Magnet

Buying and just replacing the broken part, is an option worth keeping in mind Paul. Other option? - how ‘clean’ are the breaks? If they still mate together well, then it might be possible to glue them back together. There would be little to lose apart from the cost of the glue! If going down this road, personally, I would not use any of the super glues or other American originating ones, but try Araldite (not the fast setting one - red? tubes) available (in the blue tubes) from the likes of the Range for £3.99. I have been using this glue since I had hair, and always found it great. Just mix equal quantities from both tubes. Does take about 24hours to cure, but I find the bond is worth the wait. Even if the breaks are not that ‘clean’ so the join is not really seen when glued, you could always apply a small amount of filler and silver spray it all over to get a good match to the original/ surrounding parts. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Paul, I guess as things go these days, although around £100 is better off in your wallet, it’s not too unreasonable a price in terms of interior bits for cars. Obviously the only alternative is the secondhand supply chain. Might be worth Googling this route, and you should come up with something like Partsfinder and others on which you register your particular ‘want’, and this gets circulated to their subscribing breakers, who contact you directly if they have the part you want. It might be well worth considering the possible pitfalls of the secondhand market against the expected saving over new, to make sure it’s worth the saving. Kind regards, Gareth.

As Cliff suggests:- You can register your ‘Want’ on Partsfinder or similar sites, which breakers tap into and reply directly to you if they have one. Kind regards, Gareth.

Reciprocated best wish to you and your Trevor. Keep up the good work. Kind regards, Gareth.

Thanks Abhi, It’s a fact of life..’If all else fails - consult the handbook/instruction book!’ 22k, 2 year old and not serviced, just doesn’t sound right to me, but other opinions may differ. Personally, I wouldn’t be arranging to get it serviced in the next few weeks, but treating it with some urgency, or at least making (recorded) enquiries urgently. Leases and any lack of/late servicing can be quite brutally dealt with at the end of lease, and best not to get into that argument. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Abhi, Many thanks for coming back. Back to your original post, I guess we now need to know exactly where the indicator was pointing when you decided it ‘...was quite low..’. We would also need to know/confirm what quantity of oil the handbook quotes as the correct quantity to be added once the warning alert comes on - at Min? The answers to these two questions should allow you to get a better assessment of your overfill. 2 years old and not yet serviced? What mileage has the car now covered? If as could be suspected, it’s on a Longlife service schedule then it’s likely it should be serviced around 18K?, but I would have thought there would have been a time limit (whichever come first) and 2 years would seem sensible as that time limit. Anyone got any specific experience with this particular model year? Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Abhi, Yes, I would take it to an Audi dealer, to ensure the oil level is reduced to an acceptable level to ensure no excuses are used in the future in respect of any warranty claim. A couple of points:- Can we take it the car has a conventional dip stick as well as a display? If so, where was the oil level before adding oil? (assuming it was checked with a cold engine which had be stood for a couple of hours). Unless the dip stick showed the cold level to be at the minimum mark, then adding 1lire might well have resulted in an unacceptably high current level. If it does have a dip stick, where is the oil level on a cold engine now? (after at least a 2 hour cool down). Perhaps you could let us know how many mm. above the Max. mark it is. Getting it looked at pre-Christmas?? Unless it is more than about 4mm over the Max. then I would say you can live with it until you can get it looked at. More than 4mm? Would be well worth trying a couple of local garages who normally have suction oil removal equipment - to see if they can help to remove some. Might be worth investigating why this 2 year old car appears to be using oil. How long you’ve own it and when was it last serviced? Perhaps you can come back to us Abhi, Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Jake, Since you unfortunately haven’t had any responses, I thought I would add my five penneth on a general basis, incase any of it helps:- ‘125k miles too high’? You have to appreciate that the car is not far off 15 years old, and even with the old 12k mikes per year average (too low to be still realistic in this commuter era in my view) the car might well have covered 180k, so 125 can be said to be low for the age. Having said that, it’s worth keeping in sight the fact that you are buying an old car, and as important as it might first appear that service history is all important, it can simply indicate that it has spent an occasional few hours in a workshop from time to time! If you know your way about cars then a meaningful inspection should be possible. If you don’t, then I’d make sure I take along someone who does, or get it independently inspected. You don’t give us any clue to your area ( bit confused by the use of the American term ‘sedan’), but it might be worth looking up an Audi independent near where the car is being sold and asking them to give it a once over. To me, more important that service history, would be overall inspected condition and (in caps) how long the last owner has owned it. If not very long, then it might do well to walk away. Private sale or dealer? Where advertised? Pardon my ignorance about this engine, but is this the one running on a timing chain? If so, tensioners problematic? Not sure if any of this is going to help. Hope it turns out to be a nice car. Kind regards, Gareth.

Thanks for coming back on this Graham, and good luck with getting it sorted out. I guess it’s now of warranty then. As a matter of interest, can we take it you didn’t buy it from a franchised dealer? Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Graham, Sorry to hear you haven’t had any responses, so I guess it’s fair to say it’s unlikely to be a common problem. Noticing the car is still within its last warranty year ( respecting it is probably now just over 3 years old) I wonder if it’s worth seeking advice/inspection at your local main dealer - with the possibility of some goodwill contribution from Audi towards fixing the fault, subject to an expected full service history. Failing that then a trusted local diesel specialist would be my next move. Kind regards, Gareth.

Wishing everyone who posts on the forum, takes the trouble to reply, or simply looks in and views, a peaceful and Merry Christmas, and a healthy and trouble free motoring 2020. Best wishes, Gareth & family.

Hello Frazier, I don’t know how much of this is going to help you, but I believe there are on-line sites where you can input the VIN and obtain a build record for the car. I’ve been lazy and not looked this up for you, and indeed apologies if you’ve already been down that route and failed. My preferred route - which may or may not help you- is to wander into your local main dealer and visit the parts dept. (making sure you talk with the parts chap rather than the front desk). Armed with some paperwork with the VIN on, its quite possible they can help. I would not attempt to do this over the phone. Again, apologies if you’ve tried this. Kind regards, Gareth.m

Hello Steven, I would agree with you to some extent that the secondhand car trade has changed, but in reality, very little, and as always, has been driven by the availability of used cars filtering down from the new car retail. Change - the profit margins on new car sales is now nowhere near much as they were say some 30 years ago, so the dealer has to find other incentives to try to encourage you to do business with them. Cash they just don’t won’t anymore, finance (with commission back to them) they certainly do want. Selling you maintenance plans is almost a must, as is GAP insurance etc etc. - all with paid back commissions. PCPs of course is where the margins are. Back to your situation Steven :- reading your post points me to (what I believe) to the fact that you have bought a 3 year old diesel with no service history ‘.......ready for its first service...’. Irrespective of where it is (properly) serviced, I think the greatest influence on its three-year-on trade-in-value will have little to do with its service history, but everything to do with government policy in regard to its continued (justified?) anti-diesel campaign - so service history important?? Trade values and We Buy Any Car? CAP guide is the vehicle trade value bible. OK, appreciate you had £300 over book for your last car, but this may just have something to do with the price you bought at being slightly inflated to attract a higher part ex. deal. It is possible to be highly influenced by the price offered for the vehicle being part exchanged rather than the all important ‘cost-to-change figure’. Another older than me sales trick! Above all, the vehicle needs to be cared for mechanically and bodily, and if it were mine, my view (personal one obviously) re servicing still stands, but I would not be running the car to Audi’s Longlife schedule where the oil gets changed every c18K miles, but investing in a 12K oil and filter change using only quality oil and filters. Not sure if this helps or confuses more. Perhaps you could let us know what you decide on, since this might help others in similar situations. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Steven, Service history ‘sells’ newish cars. Mileage and above all, condition, sells 7 year old vehicles. Working out your economics is important, and you must consider your perceived increase in value by having main dealer service history against the additional (considerable?) dealer service costs involved during your ownership. Please accept this as only a personal viewpoint, but I have never considered full dealer service history to be king. After all, how do we rate a vehicle which has been well cared for - by its owner - and serviced (with evidence) by the local garage, compared with one which the owner has simply used and passed into a main dealer for half a day every so often? If I were mine:- I would look after it on a day to day basis, entrust it’s servicing to a trusted ( in caps) local garage, but most importantly insist that they only use quality parts. For your part, ensure you keep every invoice for all (in caps) service and repair expenditure on the car. A stamp in a service book doesn’t really tell you much! Pending other replies, it’s over to you Steven to do some economics homework, so you can make a considered decision once you receive other replies. Kind regards, Gareth.

Sort of scientific enough Sean, but not a good a test as it could be. Better test in my opinion:- Place the thermostat in a saucepan of water and heat until it opens. When it’s open, tuck a single length of cotton about 18 inches long under the seat of the thermostat - where it opens- and ensure it stays there until the thermostat closes - obviously water cooling down. Go and have a cup of tea while the thermostat returns quietly to room temperature. Ideally leave it for a few hours if you can. You can now dangle the thermostat by its string, so start to heat the water with the stat dangling in it and stir the water with an accurate thermometer and continue heating slowly and holding the stat just off the bottom of the pan. Note the temperature at which the stat falls off the cotton I.e. it starts to open. This is the critical temperature measurement. Fully open in boiling water mat suggest it’s OK but doesn’t give any indication of when (below boiling point) it actually opens. A slow (temperature wise) to open thermostat could account for your symptoms. Kind regards, Gareth.

‘Thermostat is good..’ How did you test it Sean? Kind regards, Gareth.

Please excuse the typos in the above. Seems the window to ‘Edit’ has changed, and it now has a fairly short time span. Wondered if it has indeed changed Trevor, or am I missing something? Kind regards, Gareth.

Many thanks Cliff - clearer now. If it were mine:- Back to my some of my original questions. Have the bored been measured to assess the degree of wear? Is this were tolerable? If so, would new rings be sufficient or does it need new pistons? Cost of pistons? Back to initial concerns:- why would two adjacent cylinders/pistons (only) wear? Strongly opposing combustion pressures from blown head gasket? I wonder if Darren’s father in law has owned this car for some time and so knows of any history of previous issues. Perhaps he has had it from new, and knows it’s been trouble free..? Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Sean, Good news that you have been able to discount the water pump as the possible culprit - particularly for your wallet! So mechanic’s diagnosis is unlikely to be correct then. ‘Now at a loss....’ My suggestion for going forward may be as good as your mechanic’s ! but.....:- I would not discount the thermostat/s, since the symptoms could be explained by such a faulty component. OK., two thermostats tried, so two cannot be faulty. Well you would think so, but dependent on the (aftermarket?) source, that bit of logic may be highly questionable. In the absence of anyone coming up with any better idea, I would spend my money on a main dealer one, or perhaps Bosch if they do one, but (in caps) test it before fitting. You will need some cotton thread and a thermometer - just let us know if you are unsure about how to test the good-make new one. Does the car use any coolant? Kind regards, Gareth,

Point taken Cliff, but link doesn’t work on my system. So are we are talking carbon build-up here? If so, my take on it can still hold, where the head gasket has blown twixt 2 and 3, resulting in unburnt diesel being pushed ( at twice a petrol engine compression) over into the adjacent cylinders. If this car was mine, I would still be asking the same questions. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Sean, It seems either no one on here has experienced similar issues to yours as a result of a faulty water pump, or might have, but has not bothered to respond. With the elapse of time, I guess you will now have to follow your mechanic’s diagnosis and renew the pump. Sometimes advice is asked for as a confirmation of an already held viewpoint, and alternative advice simply complicates the situation. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Darren, Lower compression on two adjacent cylinders is text book head gasket failure between those two cylinders, unless - by rare coincidence, these are the only two cylinders to suffer from poorly seating valves and/or piston/ bore wear. I haven’t looked at the video, so excuse me if I’ve missed something, but incase I haven’t, I would make the following suggestions:- Ask them to show you the removed head gasket, and carefully examine the remaining gasket between cyls. 2 and 3. Valve seals? Do they mean valve seats. If so, - not perfect? Well you wouldn’t expect them to be on an eight year old car! Have they measured the bore wear? If so, ask for the figures. Did they carry out a secondary compression test (obviously before dismantling) whereby a small quantity of oil is added to the offending cylinders to give a better indication of whether the low compression was due to bore wear or valve issues, or indeed simply a head gasket. Personally, I would not be thinking along a different engine until you have understandable answers to some of the questions. Perhaps you could keep us informed. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Steve, Worth trying a wanted advert in such publications as Modern Classics, Practical Classics, Classics for Sale, Classic Car Mart, Classic Car Weekly, Classic Car Buyer etc. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Calvin, In my opinion, replacing the whole bumper is going to be unnecessarily expensive. There should be a choice of repairers of plastic bumper repairers around the Midlands and south of. Have you googled this. Plastic welding and repair is now very common. If you really want to replace it (with secondhand one) then you could try Partsfinder etc. which is a site which alerts all subscribing scrap yards of your needs. They then get in touch with you. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Sean, Sorry to hear of your issue. Cutting to the chase, I’ve never know a water pump to be the cause of overheating ( without prior protest via. noise) even during the time I had hair - and that was a long time ago! Thermostats? Make Sean? Actual monitored running temperature checked? Kind regards, Gareth.