Magnet

Hello Kieron, Why change the shock absorbers on a ‘....might have been shot..’ assumption, before getting a free (and very important) tyre check first? Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Gary, It’s great that you have kindly informed the forum of the successful outcome to the issue (few do!). Your reply will hopefully be of help to others who experience similar symptoms in the future. Apologies for being pedantic:- You say (and confirm?) it was due to a faulty FUEL sender. Logic would point to this being wrong. Faulty OIL level sensor would make sense - but not a faulty fuel sensor. Wondered if you could clear up this important anomaly for us. Many thanks and kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Gary, Faulty fuel sensor? Not oil level sensor. Kind regards, Gareth.

Still available if anyone is interested. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Jim, I certainly agree that it doesn’t make sense, but it could just be that your car will (in caps) be allocated this registration number when (in caps) it arrives. i.e. They have reserved this registration number for use on your vehicle - when it arrives. When it arrives? I guess you will be notified by the dealer as soon as it is available to you. That I would not worry about, since they will be glad of your money as soon as they can get it off you. Meanwhile, stay safe - much more important than vehicles. Enjoy it when it arrives. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Kieron, Judging by what you say, and particularly your reference to a broken rear spring and a shaking through the car - felt through the seat, not the steering wheel?- I would be getting the tyres thoroughly examined for sidewall on other damage. Pay particular attention to the rear tyres and particularly the tyre which was on the broken spring side. It is not unusual for broken springs to damage the inside wall of a tyre. If this were mine, I would be treating this tyre inspection as urgent, and certainly not just a walk around look, but removing each wheel in turn and ideally getting them set up on a wheel balancer, to give you an idea of which one may be defective. Urgent, would be the operative word in my book. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Jim, There may be good reason why you are concerned why this car appears to have already been allocated a registration number, but we don’t know why you are concerned about this. Perhaps repeating:- if you have a registration number then my guess is it’s already in the UK, but Audi’s system may not have uploaded its updated location. As a matter of interest, does the allocated registration number tie up with the area registration applicable to the dealer you are acquiring the car from? Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Jim, If indeed it is still at the port of exit (within the EU ? - which we aren’t) then I would be very surprised if the vehicle has been allocated a (UK?) registration number. To my knowledge, this is always allocated by the supplying dealer following the PDI. Kind regards, Gareth. p.s. Just noticed your Location as ‘somewhere’ (not at all helpful), so please ignore any reference to U.K. procedures if not applicable.

Apologies John. Pressed wrong button!

Hello Luke, Not sure if you are having difficulty removing and refitting a new one, or simply trying to buy a new one. Could you let us know. Also, it’s difficult to work out from your photos the difference between damage and possible reflections. Whatever, the damage is, isn’t it within the bounds of being repaired by your local trusted ‘smart repairs’ specialists? Probably far cheaper than buying new (if you can find a delay who is open), and removing and refitting a new one. New ones already colour finished? Doubt it. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Mark, The only true reference I have from my ageing car catalogue is for First Line shock absorbers , but I’m pretty sure they have long since given up s/a after market supplies. Having said that, the numbers may be useful for cross referencing purposes:- Rear non sport for the 1991 to 1995 series would have been FSA5165G for gas or 5165 for hydraulic. If sport suspension, then the number would have been FSA5022G. Strangely, there is another reference to ‘.....exc. sport suspension -optional sport driving’ and the part number would then have been FSA 5213G. I also have a Kayaba (KYB) catalogue, but that appears less precise, but quotes 341901 or 341130 ( both gas) but excludes sports suspension. It lists 341132 for the rears for sports suspension. I’m not sure if any of the above will be of help, but if it were mine, I would be talking with KYB Technical in the U.K. I’ve found them very helpful in the past. Open due to Covid? Kind regards, Gareth. Take it you have searched EBay.?

Hello ‘b’, Foam spray not containing any caustic? or acid? Not sure, but be surprised if it isn’t. Alloy wheel cleaner? Certainly acidic. Can I ask if you are using a pressure washer as part of the foam cleaning process? If so, you are aiming (harmful) chemicals at the car at a fair old pressure/speed and they will inevitably attack the lacquer finish on the car and it’s wheels. I’d be very surprised if your current problem is not cleaner chemical/cleaning process associated. Appreciating it’s ‘not so much fun’, but I would be sticking to a washing regime of hose, bucket and sponge - and car wax shampoo, which is far less aggressive. Kind regards, Gareth.

How is the car generally washed ‘b’? Kind regards, Gareth.

Dum-dum I think Steve. What olden days of motoring were these then? Of course, there is a far greater variety of superior sealers on the market now for sealing outside - from silicone based compounds of all colours, to over-paintable acrylic sealers. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Stephen, By adding spacers, you are moving the wheel out of centre from the hub bearings, so not really recommended engineering wise. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Miroslav, Have you carried out the the connecting cleaner process which Piotr suggests? Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Carl, You plan sounds fine. Is this a different autoelectrician from the other two? It sounds like you and the auto electricians you have used are hanging their hats on the importance of diagnostic checks. Not always a good principle to me - in preference to good old voltage and resistance checking. Did you, or anyone else check that wiring harness after. It would be my port of (eliminating) call, particularly since understandably suspect this may be associated with loose connections. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Darren, In addition to Steve’s advice, you can also try Partsfinder and others, who operate an on line system which alerts breakers of the part you want. They then contact you if they have one. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Steve & Zeeeshan, It maybe important to stress that the ‘x miles or x years’ schedule for cambelt changes is reinforced by ‘whichever come first’. So in your case where 120k or 5 years is specified, your car needs a cambelt change now since the car is 5 years old - irrespective of the fact that it hasn’t covered 120K miles. I will bow to your experience Steve, but I thought the mileage figure was 75K with this, but whatever Zeeshan, It needs doing. As I understand it, this is a front-of-of-the -car off job, and Audi quote around £795 to renew cambelt assembly and the water pump. To my mind, the quality of the parts used is critical, and for such a labour intensive job, I would only use genuine VAG parts ( available on discount - or at least were, pre Covid) - particular the water pump - with no exceptions. Kind regards, Gareth.

Sorry David, but it’s highly unlikely that a new battery would be flat at the point of fitting. Back to my original suggestion:- potentially you have two problems here, one a starting issue on fitting a new battery, and/or a substantial ‘short’ or battery drain. Suggest investing in an hour’s services of a trusted local auto electrician. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Nick, I think that’s it’s more important to get the battery efficiency checked rather than be too concerned about the EML at this stage. Chances are that this battery will let you down again. Of course, we are assuming the charging system is up to par, but first port of call would be the battery check. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello David, It’s probably me not understanding, but could you confirm that you were unable to start the car immediately after fitting the new battery. If so, that set of symptoms is unlikely to be associated with the battery losing power when not in use - i.e. when something is draining the battery. Sounds like you might have two sets of issues here. Have you tried disconnecting the negative connection onto the battery and then observing any significant sparking when you reconnect it? Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello David from the Homeland, You have to give us a bit more detail to go on. ’Fitted same issue’. Does this mean it will not start even when a new battery has just been fitted? Or do you mean it does not start say after you leave it overnight? Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Jacques, If you don’t get any luck on here, it might be worth trying wanted Ads. in specialist press such as Modern Classics, Classic Car Weekly, Classic Car Buyer, Classic Car Mart etc. since the car could now be classed as a ‘modern classic’. Another avenue would be on-line breaker searches such as Partsfinder? (there are others), whereby you register your want, and it gets circulated to participating car breakers, who make contact with you if they have the part you want. Kind regards, Gareth.