of stripping the unit off and inspecting/replacing/cleaning its worth a shot as you have just about replaced every other component that would give trouble. Steve.

Hi sounds like the boost control valve on the turbo is not set quite right, but the question is why do you need so much power to drive on Jersey or is it for drag racing on the 40mph bits of road. Steve.

Hi I don't think the ignition barrel would cause the cutting out/limp mode it sounds more like a couple of plastic teeth missing off the gear that opens the throttle valve. Steve.

Hi its at the back of the engine and unless its been changed before the sensor will have a green top. Steve.

Hi only the Audis and Ford rangers as they are the same design, Cr@p, their is an 21 plate Ranger down my mates place with a blown engine due to the cooler blowing and feeding water via the EGR which caused a Hydro lock on two cylinders, bent piston rods, probably, Fords are not interested even though it was sold as Ford approved with 15k on the clock and has now done 18k in six months, thats what aggravates the life out of me when people bang on about approved used dealer cars they Checked nothing. Steve.

Hi strip off the Gaffer and clean round the edge with isopropyl, get some latex gloves and fill in any bits where its let go with Tiger Seal and before it sets smooth it with a tea spoon dipped in white spirit, practice on a small area first it won't be pretty but it will be more waterproof than the tape. Steve.

Hi Roy, as I said you are not useless its merely you convincing yourself you can't do it before you attempt the task calm down and go practice with the VCDS scanning etc, as long as you don't muck about with the codings you will gradually become more confident as you use it, case in point you managed to reset your clock through the green menu which I personally would not go near as on the later models you can fry the MMI if you get it wrong. Steve.

Hi neither did I until I found it in basic settings before I ran it, had a sneaking suspicion about it as just about everything else needs re adapting when changed, ITS NUTS. Steve.

PS don't forget to re adapt it on VCDS before running.

Hi Ryan the same plug is used right across the range it was all part of their parts globalisation strategy, use the same part on most models but charge different prices according to the models, if the part number matches it will fit. Steve.

Hi sorry I can't help you with the plug positions normally they only fit one way into each plug port when you said you had already fitted the compressor I assumed you had marked each plug position with Tipex or similar I.E. mark one plug from the connector to the old unit as 1 then 11 for two then 111 for three etc, as for the relay they normally have numbers on top alternatively watch which one the guy pulled in the video, 2nd from left 3rd from left. Steve.

Hi have a look on youtube and plumb in your year and model I will bet good money on someone having done a post on how to change. Steve.

Hi finally got round to cutting my old cooler [Low Pressure EGR], the brown crud in the pictures is crystallised Adblue where the cooling tubes had been compromised and the coolant was mixing with it which makes me understand why the tail pipes on the exhaust were turning white as the steam created was converting the Adblue in the exhaust gas back to its native state, crystals and the one thing you don't want is that lot being fed back into the engine, 600 miles+ with the new/other cooler so far so good. Steve.

Hi that is an indicator of how easily the sensor software goes up the wall, if its reset when the tank is full you should have no more problems, at least if there is a next time if you have the software you can do it yourself and there is always the bonus of scanning whenever you want which often as not flags up developing problems before they get terminal. Steve.

Hi if you are thinking about buying VCDS have a little research session and have a look at the Ross Tech U.K. site they will give a list of U.K. distributors, what you buy in the various VIN levels is the interface and the software which once purchased is sent to you as a parcel, interface, and as a download you will need a computer to get the download, I chose to buy an old Dell 320 latitude as that had the capacity for multiple software programs and never goes near the net unless I require updates, speak to the supplier calls Marshall Industrial they are very helpful and will talk you through it, as I said its not cheap but since I have had mine at a cost of just over £400 for the ten VIN I have performed the following, re adaption of the battery when renewed on my daughters Q3, re adaption of her new throttle valve as well as putting the inspection reminder out forever, I did the same with the inspection warning on my car as well as re adaption of the new oxygen sensor I had fitted, I have also used it to do both vehicles rear brake lining changes as it puts the callipers into service mode fit new pads press button to take it out of service mode, good OEM rear pads are about £50 so why would I want to pay someone another £120.00 plus vat to change them, I have also re adapted multiple sensors on other vehicles and actually earned pennies for the task, I think you will be ok with the three VIN option which is a lot cheaper, give you an idea of how good they are when my mechanic changed my low pressure EGR valve and cooler you have to re adapt the new valve his new £5000 Snap on unit wouldn't touch it as it only had the facility to do the high pressure side, the suggestion was to get his mobile Audi specialist to do the job another seventy quid, I plugged in with my kit and did it in less than four mins, I did not use my Mac Air book for the download as it would have given trouble operating with their anti virus system therefore the Dell running windows seven was ideal, just ask their advice when speaking to them or I can ask my friend who is a computer whizz as he did my download and interface registering for me otherwise it could have taken weeks. Steve.

Hi Roy they should be fine as long as you have the decoder wires as well these are basically Canbus wires to fool the lighting control module into thinking they are standard bulbs, so as long as you either buy what you have or Canbus error free bulbs all will be well, its got nothing to do with maths. Steve.

Hi the delete of the system won't have any real effect on the running of the car but technically it is illegal as if done the people who did it will tell VOSA you told them the car was only for off road use, its a bit drastic considering that it worked before you overfilled it so therefore from what I know of these systems they can become confused and like your P.C need a reboot to get them going again AKA re education as it is only a simple logic run system, if all else fails have a look at the adblue defeat devices on the internet you can fit them to the OBD port and it shuts it all up in less than two minutes but I honestly think you would be better served trying to cure the existing problem as the electronics on these cars are beyond sophisticated and sooner rather than later the ECU will realise part of the system has been eradicated and start kicking off, as for the VCDS you can buy single VIN or multi VIN options it is not cheap but if you continue to own VAG vehicles it will save you a fortune as you can read DTCs and even if you don't know what they mean post them on here and I guarantee someone will know and where the part is on the car, in the last three years my system owes me nothing at all, I even made a few bob fitting sensors and re adapting them on my friends and neighbours VAG vehicles. Steve.

Hi if you have a boost leak it is most likely one of the hoses going to the intercooler as these carry a mixture of hot compressed air and oil/water from the crank ventilation system, this is basically steam driven engine oil vapour which will seep past the clip on the pipe if the hoses are old and going hard. Steve.