Stevey Y

Hi, I have just discovered another insane piece of kit on my Audi, just over ten days ago I serviced my car [All Bosch filters and Quantum oil] measured the oil refill from a Sealy oil filler can 4.7litres all good went for a test run, came back checked the oil level on the MMI which tells me to reduce the oil level, ok, so took out 500ml, drove it again and rechecked the oil, still the same, it would appear that the oil level sensor is up the wall also fitted a new bonnet open warning switch as they are known to cause problems no big deal at £27.00 OE. Now we come to the sensor itself £150.00 from my local Audi Dealers + a two day turn round, I declined gracefully and Saturday morning bagged the same sensor for £69.00 from my local spares outlet it will be available at nine tomorrow morning, pixxed off as I will have to fork out for more oil and a filter, I wonder which lunatic thought this system up I had three Fords which I racked up over 800,000 miles in and one of the only things that never failed was the Dipstick, have drivers become that lazy/stupid that they can't lift a bonnet and lift out the Dipstick, going to do the job tomorrow will try and post some pictures. Steve.

Hi, yeah the solenoid is easy enough to get at by removing the inner trim on the filler side of the boot its basically one 10mm bolt and an electrical connector, I would not bother electrically testing the unit as they are rubbish and can be bought on eBay for about twenty quid and the unit is plug in and play, there is also a video on youtube about fitting it. Steve.

No Gareth this is what happens when someone throws in a completely random question into the middle of a thread, it blows a hole in it, its case of where were we. Steve.

Hi one less to worry about, do you have the facilities to reprogram the new unit?. Steve,

Hi back to basics, did you do a re learn of the new values, adaptations, if not that could be your problem, the only other thing it could be is the inlet manifold is bunged up and will require stripping and cleaning and a new gasket set. Steve.

Hi, this is only an educated guess but how long had this problem been on going?, it possible the extra fuel has got in with the engine oil, check the level, this would have the effect of thinning the oil making it harder for the pump to work, sort the injector and it will need re coding then sort out the low pressure light. Steve.

Hi sorry for the late reply, the answer to that one is NO, they were designed as a direct replacement for OE shocks and in some cases were supplied as OE, what appears to make them stiffer is that they are a monotube design which is more progressive in its damping dynamics, I.E. the unit compresses and returns in a more controlled manner without relying on the spring solely for support under harsh braking/cornering. The majority of other aftermarket shocks will openly describe their products as twin tube, the problem with that design is that both monotube and twin tube use oil in their construction the monotube design is about sixty percent less likely to suffer with oil foaming which degrades the units handling capabilities when under constant stress when driven hard, the twin tube design suffers more with foaming and oil degradation as the unit wears over milage. Over 800,000 miles I have had the opportunity to try most aftermarket brands and although most have performed more or less adequately I have found Bilstein to be the most robust right up to the end of life, if you really want stiff try the B6 version I fitted these to my Mondeo Sport, yes the handling was pin sharp but that was at the cost of the ride quality even with standard springs. The name of the game is to use standard springs with a more progressive shock absorber this maintains more tyre contact with the road without the skipping effect caused by over stiff springs and shocks which will manifest itself in accelerated tyre wear and handling problems, oversteer/understeer. Steve.

I normally find that if you remove the measuring cap and just poke a hole in the silver metal seal just slightly to one side, the side you intend to tilt when putting in tank that works well and it won't leak. Steve.

A new set of shocks and mounts would not go amiss and while they are there change the drop links as they are famous for causing premature wear on the shocks, both the shocks and the links are probably responsible for tearing the mount in half, have to be honest in all my years I have never seen a mount break like that Steve

Hi, most of the newer Audis have this feature as well as Ford -Vauxhall and many more, its a safety feature to prevent the car starting in gear/drive and moving forward, pushing the brake pedal [automatic] or clutch pedal [manual] disengages the button on the pedal which cuts the ignition circuit. Steve.

Hi you will need top mounts and the rubber silencer rings x4 the best aftermarket springs are Kilen and from previous experience I would recommend Bilstein B4 shock absorbers they are not the cheapest but give an excellent service life compared with other branded twin tube shocks. Steve.

Hi thats the whole point of using the Hydra Maximus every other fill up, it keeps everything clean I have used this on both my previous cabs 300k+ on one and 270k on the other it turns the standard diesel into premium diesel for about 5p extra per 25litres no brainer really, I use between £60-80 per week and a 1ltre bottle lasts about three months, private owners will probably use a litre per year, not a bad investment for around twenty five quid. Steve.

Hi just pulled up a schematic of the rear suspension on my parts system and my money is on the drop link. Steve.

Hi yes indeed I hope I am wrong but the chain guides are made of nylon or some sort of rubber and know for a fact these wear and let the chain become loose thus allowing the possibility of slipping. Steve.

Hi if its fitted with drop links on the rear it could well be one of those other than that the only other thing it might be is a rear damper top mount if they are original on that age car it could well be the bonded rubber bush has let go, the AA isn't a bad shout as have you ever seen the size of the lever bars they use to get the suspension to move up and down. Steve.

Hi much as I hate to say this but it sounds from the videos like the timing has slipped, I think from memory these engines have a chain, it sounds as though when the coil packs are connected it is firing back through an open valve which may account for the rapid sooting of the other components down the line it may have gone round one tooth which won't kill it but it won't do it any favours either, how many miles has it done? I know the manufacturers say the chain should last the life of the car but that won't take into account extra wear caused by extended service interval oil degradation. Steve.

Hi lets face it the dealerships have been having peoples pants down for years, they prey on the customers trust and lack of ability to check what has and has not been done, I can cite a fair few personal experiences with Ford and Vauxhall and if you trawl the net for any franchised dealers they all have pretty horrific records which is why I whole heartedly agree with Wazza, you are much better off with a little independent garage if you can't do it yourself. You shouldn't have to ask a main dealer to change fluids etc at the appropriate milage they should be TELLING YOU it needs changing but from their perspective its better not to as they make fortunes when a major component fails, when I bought my car it according to Manchester Audi had been given a full whistles and bells service at 36k I bought it with 40k on the clock so when I got it home a week later I ripped it apart and replaced everything and sure enough the air filter could only be described as round and black the fuel filter was original from the date painted on it May 16 2016 the car when I bought it was just over three years old, the only thing they had changed was the engine oil but regardless of that I changed the whole lot including the gearbox oil and brake fluid at least I was starting from square one, you can tell when a dealership service manager is lying his lips move. Steve.

Hi when you put the new callipers on did you re do the adaptation process for them as this would cause the same symptoms where the body control module is not quite sure where the piston should be, from memory there is a youtube video on how this should be done. Steve.

Hi Paul, an average lift pump should knock out about 45psi although I have never used a pressure gauge and normally just taken the feed pipe off of the fuel filter out feed and dangled the pipe in an old plastic bottle, then get an assistant to switch the ignition to position 2 and watched if it sprays out like a fire hose you can safely assume the lift pump is working, if this is the case the next thing to try is the regulator solenoid on the end of the fuel rail these as far as I am aware are not monitored by the ECU and can play up and never throw a code up, as I say not to sure with the petrol version but on the diesel you have to hunt it down as it does cause a misfire of sorts where the solenoid spring becomes weak and won't hold the rail pressure. Before going off on a tangent try the crank sensor first then if it won't run start looking further afield as it ran before on the old sensor was changed when fitting the new one double check the connector for dodgy pin ports, this is a tough one but please keep this thread updated. Steve.

Hi it would help if you had some codes, not sure on petrol models but on my diesel there is a crank sensor adaptation protocol which has to be re adapted when fitting the new part, it sounds more of a fuel pressure problem but that would throw a code up, only other thing I can think of is try the old crank sensor again as if it starts on that one it may be the new one is defective. Steve.

Hi not resetting the service light would not put the EML on, just take it back to the garage and get them to plug it in might be they forgot to do the adaptation procedure on the Lambda sensor after it was fitted.

Hi probably not but had it been mine I would have treated the fuse box to a generous helping of WD40 and then left it overnight then give it another hosing down and then driven it, its most likely where the water has caused a short somewhere but the other thing to look at coincidentally would be the oil level as if the turbo seals have gone the engine will use its own oil to run on until she blows but thinking about your thread it wouldn't have let you turn it off you would have had to stall it to shut it down. Steve.

Hi, Sarah even if the steering joint is found to be at fault what price a new one compared with say injector failure on the new car you just bought, the trade sellers are all trying to unload cars as fast as possible, prime example being my daughters boyfriend who just bought a Fiesta ST with just under 50k on the clock for a very low price he has had it three weeks when I pointed out the discs and pads back and front are worn out, not covered by the warranty apparently so I managed to get him some quality replacement E11 approved discs and pads but its still cost him £160.00 for the parts, fortunately a joint assault on brakes meant he had no labour charges. Steve.

Hi, the last question, how long is a piece of string, these vehicles are capable of starship milage if looked after with regard to the CV boot I personally would look into using Stretchy boots as these are made of rubber and nylon and generally speaking more robust than the original boots which are a moulded neoprene and tend to age badly and are more brittle, [look at stretchy boot fitting on youtube]. if its the bump stops on the shocks the kits for both front and back are about £25 each for a pair front and the same for the rears as for the intermediate steering column replacement I strongly suspect that its a bit of Audi kidology, sorry to point out the obvious but you are female therefore you are most unlikely to get it up on a ramp and have a look yourself thats what they rely on. In the final analysis I would look further afield for a repairer and don't whatever you do give any hint of previous quotes before you have their honest no Cr@p opinion and price, then if its more reasonable get it fixed and keep the car, at least you know its history. Steve.

Hi unfortunately I don't have the answer to that one but the one thing I know for certain is that you have to do a lot of prep before changing any major component I.E. plugin and store the original long coding for the steering wheel, in fact take time to write it down as that way you can't loose it and have a path back if it all goes pear shaped, the other thing as Richard pointed out would be to ask advice as to its suitability if its from a later/different model, everything on these cars has a code for every occasion to prevent owners from randomly changing things and as usual I am sure someone will know how to get round it. Steve