Stevey Y

Hi they don't care just like all the other manufacturers they think if they hold out for long enough you will be forced to buy a Hybrid or all electric car and believe me the problems with these in future have yet to be fully exposed, I cite the case of GM during the sixties in the U.S. where they sold a range of station wagons that combusted when struck in the back right tail light, they knew of the problem but it was cheaper to pay compensation to the barbecued owners than recall thousands of units and fix the problem, when they were getting hung in court fifteen years later they claimed to have used the law of diversity as not everyone would have a rear collision. Steve.

Hi automatic DSG type boxes have a DMF, they have to or the torque would tear the gearbox to pieces as well as that a lot of them have two clutches a conventional dry unit plus a wet unit in oil. Steve.

Hi if its working but not accurate it is probably the float on the lift pump getting stuck, removal is fairly easy you can try cleaning the float slide but in all fairness its easier to just replace it once its out and if its the original unit you have probably had all the fun out of it. Steve.

Hi I am truly sorry to hear about the work situation, from your description I can only assume one of two things, its either the thermostat is on its way out or its the head gasket, my money is on the thermostat as you say its been pressure tested that should show up any gasket leaks but the thermostat would not, my neighbour was told her head gasket was blown but I took a an educated flyer at it and changed the thermostat and all coolant loss ceased, I only mention this as its very much cheaper than a head gasket leak which would blow the the water out in about five mins rather than twenty. Steve.

Hi either LUK or Sachs, LUK own Sachs but for some reason known only to them Sachs are a a bit cheaper its the same stuff in the kit but with a different name stamped on it, maybe its like a loss leader in Tesco, with regard to the hours any savvy garage should do it in about five hours, my guy was having kittens because Autodata had given an estimated eight hours because they said you have to drop the subframe and engine in the event we both watched the youtube video which did not involve removing the front subframe and we had it in and out in four with the aid of two gearbox cradles, have a look on youtube and it will give you an idea of whats involved. Steve.

Hi yes sorry it was miles the genuine motor comes in at about £170.00 thats why I ran round for a few days with no trim until the genuine motor arrived with the clips from eBay getting the wiper off aint much fun either unless you have a wiper puller which I borrowed from Mr Shiny kit a couple of doors up from me, he has just about everything tool wise but never uses any of it so I kept his and bought him a new one as far as he is concerned it won't work properly if the original packaging is grubby. Steve.

Hi try changing the cap on the header tank as when they get old they leak air which centralises the pressure in the tank with the outside barometric pressure, the system is designed inside to work with a different barometric pressure to stop it boiling. Steve.

Hi Tony you have to give the trim some GBH all the way along the ABS plastic trim will take a hell of a lot of action before it breaks you just have to get a couple going and chase to the next clip from memory there are about eight. My guess is the seal on the motor is shot, I know mine was and that was about 50k. Steve.

Hi sorry mate its a full clutch four piece DMF, Driven plate, and slave cylinder best given attention soon as when the DMF starts really juddering eventually it locks over and you can't get at the bolts to release the DMF from the crank so you have to go at it with a diamond disc cutter to get it off, good news is your clutch kit will be a hell of a lot cheaper than the later models and don't be tempted by the solid flywheel conversion as that puts excess strain on the crank damper at the front end and ruins them in record time, worse case scenario the new solid flywheel is capable of breaking your crank through Harmonic Resonance at about 2800rpm thats why old diesels were limited to 2500rpm to stop this happening, with the advent of DMF and a rubber mounted crank pulley they are able to rev higher giving the manufacturers a wider rev range to tune the torque curve. Steve.

Hi yours will be fine as long as it was recoded to the car otherwise its a waste of money as the new battery will wear out in record time. Steve.

Hi eBay or Amazon, once purchased you will wonder how you ever got on without it, I went stupid when I first got my car and bought VCDS about four times the price it has a lot more functions than OBD but the system generally has the same functions including reading codes and the all important put out the light, just make sure the version you purchase will be compatible with your year and model. Steve.

Hi get it read for codes, my guess is its one of the front seat connectors is loose or dirty they work on about 6 OHMS resistance and anything higher triggers the light, my daughter went through a phase of this before I educated her about jumping in and launching the seats back and forth, if the lights on the airbag whichever side is faulty won't work, if you get the basic OBD Eleven code reader it will tell you where the fault is. Steve.

Hi another thought is run a false fuel supply to the HPFP and try that if it starts that will nail it down to a fuse/relay.

Hi check the cam belt has not slipped that would cause these symptoms, I have seen very similar before where the belt has jumped a tooth, only other possible culprit is the fuel rail pressure regulator is stuck. Steve.

Hi the manual gearbox fitted will not use a cooler as they run on proper Gutsy oil which only needs changing every 50k, thats why I chose a manual for my cab I have changed the oil twice plus the clutch assemblies are cheaper £1400 manual £2000+ for the auto DSG, the prices are so high because the Barstewards at Audi won't release the patents for aftermarket. Steve.

Hi you really should start surfing the net for part numbers there are several sites that do parts catalogues for your model, try Zap 7 or failing that your local car parts centre will be able to help via the REG/VIN, TRY Carparts in motion. Steve

Hi I hate to tell you this but there is no way on earth they can move sideways unless you have the wrong diameter bushes that don't fit the bar then there will be lateral travel when cornering, if all is correct there is no side movement, for example there are three different diameter options for bar and bushes on my model. Steve.

Hi Philips Diamond Vision off eBay not cheap but the brightest bulbs you will ever buy. Steve.

Hi it sounds as if it could be something to do with the rear CCM/ECU maybe a wire gone through or corrosion of the terminals on the unit itself that will cause all sorts of weird and wonderful problems, only gone for this theory based on the battery voltages you stated and the fact it started when you replaced the spare wheel, it seems movement is causing a make and break situation. Steve.

Hi if you are putting new arms on anyway just heat the bolt up with a blow torch that will free it up. Steve.

Hi Nexen Nfera or Roadstone Eurovis or Debica, all available on eBay and I just give my local tyre fitters £20 to fit, these are all mid range with excellent A-B ratings for fuel and wet grip, my car is used as a cab and I normally get 15k plus out of the fronts and 27k out of the rears and my tyres are getting hammered most days. Steve.

Hi battery wise you only get what you pay for but a good mid range battery that lasts is the Yuasa 9000 series. Steve.

Hi try posting the tyre size as some brands in a certain size work better than others. Steve.

Hi Tony if you have got the screws out you will have to go at it with a plastic trim prise, its held on with some pretty ferocious metal spring plunge clips most of which deform when releasing just work your way round carefully and once you get it going it will fall off, just keep an eye on the boot light unit as the wires are short and easily snapped, engage an assistant for that bit, I propped it up on the Wife until I had undone the connector, its probably either the seal on the motor or the supply pipe has come off, don't know what Zoon came up with running the water feed for the washer through the spindle the arm is fixed to, the replacement panel clips from Audi are about £2 each but I got ten of em off eBay for about six quid, see picture. Steve.

Result, well done.