Andrew Bell

Autodoc are fairly good for keeping parts - I've had some success on the German (.de) site and then just overlay translate to English. Breakers and Ebay as mentioned, but it's a gamble as to how much life is left in any secondhand part. If you have the space, might be worth looking for a near complete car at a salvage yard / breakers and just buy it for parts. Once they start to deteriorate you can quickly become lost in chasing problems one after another. Great to see another one of these in the hands of a new driver - my eldest has his eyes on my 2.6 but the insurance quote was ridiculous...

Have a look at this post: https://www.benzworld.org/threads/k-jetronic-troubleshooting-from-a-couple-of-specialists.1667628/ - Mercedes, but I believe the same engine. There's a list of things which can cause similar problems to what you're describing. I'd start by cleaning the MAF and move onto fuel pump.

I "fixed" the oil temp, pressure & voltage gauges - turns out they were just unplugged. I don't have a temp sensor, but the pipes in/out of the rad both get hot either under load or if I leave the car at idle for long enough. The pipe into the heater matrix also warms up, although the one out doesn't get anywhere near as warm. There is flow through the matrix though, just not much - which is why I flushed it, thinking it was a blockage. I've cleared an airlock, but that required getting the front wheels up on ramps to get enough pressure through the matrix for air to be pushed out of the bleed valve. Wouldn't know where to start with measuring resistance - electrics escape me. I don't think the sender unit has been replaced, certainly not in the ~13 years I've had the car. Don't even know where it is. Probably worth doing though, if it's not that at least I know there's a new one installed and can eliminate it from the fault finding. Oh - and the heater warms under load, but at idle it's barely above cold with the dial set to hottest. So could also be a faulty heater matrix I guess?

That was the first thing I replaced 🙂 - this is definitely a process of elimination 😆 Temp gauge goes up as it should, fan kicks on around 100 degrees - but only at idle. Once you're moving and the engine's under load it stays just over 0. It might not be the water pump either, but I'm out of other ideas!

Thanks Gareth, It was a guess based on symptoms... I flushed the heater matrix and water seemed to be coming out as fast as it was going in. The first bucketful out was brown but by the second it was coming out fairly clean. Same with flushing the rad and the whole system had a dose of coolant flush through it but it didn't fix the problem of the heater only getting hot under load and the temp gauge not rising. Water pump seemed the next most likely culprit - it's still on the original so swapping it can't hurt as I've already bought one.

Any progress is better than no progress... Managed to figure out why the gauge cluster wasn't working - as expected it was a connection issue. Not sure how three individual plugs got pulled from behind the centre console but it seems they did... Flushed the coolant system, which, as expected made absolutely no improvement. I think the water pump impeller is failing. Coolant is circulating around the engine, but not passing through the heater matrix with enough pressure. Sourced a replacement pump, but now struggling to get the old one out. Seems also that the exhaust has failed, between the manifolds and Cat - replacement section on its way, although might have to be a garage job to replace it as I only have short ramps. Guessing this might be the cause of the acceleration lag and loss of power. One can only hope anyway... Stereo is dead, searching for a replacement that looks like and old cassette deck but is actually a modern bluetooth unit.

Hi Kevin, I'm in Dorset, near Wimborne, so not a million miles from you. Also in the process of carrying out running repairs, maintenance and restoration. Hope you're making better progress than I am!

Had most of the underside of the dash apart and the binnacle out and can't see any sign of an alarm unit. Can't find a sounder under the bonnet either... So either it's hidden under the centre console, which given how impossible that is to remove is doubtful, or I haven't found it yet... or, there never was an alarm and someone just tied the fob into the central locking to give it remote unlock. The search continues. What I do know is that the battery isn't draining at the moment...

It's entirely possible the car is well beyond the point where it makes sense to continue throwing time and money at it... That said, I'm fond of it, it makes me smile when I drive it and my eldest seems intent on inheriting it, should he ever get around to taking and passing his driving test. He has his level one and two in Light Vehicle Maintenance, so could assist with the repairs and what have you, but seems not to want to... That leaves me, a knowledgeless, incompetent idiot to try and deal with all of this on my own. Here's everything that's currently wrong. I'll post updates as and when I manage to resolve any of them. Will try to get pictures / videos if I remember and think they might be helpful to anyone else. If anyone smarter or more knowledgeable than me has suggestions on how to fix any of this lot, please comment below... Like, subscribe, etc.. All the things wrong with my ’97, 2.6 Cabby… Ignition switch… Kinda broken, although the car still starts and a little faffing with the key gets the accessories to come on, so I can use the indicators, have working brake lights, etc. They all seem optional these days though, judging by everyone else I see on the road around here. Got a replacement module from zee Germans, which obviously wasn’t the right one, even though the part numbers matched. Got another, but that looks remarkably similar to the other wrong one, so not holding out much hope it’ll fit. Temporarily fixed with some superglue and gaffer tape, maybe that’ll last the winter and save me having to dismantle the dash again. A fella can be optimistic sometimes… Gauges not doing gauging… Oil Temp, Oil Pressure & Battery gauges not reading anything, although they are illuminated when the lights are on, so at least I can see they’re not doing anything. Engine temp gauge also not doing much of anything, unless the car is stationary and idling, when it seems to work just fine. Perhaps there’s no engine temperature when I’m driving due to the incredible speeds this quality vehicle is capable of… Nope, not that, guess I’ll have to fix it. Doesn’t seem to be air in the system and the fan comes on if the car’s left sitting and running… No idea what’s going on here. Hesitation / Lag on acceleration. Most noticeable going from 2nd to 3rd. Possibly injectors, although it’s had two lots of injector cleaner over four tanks of fuel and I only run it on Momentum 99. Maybe new injectors or lightening hoses..? Stereo won’t turn on. Temporarily fixed by wedging a bluetooth speaker next to the handbrake, but I guess between that and the gauge cluster not working maybe there’s some kind of power issue to the centre console... Blowers not blowing. Settings 1 and 2 are like an asthmatic vole wheezing in the direction of the windscreen, setting 3 is basically the same vole but after a couple goes on its inhaler. Still, indicates there’s power to the centre console, or at least to the blowers. Hot and cold dial seems to vaguely do hot and cold things… Might try flushing the heater core, don’t imagine it’ll make any difference but at least makes me feel productive. Roof hydraulics leaking. Seems to be worse on the drinkers side, guess I should check the fluid reservoir make sure it hasn’t all escaped. Fixing this seems like it might involve some actual knowledge and more than basic tools… Also feels like it’s a job that can wait till spring, when it isn’t cold, windy and damp and I might want to put the roof down. Must be complicated as all the local hydraulics specialists I contacted didn’t even bother replying… maybe it’s a coupe now… Door cards falling apart. Apparently spray adhesive doesn’t stick the vinylette back to the card, so maybe it needs Sticks Like !Removed! instead… Or could remove all the vinylette and paint them instead or have them retrimmed I guess is an option, but one that involves spending money I don’t have, so not a good option. Maybe just fashion some new door cards from acrylic or aluminium - lightweight racing door cards for extra speed and performance. Headlights… Seem to have been replaced with two anorexic fireflies… Tried polishing the glass, didn’t make any difference but at least they look clean now. Maybe some questionably legal high-power bulbs will fix this, or a set of rally lights so I can blind all the arsehats in their SUVs… Suspension… I’ve sat on firmer bouncy castles… Could replace with stock or maybe it’s time for some adjustable coilovers and a small height reduction, do something about that wheel-arch gap. At least that’s a job I can manage myself, kinda. Paint and body… Rubbery, plasticy trim things under the doors got all bendy and detached. Removed these and fixed with heat and moderate application of force. Need to clean up the fittings and see if that’s fixed the problem. Paint has some minor age related dints and dings, plus a massive gouge on the drinkers side, thanks to some goblin in the supermarket carpark… Probably another SUV driver, they seem universally unaware of the width of their pointless vehicles. Might be time for a respray if I can get all the actual problems fixed. Might Dip it as at least I can do that myself reasonably cheaply… Windscreen leaking… Looks like the rubber seal has failed with age, should be simple enough to clean out the old and gunk in some new black silicon or something. Temporarily, permanently fixed with gaffer tape, until spring at least.

Complete lack of progress so far due to a combination of illness, being driven into in my other car and having to deal with that and a laundry list of other things which went wrong with the cabby and needed attention. Passed its MOT with only a couple minor jobs... all the brakes, both front wishbones and a couple bushings. Almost got home from the MOT centre, stopped for fuel and it refused to start. Tried jumping with the aid of a friendly passing petrol head in an Octavia VRS - quickly deduced between us that the starter motor had died. The electrical burning smell and lack of any whirling were helpful in diagnosing that. Trailered it back to the garage, fitted a new starting whirler and for good measure a new battery. Whatever was draining the battery doesn't seem to be happening now - I'm wondering if it was just using a load of juice trying to turnover on a bad starter and then just not fully charging... or one of the other many and varied things that aren't working is what was causing it and it'll come back when they get fixed. Going to start a new thread for all the issues...

It's booked for an MOT Saturday, then I'll be doing a driveway service and trying to trace the alarm sounder and module. Will update if that fixes the battery drain.

I've had the car (97 Cabriolet) off the road for a few months as it needed a few bits and pieces doing. Knowing it was going to be sat I removed the battery and kept it dry stored and hooked up to a trickle charge with protector, diagnostics, etc. It was an almost new Yuasa so I expect it to be fine and the indicator shows it's all good. Last night I dropped it back in the car, turned the key and apart from all the dashboard lights coming on, nothing happened. Not even an attempt at a crank. I put the charger on, left it overnight expecting it to be fine this morning. What I didn't do was disconnect it from the car... Now, the battery seems to have less voltage than it did yesterday, which leads me to believe something is draining the battery whilst the car is parked. I'd suspected this before it came off the road too... As part of what I was doing I'd already disconnected the stereo and powered seats, so I know it's not those. My guess is the aftermarket Cobra alarm (an old version of their "basic" alarm) - what I don't know is where the module is, where it's likely to be connected or how to go about disconnecting it. Can anyone point me to places it might be hidden? Thanks

Thank you. My local "ol' boy" mechanic knows a guy... don't they all... who does replacement hydraulics for auto-lift boots, who thinks he can swap them, only problem now seems to be sourcing them. The local retrimmer, as you said, won't touch the hydraulics and won't replace the roof until they're done, so for now I'm stuck until I can find replacement rams.

I'm fairly sure water is circulating as I can feel various hoses either side of the rad getting hot and the coolant reservoir builds pressure, so would that indicate the water pump is working?

Thanks Gareth. Assume you mean thermostat for the heater matrix? I've changed the coolant sensor so know that's working now. Am I wrong in my thinking that the lack of engine temp would impact whether hot air comes out the blowers, or would a faulty blower thermostat impact what the engine temp sensor is showing?

Another day, another problem... If I open / close the roof (electric), there's hydraulic fluid leaking from the arms. Searching online shows that they can't be repaired / resealed. Does anyone have experience with replacing them or having them replaced? I assume it's not a simple DIY job? Any recommendations for places that can do the job? Thanks

Took the car on a longish journey recently, about 15 minutes in I noticed the engine temp wasn't going above 60. It was early hours and freezing cold, so assumed that it was ambient temperature plus not driving far or fast at that point. Turned the heaters on and got no warm air and another 30 minutes later still no rise in engine temp. Thought it might be an air lock in the cooling system, so pulled over at a services, checked coolant & oil levels (both Ok). Bled the coolant lines (from the plastic screw near the windscreen), fluid came out almost straight away. Rest of the journey there and back no change in engine temp and no heat from the blowers. Got home, swapped the coolant temp sensor as that seemed the next likely culprit. Noticed that the coolant level had dropped from Max to Min, so topped up and bled again, some air came out, but again, not a lot. Started the car and left it to idle on the drive, with an occasional blip of the throttle. After a few minutes the temp started rising, got to about 80-90, so I assumed all was good. Car sat for a couple weeks, took it out last night and once again, no warm air and temp gauge sat at 50-60. Checked the rad and hoses, both are getting warm then hot as the engine runs, so assuming that coolant is actually circulating. Oil level hasn't dropped and engine is hot after being driven, so think that side of things is ok. Noticed that there does seem to be a little coolant leaking from the bottom radiator hose. Not sure if it's original, but it's definitely far from new - neither hoses or radiator have been changed in the 11 years I've had the car and up till now there's never been an issue. I'm wondering if the hose has perished and is letting air in, causing a semi permanent air leak / lock. So replacing them is the next job, except, I can't seem to find anywhere online to buy replacements - Can anyone point me in the direction of a supplier. I have the OE part numbers, but searching online either yields "Discontinued" from Audi, or hoses from other sources (such as AutoDoc) that match the part number, but look nothing like what's under the bonnet. Lastly, if it turns out not to be hoses, what should I look for next? I'm assuming the water pump is working as I can feel coolant moving through the hoses and it comes out the bleed screw. I'm reasonably sure the block is ok as it had a strip and rebuild over lockdown and hasn't done more than 1000 miles since, so would welcome any advice or suggestions. TIA

Hi everyone, Looking for some help and advice please. I have a 1997 Cabriolet 2.6 which looks to be needing an engine swap. I'm looking for a donor engine and can't find any information on whether or not there were any differences between the 93-96 and 97 onwards v6 lumps and if there is a difference in the block between manual and automatic transmission. My guess would be that they're all identical and it's just ancillaries, etc that change but before I part with any cash I was hoping to get a little better educated. Cheers