Stevey Y

Hi dont go near that particular pile of manure, glow plugs are normally changed when they throw a code, as for the life of the plugs that is indeterminate I have had to replace them at 130k but my A6 had done over 270k and I only ever changed the third plug as that has the knock sensor on it which had gone up the wall. Steve.

Hi Billy dont go within a hundred miles of a tuning box, I have TDI tuning up the road from me and even they admit how they work, they fit in between the fuel rail temperature sensor and its plug, their function is to tell the ECU that the engine temperature is still low therefore the ECU will keep the fuelling high to achieve operating temperature, yes it goes better with the extra fuel but the bit they dont want to tell is that physically when the engine is fully warmed the excess fuel is not all burnt and will hang around the sides of the swirl bowl on the piston, these larger droplets are dragged down the bore and in to your oil causing dilution and worse case scenario bore wash with added piston slap, thats why they recommend 5k oil changes but that wont stop the end result. Steve.

Hi yes any consistent use of the headlights day/night will hasten the deterioration, TFR wont do anything as the coating on the cover is tougher than the lacquer on the bodywork to avoid UV rays on a transparent surface which will yellow that surface, its definitely a projector problem on the inside, my Passat has a full row of LEDs in each light and they are well on their way to a pitting fest, what put me on to it was an advert for a special forces torch on the net, this thing has a COB LED element but a variable projector lens on the front which if you polarise the beam to its narrow point will burn through plasterboard wood and a host of other things including skin I suspect, open the variable projector and you get over a mile of usable light forward and about six hundred yards from left to right. Steve.

Hi I was following a thread about crazing on headlight lenses but it was getting a bit heated and was wisely shut down, so here are the facts as I know them, anyone with a better explanation is more than welcome to put me straight, headlight lenses or covers are made from three possible sources, glass, polycarbonate, acrylic plastic, the glass is rare as its heavy and prone to chips and bullet holes from road debris, polycarbonate is much better as it is less likely to break or crack on contact with road debris but it suffers with age related yellowing and has a lower light transmission efficiency, acrylic plastic has a higher light transmission and is cheaper therefore the most used and with the correct UV resistant coating will give good service especially on cars equipped with Halogen bulbs. Now the interesting part with the advent of HID bulbs and projector lenses acrylic plastic works well but you tend to get deterioration of the covers from the inside in the area of the projector lenses, now go again with LED lights where each light has its own projector lenses with is made of glass as are all projector lenses the problem is amplified, LED bulbs do not create the same heat as Halogen or HID it is in fact less until you start using projector lenses which amplify both light and heat, in simple terms its the same as using a magnifying glass on a hot sunny day to burn holes in a piece of paper or wood and if you look at how far the sun is away from the earth it gives you a good idea of how potent projection can be, therefore on headlight covers interior the heat builds up and over time will cause pitting inside the cover which wont actually affect the lights brightness but looks unsightly, so this is the price we pay for super bright LED lights. Steve.

Hi sorry to hear that but I rather suspected that it might involve a whole new unit, please let us know how you get on. Steve.

Hi bit of a pointless exercise as it wont make much difference as the deeper exhaust note wont be that noticeable worst case scenario it will resonate like the cats been gutted, the exhaust is the last thing you change after having engine work done to improve the breathing, bigger valves, gas flowed head which has also been ported to allow the gas to get out faster which is when you need a bigger exhaust to cope with the more rapid gas evacuation from the engine, if its a nice car save your money for real repairs and just enjoy it as is. Steve.

Hi sorry but are you INSANE they will invent a raft of possibilities ending in Sorry mate you need a new engine £7000 please plus fitting. Steve

Hi it gives you the code and when it occurred, what time it occurred, and how many times it has occurred as well as an unlearning counter which gives the amount of drive cycles before it deletes itself, can't ask for more really. Steve.

Hi neither, if its running Adblue take the spray head off and pour it in the hole if not there is an EGT sensor near where the top of the DPF is use that as any thing near the turbo can suck it in to the cylinders and lock the whole thing up, the problem with the way you are going to try is that the exhaust gas is going up the pipe and the cleaner can be sucked in to the sensor. Steve.

Sorry my old fruit you often have to google fault codes but at least you have real codes to google, these cars are always full of erroneous codes, in fact I think they have a code for the wind blowing the wrong way LOL. Steve.

Hi I would use something like Wynns off car DPF cleaner and when finished back flush it with a jet wash on LOW power paying extra attention to flushing to the reverse way to the gas flow as you get more crud out of the way, take all the sensors out before you do anything as the cleaner often sends the sensors blind permanently. With regard to the cam belt do it now as you could well be living on borrowed time, replace the lot idler pulleys and water pump. Steve.

Hi have you changed the pollen filter recently? Steve.

Hi without sight of the paint I couldn't tell you, but the one thing I can tell you is get the first service done by the Dealer to get your warranty, after that you can use an indie and so long as they use O.E. parts there will be no loss of warranty and its a hell of a lot cheaper, dont go for the extended service intervals thats false economy and with the milage you do once a year would be perfect. Steve.

Hi they will most likely need coding to the car also checthat the loom service is in place to power the heater pads. Steve.

Hi have a look on eBay none of the covers are exact fit so around £60 should get you a good near enough set as for the mats they do mat anchoring kits aftermarket, they also do rubber transmission covers which you have to cut to fit but for around £15 they do the job. Steve.

Hi VCDS is the best possible thing you could buy, I have it and despite its price its amazing the support site is beyond helpful, on your year of Audi there wont be anything you can't adapt or reprogram, I personally would adapt everything you have moved or cleaned/replaced, it should also put the light out, just take it with you when you go for your inspection and if the light is on clear it before the inspection as it is unlikely to return immediately as all these faults require a certain amount of drive cycles before the ECU cottons on to the fact the fault is still there, you may well find that a relearn on the pressure sensor cures it but either way it will buy you time to decide what you want to do. Steve.

Hi you have replaced most of the relevant parts, easy check wipe the inside of the tail pipe if you get a load of soot on your fingers the DPF is cracked that will throw that code also when you replaced the pressure sensor did you re adapt the new unit. Steve.

Hi I think that even if you get the right part number that Audi will tell you that its not available anymore, try the ZAP7 website as they do parts catalogues for the older vehicles and once you have the number it will probably be down to buying an aftermarket unit from eBay or similar. Steve.

Hi I am glad you can cover the basics that will help a lot and a grand on the clutch will cover the parts, the car you are looking at has the same engine as my one had and believe me when I tell you that you will have to buy something above cheap for the diagnostics, I ran mine for over 270k and I can confirm that at some point soon it will suffer the dreaded P200 code which is the low pressure EGR cooler blocked which regardless of how fast you drive will happen I strongly advise that you make good use of the forums archive in both the A4/A6 sections as this will give a good insight into the problems you may encounter, the P200 and Adblue system failures being very common and expensive both parts and labour, I wish you the best of luck, the two items I mention are definitely not DIY. Steve.

Hi, yes its been looked after but if you knowledge of cars is limited steer well clear as its coming up to the milage where DPF faults will occur along with likely a new clutch, the timing belt is a plus but consumables such as pads and discs can be pretty eye-watering if you are set on having an Audi buy the petrol version as its a lot less prone to emissions related problems. Its cheap for a reason. Steve.

Hi you may not be aware that if you fit a dipstick it could void your warranty as they are not officially approved parts, they will use any excuse to void a warranty, I believe the temperature sensor is built in with the level sensor in the sump. Steve.

Hi anybody checked the end float on the crankshaft. Steve

Hi sorry to hear of your problems, but I would not take your diesel specialist word as law as I have noticed a lot of them dont have the equipment to service Piezo injectors, try United Diesels who are at the top of the injector evolutionary tree, if not try second hand from a company called Nirro they break VAG cars and do some very good parts for not a lot of money, let us know how you get on, BTW I dont blame you for avoiding Alibaba and his four million thieves. Steve.

Hi the servo vacuum pump is indeed the cam driven type, various manufacturers have tried the electronic type but gave up as they were not reliable which I can see as long as the engine is turning you have vacuum unless your one has a leak on the seal between the unit and the engine. Steve.

Hi go on LLL carports website put in your VIN and it will give you the part number for L/R units. Steve.