Stevey Y

Hi which of the four cam chains did you have replaced or all of them as if it was just the main chain only that would throw the camshaft timing out as the other chains are stretched to death as well, if it was all of the chains changed then someone got the timing slightly out. Steve.

Hi ring Audi and give them the VIN on the log book as yours could be either as that was a change over year 2011-2018. Steve.

Hi I don't know what milage your car has on it but if you start fiddling with a car of that age now its like trying to get your granny to run up hill with a sixty kilo ruck sack, to much extra stress, there is no such thing as a cheap power gain and as for the YouTube brigade they just tell you what they think you want to hear, like the guy that did a video on a de coke using water and a spray bottle, yes it probably works but where do all the loose bits of carbon end up?. Steve.

Hi George, there is a new type of VCDS adapter available on the net I am chasing one at the moment, OBD 11 is good but you might need to buy the pro version, another thought occurs to me, you say you cleaned the throttle body, how old is it as I have cleaned oider cars bodies before and had them do the same thing thus necessitating a new body, I understand your problem as my garage did a lot of work on a John Cooper special edition a couple of years ago which is now out in Spain and the steering racks gone so the customer wants to fly a couple of their mechanics out with a new rack and fit it, the guy is at his wits end with the local garages. Steve.

Hi is your VCDS unlimited VIN platform, may well be that you have to get into the ECU to correct this which means dealer only. Steve.

Hi you won't get through as out of hundreds of phone lines only twenty are ever manned, the excuse is the others are all isolating, might be best served advertising it as a barn find and denying any prior knowledge. Steve.

Hi you can go as far as you want but the end result is always the same, DEAD ENGINE, the Bi Turbo system is designed thus, the low pressure turbo increases the velocity of the air going into the high pressure unit which negates what is known as LAG, the crankcase is strengthened when built to take into account the fact it flexes when the main turbine kicks in and the boost bar settings are all calibrated to stop over boost, 600bhp just by changing the turbo and nothing else ? also did anybody mention how long it lasted, back in the early eighties anyone who had a Metro turbo was winding the boost control module up to eight bar instead of four yes it goes like stink, but little while later they were all moaning about the rods being outside the crankcase and not in it. Steve.

Hi if its not SORN they will eventually catch up normally when the new owner taxes it which alerts them to the fact the previous owner had neither SORN or VED and then they come looking, the Bar Stewards have a total non excuse policy and will try to fine you or claim back tax, my neighbour sold his SORNed Focus and got a fine for not informing them despite sending off the logbook, they want you to do all the work instead of them having to do it, I don't know what they do in Swansea but it is not a lot except find ways of bullying people for money. Steve.

Hi you should be fine fitting LEDs as long as the bulb base is the same and they are Canbus error free versions. Steve.

Hi unfortunately there is probably none left originals anyway so you will be better served having a measure up and sourcing that type of seal from a retro or aftermarket seal company, I did it with my daughters Alfa a couple of years ago and what I bought was an aftermarket seal that was a couple of mm bigger on the sealing bubble but at £16.00 for three metres it was a no brainer, if you could post a couple of pics of what you are replacing that might engender more ideas. Steve.

Hi I hope you get the part, most of the refurbished stuff I have ever used has been better than the original as these guys find the offending diode/chip and replace it with something better, there is a company in the U.K. called ECU Testing and they have made a science out of refurb on things like dash pods and ABS units I first came across them years ago when my father in laws Volvo dash died, Volvo wanted £1800.00 to supply and fit with a recode at another £90.00, sent it off to ECU and didn't hold out a lot of hope until it came back three days later as a plug in and play repair at £170.00, re fitted and its been fine for the last eight years, in fact it looks like the dash is going to outlast the car, anther one was my friends A4 his ABS went up the wall so at a shade over three grand fitted from Audi the £360.00 repair was a bargain and again no recode, I think Audis view is only people that have loads of money should own their cars which is a farce really as they wear and break down the same as anything else they just take longer to do it, I have studied the American forums and oh boy do they come up with some stunts like bypassing the BEM and then wonder why they fry the modules that communicate with it, if you look at the dynamics of it Audi design a car and programme it electronically to only work with certain parts so there is no reason why once restored to its standard state that it won't run the same for another seventeen years. Steve.

Hi could well be things settling down after the work, give it a week and then report back if no change, just wondering why they changed the EGR Cooler. Steve.

Hi looking at this its definitely pointing to the Battery Energy Monitor sending the wrong signals to the control module have you acquired the new correct module yet as this would be the sum total of your problems if not, I have found one thing with electrical components to do with engine management the part numbers have to be identical apart from sensors I.E. Oxygen where if at the end of the number it might have A,E,B,D that is the build year designation or supersession numbers, now we come to electrical sensors which are numbered according to their software operational strategies, to simplify its like a demanding wife and will only accept what it wants, its the way the software is written unfortunately, so it won't have anther version. Steve.

Hi no apology necessary its refreshing to have somebody do their homework and be committed enough to supply that information, with regard to the management module I can't see replacing the battery would make a difference as the module will only regulate the voltage according to the command protocol from the ECU via a body control module this in turn can confuse the ECU which will go into a default protocol to try and preserve the continuity of charging this means it will undercharge drastically to preserve the system, it does the same thing if the smart charge wiring goes down, it all comes down to the original programming of the ECU thats what runs the whole show it has perameter bands programmed in to deal with just about every sensor on the car, especially engine management for example MAF/MAP sensors which when failing normally throw up implausible signal codes which means that whatever it gets is outside its operating band strategy, thats why on later cars any modifications to the vehicle electronically throw a light unless the item is run through a Canbus system, Absorbent Glass Mat, which sounds like an incontinence aid, has only one real advantage it charges faster and if you look at the dynamics of your current set up even if your energy module is not quite the right one the system as is will accept this as it has a certain flexibility therefore if you start introducing more new variables there is more room for error, can't understand the scarcity of parts where you are but I do realise the North American market is very different, one of my Fords had a diesel fired cabin pre heat and a plug on the engine block with I later found out was for plugging in to a station that stopped it from freezing while you went shopping the antifreeze was a bit special as it was like syrup, apparently it was destined for North America but the build was cancelled so it ended up at a dealers in Hertfordshire then I bought it they never mentioned any of the above, the only way I found out was through a friend at Ford finance who chased its murky past. Steve.

Hi over fuelling manifests itself as white smoke with petrol and black smoke with diesel, engine oil being burnt is bluish smoke, which brings me to the point that the only other thing that would cause this is water in the combustion process, ie head gasket or oil cooler degrading but the thing that rules against this is the fact it stops when you turn it off/on, would suggest getting it plugged in on a more in depth diagnosis platform, see if your local garage will give it the Snap-on treatment for a drink. Steve.

Hi the sensor will either be down by the crank pulley or at the back of the engine in its own recess where the g/box joins the engine about half way down on the r/h side looking at it from the front of the car. Steve.

Hi I think the universal term is Suck it and SEE, VCDS is the the one but OBD Eleven is a close second and about 50-70% cheaper it depends how many VAG vehicles you plan on owning. Steve.

Hi definitely, have a ring round and see what you come up with. Steve.

Hi get it scanned for faults as that will most likely throw up the cause as it sounds like a fuelling issue as it disappears when you stop and restart this reboots it and whatever is sticking open sorts its life out. Steve.

Hi I can't see that buying an AGM battery will be any advantage to you in view of the cars age and assuming it is not equipped with stop start, the charging parameters are lower for the lead acid unit except when the temperature drops, then you have a problem as your existing set up generator may well rise to 15v, that will toast a very expensive AGM battery where as lead acid is far more capable of absorbing overcharge and still being serviceable, AGM will charge up to six times faster than a lead acid unit but won't tolerate overcharge, there lies the problem the charging systems on your car and newer are about the same but the BEM systems are different as the built for AGM system is highly sensitive and won't allow overcharge, I have also seen on this forum where one of the members bought an AGM to replace his old battery and caused himself all sorts of problems with weird faults, this is because you can't code an AGM unit to the older BEM so it can't work out why it can throw the worlds supply of voltage at the battery virtually unrestricted, this is because AGM has a much lower resistance to charge which is why it charges faster, in essence your $ will be much better invested in a top quality lead acid unit. Steve.

Hi no short answer to that one unless you source the kit yourself and just go in for the labour all garages charge different rates so I would be guessing at the price. Steve.

Hi what I am trying to put across is yes I realise its the washers you want but the only thing you can do is contact the manufacturer of the body and ask them if they can supply the washers as a courtesy, failing that its a new unit, just a random question but why did you dismantle the unit in the first place. Steve.

Hi if its only a slight bump its easier and more economical to get the damage heated from the back popped out and a splash of paint, I did this with my rear bumper its cheaper than £560 for a new one and its still got to be painted.

Hi it was right on the first go its a throttle housing, as for the spacers I can't answer that one but if you can get the part number off of the unit you can probably buy another unit from eBay for sub £200, if you have a fair amount of milage on the car changing the unit will do it a world of favours, BTW did they trot out the same old information that diesels don't have a throttle valve, they do, otherwise they would never run. Steve.

Hi I have come across this many times with different vehicles, Ford for example can be read with just about any generic software for codes with varying degrees of success until you go into them and start trying to alter protocols for various functions then the ECU goes into protection mode an shuts down the Can Gateway and enables the immobiliser to protect the car because it thinks its being [jarked] stolen, with the manufacturer specific software it recognises the entry elements for the Can Gateway and won't mind you fiddling with it, excellent intuition unplugging the MAF because when it was rebooted it gave it something else to worry about, your system is very good but for reading codes on different vehicles, my garage I use has about three different Snap-On units but if he ever needs to readapt anything that is a bit exotic on a Ford he uses Forscan. Steve.