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Thanks, Steve - that's exactly what I had planned. To go back to an earlier point you made - did you mean to buy a length of silicone hose (with the correct OS diameters) to replace the pipe, or just a section to fit into the bottom joint? 🤔

So, having tarted about fitting carbon fibre trim inside a car I can't drive this afternoon - I thought I'd better do something about that... 😂 It being a fairly cool evening, I rolled the convertible partway out of the garage, opened the bonnet, and went through the fairly familiar routine of removing the engine cover and air ducts... I soon had the main air pipe off... I'd had it in my mind that I'd find that I'd twisted or kinked the lower joint of the pipe, where it feeds into the turbo (thus explaining the very loud intake roar)... ...but the pipe showed no signs of being distorted... 🤔 ...indeed, everything looks as good as new. No sign of any leakage from the (now clamped) breather hose - although it's probably only done three or four miles since being replaced. I'm a bit stumped, so I roll the car back into the garage, wash up, and open a bottle of wine. I've bought another (used) intake pipe from eBay - it should be here on Wednesday, which, coincidentally, may well be the next time there's a civilised temperature to work in... Any ideas welcomed... Mike

Yes, I took them. They aren't too bad, although there's a bit of lifted clear coat on the gear lever surround. If I hadn't already worked on the gear lever surround and ashtray, I'd clean them up and use them... Trouble is - if I wanted to use them, I'd have to drill holes for the controls (or reposition them - which I'm not minded to do). If I fitted the ashtray without the gear lever surround, it would look odd. I'm just going to keep them in a box, and then they can go as a job lot if I take the trim off to sell it in the future... 😎

So there I was, thinking, "It's about time I did another search for carbon trim"... Two hours later... The trim around the light switch was the most complex to remove - but YouTube guided the way... 😃 It was expensive, but you can't take it with you. Also, it introduced me to a new VAG tuning shop and breakers over in Fakenham, less than half an hour away...😃 The gear lever surround and front ashtray cover weren't in good condition, but, as luck would have it, I didn't need either, as I have a phone charger hard-wired onto the ashtray and the controls for my aftermarket heated seats on the gear lever surround... (Sorry for the quality of the pic - quite dim in the garage) So - whilst I had the trim around the headlight switch off, something dropped into the driver's footwell... ...(key for scale). I'm unable to see anything missing (and it may have arrived with the new trim)... ...any ideas? Apologies for slightly hi-jacking your thread, Tom - I promise I'll shut up now... 😄

I'm pretty sure it's no longer available. It's not something that keeps me awake at night 😆 I keep looking for a set of Carbon-fibre trim from an S4 on eBay... 😎 I wonder if it would respond to T-cut, or simple polish, to take the minor scratches out... 🤔

I cannot believe how clean your boot shut area is... 😮 We may well be cut from the same cloth - I replaced the boot struts on mine as one of the first jobs - simply because they were rusty looking... 🤣😂🤣

About the same as mine Tom - thanks anyway... 🤔

Ask about - the field (and car) will belong to someone. You just have to do some legwork to find out who - then have a conversation with them...

Whose field is it? 🤦‍♂️

They belong to someone - of course you can't just take them 🤣😂🤣

The first thing I would do is test drive another version of the same car - without sports seats, which is what I'm assuming you have at present. If you find a comfortable option, look out on eBay for a set of seats (or even just a single driver's seat) in the same material your current seats are covered in. I'd then approach the dealer and ask them to swap them over for free as a goodwill gesture (actually, I'd get them to agree to this before you buy the seats) - and do a reverse swap when you come to sell the car (put them in the loft tightly wrapped in bin bags). You can punt the seats back out on eBay and likely make the cost back... That sounds like a lot of fuss, but if you're uncomfortable in the car, I think it would be the most cost-effective way to tackle the problem. Switching front seats is a simple matter, but I'd let the dealer do it in these circumstances...

So, the new air filter arrived today. I fitted it, then replaced the ductwork and the engine cover… …then poured the DPF cleaner into the fuel tank… …and took her out for a drive. As soon as I used even moderate throttle, there was a large intake noise, followed by the glow plug warning light flashing and it going into limp mode…🤦‍♂️ I drove back home and plugged in the OBDEleven… Sure enough, it was P2279 again. It cleared when I asked it to, but I’m now going to take the intake pipe off to see if I’ve kinked it or mis-fitted it where it joins the turbo or something. When I last drove it, I thought the intake noise was a result of failing to fit the intake ductwork. There’s obviously some large air leak somewhere - the intake pipe has to be the prime suspect…

Have you checked the new price? I’ve been pleasantly surprised at the relatively low cost of some VAG plastic mouldings…

Gareth, I think your hints have been too subtle 🤣😂🤣 David - post a price up! 😃

She has previous for that guv... 😆

Thanks again Steve, Roy 👍 Only the interior filter arrived today - hopefully the air filter and DPF cleaner will arrive tomorrow and I can get to testing the 'fix'...🤔 Mike😎 PS The good news is that Marnie is enjoying me spending more time with her...😃

Thanks for the comprehensive answer, Steve—every day is a school day 😃 Much of my mechanical knowledge was built around carburated vehicles—mostly motorcycles, which didn’t have the systems in use in mainstream cars for the past couple of decades. The idea of a filter letting more stuff through due to an increase in vacuum is new to me 👍 Anyway, the new filters should be here tomorrow or Tuesday, so I’ll reassemble, test and report back. This site is an excellent resource—thanks again for your detailed advice, Steve. Mike 😎

Stevey, having slept on it, isn't the nature of a dirty air filter to keep more stuff out of the air supply rather than less? In a petrol engine, a dirty air filter would typically manifest itself by producing a richer mixture - ie less air is getting through and mixing with the same amount of fuel. I'm not convinced that a dirty air filter lets contaminants into the 'clean' side of the intake box, and therefore into the MAS and this into the intake pipe. It may get dirt into the turbo from the base of the intake pipe where the breather hose was not clamped - but all indications are that the oil was coming out of that joint and plastering itself all over the surrounding area. Of course, it may only have been pushing stuff out on the overrun (and goodness knows how long it had been doing that) - but even if it was sucking air in, surely it was going straight into the turbo, where - once again - I'm struggling to see how it would affect the MAS, as it's so far downstream from it... Mike 🤔

Thanks Stevey, great input 👍 I knew it was an error as soon as I heard the noise the intake made. I’ve cleared the code and will not be starting the engine again until I have fitted the new air filter and ductwork. I have also got a DPF cleaner on order and my first order of business will be to put this in the tank and take the car for a gentle run, followed by an Italian tune up if the initial run goes well. If this solves the problem, then I’ll carefully take the original MAF apart and use the cleaner to try and refurb it as a spare. Mike 😎

So - good news and bad. I scanned the car and only the radio code came up (this is a permanent feature as I have an after-market stereo fitted) - Yay! 🥳 So - I still have the DPF filter warning on the dash. Since the car is apparently healthy in all other respects, and it's a lovely day - what could better than to take it for an 'Italian tune up' right now, to see if I can blow the excess carbon out of the filter? Almost straight away, I realise this isn't a great idea. Without the intake ducting fitted, the intake roar is really loud. Hey-ho - let's go. I drive up the bypass keeping revs above 3.5k and - predictably - after a few minutes, I get the glow plug warning light flashing and the car goes into limp home mode... I drive home and sit on the driveway whilst running the OBD Eleven diagnostic programme. Sure enough - it's the P2279 fault code again So - I reset it and it clears. I'm going to ignore it and leave the car in the garage until my new filters turn up; fit them; refit the intake ducts, and then take it out to see if anything I have done has made any difference. Amazon have delivered my 5 point star bits, so I'll be able to take out the original sensor and clean it - although it seems unlikely that this was the actual problem now. Anybody have any other ideas please? Mike 😎 PS On the positive side - no Check Engine Light this time... 😆

So, it's still pretty pleasant in the garage. Full shade and with a nice breeze. The air filter is in a shameful state - I don't think I have changed it since before I went to Italy in 2017. Of course, lockdown meant I have done very few miles in the intervening time, but I'm still surprised by the state of it. I already ordered an air filter and cabin filter from eBay, but they've not arrived yet. I vacuum out the intake void, which has a fair collection of straw, leaves and dead bugs in it, then refit the dirty air cleaner... I I push the new MAF into place - it fits very snugly (as it should) and I secure it with the two self tappers... I find a jubilee clip for the top of the breather hose - I reuse the spring clip for the joint at the bottom... I fit the plug to the MAF, refit the intake pipe - which proved to be a royal pain in the parts to do. I managed to lose both fasteners into the Graveyard of Parts, as I have now named my undertray, but replaced them from my spares bin. Anyhow, eventually it was all buttoned up, with the exception of the intake ducts and the engine cover, as I'll be replacing the air filter in a couple of days. I am, once again, absolutely filthy after this - and go and have a good scrub with Agent Orange followed by a few cool drinks whilst I give Marnie a bit of attention...😃 I suppose now would be a good time to go out and plug the OBD Eleven in and see if it worked, eh? 🤔

I got bored, the sun had moved round and there was a nice breeze blowing, so I thought I'd give it a go... 😃 The first thing that struck me was that there was a lot of oil and dirt down there, by the junction of the breather and the air intake hose - and subsequently on the joint of the air intake hose to the turbo. A lot... 🤨 First things first, though. Yesterday afternoon I was clumsy enough to drop my electric screwdriver into the engine bay - if you squint you can just see it lying on the undertray... That really is filthy... 😱 I have a couple of long reach gadgets... ...to try to reach, but it turns out that the simplest way is to unhook one of the fasteners in the driver's side wheel well and reach in and grab it... So I unbolt the MAF, and then the breather and the air intake pipe. I wipe some of the gunk off them in the garage using the last of a tin of brake cleaner, then cart them into the kitchen (no - Im not married... 😆). I start by cleaning my hands and forearms with some Fast Orange, which soon has them clean. I then run a hot sink full of water and a good dose of Fairy Liquid and take a nail brush and a washing up sponge to the parts... This takes a while... ...but eventually they look like new... I give the pipes a close inspection for any signs of cracking or deformation, but they both seem to be in good condition... ...and take note of their part numbers. This breather pipe is still available new - at some ridiculous price on eBay, (€85 or so) from Lithuania. The intake pipe doesn't seem to be. Both pipes are available used from a number of sources for between £10-25 or so. However, I don't think I'll be needing any new stuff. The breather pipe has one of those spring clips holding it on at the top end, but nothing at the bottom end, where it was leaking so badly. When refitting, I am going to put a jubilee clip on that joint (it has a ring on the moulding to take one - I'm guessing whoever had this off last time broke or lost a clip) and I think that ought to solve the situation. I'll pop the intake ducting off in a month or so's time and have a look down at the joint to see if there has been any oily build up... So - enough time here in the cool - time to go and refit things... 🤨

The MAF arrived in the post today... ...and seems to be identical to the OEM part fitted to the car, even down to the 'anti-tamper' five point star bolts holding the sensor in. I also got a can of MAF Sensor Cleaner - to use on the original part to see if it's recoverable as a spare... Trouble is, my garage and driveway are in full sun and very warm right now. I think I'm going to set an early alarm in the morning and tackle the job then...

No - all good except for the driver’s door trim…😆

Thanks Tom - it’s not a big thing, but I’m sensing you’re as particular about your car as I am… 😁