Magnet

Well Pete, what are you doing to us? Audi ownership? I don’t own one either, but the good lady does, but.... As I recall, I commented early on that I was expecting to hear that you had met yourself on the way back! A really giddy life. If indeed you are going to stop posting, then it will be a sad loss to this forum, but I can appreciate that demands on your time are at a premium, so I can understand. Difficult to know what to say, but I genuinely wish you and Caz well at this time of change, and I really hope that you might find an odd moment to keep in touch with this forum. Meanwhile take care Pete and slow down a bit, but please don’t think about retirement. I’ve been at it since I had a bit of hair, and have come to the conclusion it’s work without pay! - but enjoyable. Don’t be away too long Pete. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Andrew, I’m sorry to hear of your problem, and can understand your concerns and discontents. OK, allow them one more try at making a permanent fix, but I this were mine I too would be following your wishes of formally rejecting the car. If you are going down this route, then asking for your money back is OK, but I my suggestion would be to take advice from the Citizens Advice and follow their guidelines on how to formally reject the car. I would anticipate that this will be conducting this via. a Recorded Delivery letter to the dealer principal, rather than simply asking to reject it. Good luck with getting a satisfactory resolution. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello James, Many thanks for coming back on this. Not wanting to throw spanners into works, but you have just had another opinion to add to the ‘everyone has an (a different) opinion’ bank of advice, and if peace of mind is worth anything then it’s a question of following the ‘official ‘ advice sought from Audi rather than just taking a chance that it will be OK beyond their timescale. Of course, it might be a chance worth taking, but a chance it is. I wouldn’t be sure of the worth of the car - but I guess it would come under the heading of considerable- and again I do not know the cost of replacing a wrecked engine, but I can guess. The magic formular here is to measure the risk taken against the cost of this ‘routine service part change’ against the risk of something going. Whatever that formular is, a risk it is, and one thing is for sure £500 in a bank account is nice, but gambling the ‘extra time bought in not spending it’?? Only you can decide on that James, and I guess you are now armed with as many opinions as responses, so there is no shortage of advice. I think as I indicated, this isn’t any sort of ‘cost is King’ job, or whether the money is worth spending at all at this time. It is a critical part application and may just equate to a similar decision on whether to spend money to insure the house or not. It isn’t, if nothing goes wrong, but with this job, the expenditure is inevitable at some point, so I think I would know what I would do, unless money was really really tight. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello a Gareth, I feel for your plight, and I applaud your quest to try to solve this issue on a DIY basis. Unfortunately on this occasion it hasn’t worked out for you, and as with all of us have at some points in time, you now find you have spent more money on replacing components which weren’t at fault, than having ‘bought in’ expertise to sort it - possibly cheaper. I don’t know Gareth, but are the stalks for example, simply plug in and play, or do they have to be coded to the car? Manufacturers are clever, and do now have a tendency to deter the DIYer. Sorry, but I can only repeat my earlier advice and suggest spending some time investigating a good local source of expertise on things electrical - possibly at an independent, or a recommended auto electrician. I can only wish you well in this quest, and apologise for not being able to help. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Koen, You are talking a theoretical difference of less than 3mm of rubber between the two different tyres (assuming they are new and not part worn - which you don’t tell us). Nothing in it then, but I would again point out the consideration of XL tyres and harsher rides, or indeed the possibility of them being even run-flat, which do not have comport in mind. Please respect Dann’s comments on the overall dia. of wheel and tyre and the effect on speed indication. It’s the end of a hard day for me, so I’ll leave it to you to do the maths, although I think I had previously worked it out for one of the tyre sizes. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello James, I have used Gates kits in the past but I do not use their kits which include the water pump, since these must be classed as ‘aftermarket’ and I don’t think there is any substitute for main dealer parts for this critical application. I think you might find that VAG sell, or at least did sell, a ‘reconditioned’ pump and your old one has to be returned to them under surcharge. It is rumoured that these are in fact new pumps, and your old pumps are acquired for scrapping so they don’t get into the aftermarket chain. I think if this were mine I would be tempted not to change your pump, in preference to using an aftermarket one. Some may say that if you are doing this critical job yourself and saving a fair amount of money on labour, then it’s wise to invest in the best components and stick with genuine VAG parts. Kind regards, Gareth. p.s. You could try Trade Parts Supply, who specialise in genuine VAG parts. You can sometimes get discounted prices via. this route. Again, dealers sometimes have offers on cambelt changes - sometimes making it not worth your while to do it yourself. Might be worth a ring around.

Blinking heck Victor. With insurance costs being that low why aren’t we all flocking to live on your side of the waters?

Hello Nigel, Have you tried googling classic car exhaust suppliers? I would think this is your best starting point. Also EBay possibly. I have a Walker exhaust catalogue here and if you could let me know what engine you have, I might be able to give you some Walker part numbers, but a casual glance suggests they might not list the convertible - simply the saloon and estate - but I will double check if you let me have the engine cc. Daft as it sounds, it might be worth wandering into your local Audi dealer (have the VIN to hand) and enquiring there, since they might still have a search facility through the dealer network which could locate old stock. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Steve, Thanks for the explanation. I think this forum works like most others run on a volunteer assistance basis, and I seriously doubt whether anyone on here would be reluctant to help you out if they can. Experts are few and far between and its likely that their expertise has been built up by hands-on experience of a particular marque, perhaps being full time employed in such roles, and may indeed just not be bothered to have their free time interrupted. I think it’s fair to say that the majority of contributors on here are enthusiastic, and really want to help - if they can. If they cannot, then I am sure it’s not from a lack of interest or desire trying to help. I think it’s great that you found friends on a forum all those years back, and no doubt in-depth electronic issues were in their infancy then, and plain hands-on experience in things mechanical could be more readily shared. Let’s hope someone on here will be able to help you out Steve, or forum members nearer your neck of the woods be able to recommend some local specialist assistance. Please don’t look on us to harshly Steve, and if it’s any consolation, it’s quite possible that the good folks who administer this forum will not look on my responses too favourably, but it’s a risk everyone takes if they respond to posts. I genuinely wish you good luck in getting it sorted. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Steve, Not that I have any responsibility for the good running of this forum ( for which I have the utmost respect) but I feel I have to ‘justify’ its potential as a source of help. I do appreciate however, that advice maybe slower in coming through - if in fact it does at all, and in your case where I anticipate your appeal for help was probably posted around midnight, I would realistically doubt anyone would have replied by now. Of course from your point of view, time is probably important since the car is immobile, but ...’ .....Really, no one?’ may not have been seen as the most appropriate comment to have made . Sorry Steve, and this is just my personal opinion, and probably is not shared by others. Anyway, onwards and upwards, and unfortunately my response is not going to help you very much, but I think that if this were mine, I would be seeking local specialist adivce with this one, if no one comes up with a simple fix explanation for you in a short space of time. Good luck in getting it sorted. Kind regards, Gareh.

Could well be helpful advice Nigel, but a shame the original poster apparently hasn’t revisited the forum since he first registered and asked for help and quidance. Good isn’t it? Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Gareth, Electrical issues tend to cause more concern than mechanical issues, and the sourcing of the actual (should be in caps) fault may equate to solving a detective story plot. Such things are often best progressed by buying an hour’s services of a good auto electrician, who will be far better placed to source the actual issue than either trying to solve it yourself, or by seeking advice without the benefit of the offending car being to hand. It is quite possible that Dann is on the right track, and indeed you could try replacing the stalk in the hope that it will solve the problem, but pessimistically, it might not, and you have wasted your money - which might have been better spent on buying in some expertise. I guess you bought this known-to-be-faulty car at a very reasonable price, so some bought in fault assessment might indeed be money well spent. Re fault codes:- They can of course be meaningful and point to the actual problem. On the other hand, it would not be wise to always accept that as simple fact, since the old ‘cause and effect’ could come into it, where the actual fault code shown is influenced by another problem ‘further down the line’. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Dan, ’......going down in wheel or tyre circumference ....’ and effect on speed indication. That’s why I overworked my brain! - with the maths, to ensure that the overall outside diameter remains as close as possible to the original specification wheel and tyre set up. Re. extra load (XL) tyres, my initial interpretation of the need for these was for estate cars etc. where weight carrying may be a regular occurrence. I could be wrong. Kind regards, Gareth.

I’m with you on anything like a 65 profile tyre Dan, and in an ideal world, the opportunity to try the 17in wheels with 50 profile before committing would be great, since I too wonder what the overall benefit may be. Only thing I would perhaps query would be the need for XL tyres if using 50 profile, since I wouldn’t have thought that 50 would be considered low profile. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Koen, Thanks for the additional information. If you now have 245/40/18 then the depth of the rubber on these will be 40% of 245mm which equals 98mm. I notice you are now considering a narrower 225 tyre and is so, the depth of rubber will be as follows:- 50 profile gives you 112.5 mm (an extra 14.5 mm). 55 profile would give you closer to 124 mm ( an extra 26 mm) . My maths points me to your current 18 inch wheels with 40 profile tyres having an outside diameter of just over 653 mm. To retain that outside diameter using 17 inch wheels, and using 225 tyres you would need to use 50 profile tyres which would result in an outside dia. of just under 657mm , which is close enough to your current 18in wheels with 40 profile. Worth bothering to buy new wheels and tyres for just another 14mm of rubber?? Of course, Koen, the suspension set up will remain the same, and I’m not sure what the end result of changing the wheels and tyres would be - you may not notice much difference. Other things to consider is whether the car currently has run-flat tyres fitted - if so, these are going to give you a harder ride. Also if it is perhaps fitted with ‘extra load’ XL tyres - which again are less flexible. Not sure how much of this will be of practical help. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Sam, I am unable to help you with an answer, but I may be able to point you in a direction so that you can establish what you want:- Were any examples of this model not fitted with air.con? If so, simply visit your local motor factors and ask for a belt for the non air con. variant. If they were all fitted with AC then you could try running some non stretchy string around the pulleys (excluding the AC compressor), and measuring that length - together with the width and number of ribs etc., and referring to the motor factors or the technical section of a belt manufacturer - say Gates etc. I think you may find the the part number is an amalgamation of the belt width/ ribs and its length. One point I would raise is - will it be possible to route a shorter belt and still avoid the confines of the AC compressor? Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Koen, Sorry to hear of your skiing accident. I’m sure there is room for inprovement in the ride quality of the car by fitting smaller wheels and then increasing the profile of the tyre to give you more cushioning between the wheel and the road. In order to help us to give you more helpful advice, could you let us know the size of the tyre fitted to your standard 18 inch wheel. Once we have that, it should be possible to calculate the maximum profile tyre you can fit on 17 inch wheels, since the theory is that the outside diameter of the wheel and tyre together must be the same as your current 18 inch wheels and tyres. Congratulations on your good English. Kind regards, Gareth.

Absolutely Cliff. I’m on the same wavelength as you and If this were mine Chris, I would be treating the warning as a signal that you indeed have low/zero oil pressure until you prove otherwise. That respect would extend to certainly not using the car until the actual oil pressure was checked. Anything regarding a sensor being at fault must remain pure assumption until proved to be correct. Kind regards, Gareth,

Hello Jim, Some might (rightly?) say that since the car has only covered a low milage then changing the belt and assembly after 5 years is unnecessary. What often gets forgotten is that once a car gets to operating temperature and is say even covering high mileages on the motorway, the long term stress on the belt may be less than a low milage car which has been mostly used on short trips where it seldom gets up to temperature. As a matter of interest, what kits with water pumps have you been looking at? Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Adam, As with all such things, it’s wise to eliminate the simply things first, and I would be following on from Dan’s question and wanting to know exactly how serviceable the tyres are. This would not be a walk around and kicking procedure, but removing the wheels for a thorough examination. I’m sure that if you have a favoured local tyre supplier, they would carryout this investigation for you and you could then ask them to do as Dan suggests and swop the fronts for the back. While there, you could ask them to assess the car for any steering or suspension wear. Personally, I would not have any wheel alignment work carried out at this stage, just get the tyres checked and swopped around. Perhaps you could let us know how you get on Adam. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Andy, I don’t know what mileage you have covered in your automatic, and indeed I’m not sure what VAG recommends in terms of transmission fluid changes (if any), but sometimes symptoms such as yours can benefit from a fluid and filter change. Not a cheap job, but the car is 11 years old, and I assume (silly me!) that it has not been done before. If this were mine I would be entrusting an investigation to a trusted automatic gearbox specialist, and I would guess there must be some recommended business within the not too distant Midlands at least. The fluid change is often followed by resetting the correct change parameters. Perhaps someone on here could come up with a recommendation. No doubt, whoever you chose will eliminate such possibilities as engine mountings etc. Kind regsrfs, Gareth.

Hello Gerry, Many thanks for sharing this definitive reply, and if there is one lesson to be learnt here it is that you can have as many opinions on recommended mileage intervals, as the number of persons you ask! Just a couple of comments on VAG’s reply:- The time limit is within reasonable expectations, but in my opinion ( and this shouldn’t really count) the mileage interval seems rather high, but in your particular case, it has no meaning since your 75K car is unlikely to get near to 140K by the time the car is 5years old and the belt will need changing on the age limit. I’m not sure if their .....’the revised recommendation .....’ statement confirms the 140K is the current figure or if this statement has some bum covering element. Not very clear, but.... So you can forget about it until next year then Gerry, but when that point comes, I think this job has to be respected for the critical application it is. Personally, I wouldn’t use anything other than VAG parts ( Gates might be an exception but not the water pump). It would be unwise not to replace the water pump, but in my book, never use a cheaper aftermarket one. I would also change the auxiliary belt and tensioner at the same time, since these can go and wrap themselves around bits which can cause major issues. Still, you should not have to worry now. Many thanks again Gerry, Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Gerry, Indeed, safe not sorry. And the book doesn’t mention any time limit? As I said, my feeling is, if it doesn’t, then distrust the book until proved to be correct. Good luck, and perhaps you would be kind enough to let the forum know what the ‘official’ limits turn out to be. Kind regards, Gareth.

Different angle on it now then Derek, and if the speedometer works, then the cable cannot be at fault. What is at fault is the odometer, and the usual cause is a fibre gear which drives the digits. You now have to give up trying to find a new cable, and concentrate on either finding a replacement speedometer which you will then need to ‘clock’ back to your current mileage reading. As an aside, we used to referred to ‘clocked’ cars as being ‘hickory dickory docked’ - the mouse ran up the clock! The better alternative would be to entrust it’s repair to Speedy Cables, but you may find that their repair lead time could run into months. Respecting the fact that the car is on a limited mileage (possibly 3K max/ annum?), I doubt if your insurers would reasonably expect you to discontinue using this car because the odometer has stopped functioning. They will have access to your previous annual mileage and unless you expect to increase the useage from this point on, then I’m sure a reasonable attitude would prevail once they are aware. You can keep a log of the estimate , but fairly accurate trips done until the odometer is repaired. Best time to pass the speedo to Speedy Cables would be in the autumn, but it’s always worth asking what their current lead time is. Hope some of this may help you. Kind regards, Gareth.

You are very welcome Hauden. Of course, you may wish to get your trusted local garage to change the oil and filter for you rather than DIY. Slight problem is that they rarely allow the old oil to get hot before draining it, and seldom have time to allow it to drain long enough - time is money! Good luck with it. Kind regards, Gareth. p.s. My great grandfather hailed from Wem, so there’s a bit of the border’s lad within the Welsh roots!