Stevey Y

Hi Gareth the only thing that can be done is when taking on a new signee make sure that they have to read the propriety section and further to that if they post a problem they must supply ALL information pertaining to that fault, codes/pictures, after all that is a small price to pay for joining a forum with no subscription and last but not least inform the forum if the advice given was successful. Steve.

Hi Gareth on one of the Ford forums I was on there was a guy who was head of powertrain control at Dunton and his favourite answer always was, no one can help you if you don't give all the information you can supply, they either went away or stumped up with the goods and achieved a result, I often wondered why so many posts went unanswered, I now know why, a complete lack of information, codes where possible are the Holy Grail of engine management problems and decent pictures are the key to any other faults, still I suppose the majority of the posters are happy and thankful when they get replies and a result and that makes the key board pounding worth the effort. Steve.

Hi I have run all of my cabs on a preemptive maintenance schedule and covered over 900,000 miles and never had to change a rubber brake hose on the fronts, or a metal brake pipe for that matter Fords used alloy brake pipes and there lies the problem [bi metal corrosion] in fact the last car went to its new owner with over 270k on the clock, the thing that causes most problems with any brake pipe is lack of timely fluid changes as its the water in the fluid that is the catalyst for premature corrosion, apart from which to get the correct length and shape for a copper replacement you will have to present the original as a pattern and pray the people who do it have the correct kit to follow that pattern bending and angle tools, it is nowhere as simple as it looks and if you manage to kink the copper pipe its game over. Steve.

Hi don't tell me yourself and Gareth don't know someone who will do it for £200 including genuine parts, as I said before they buy these cars based on a myth of never going wrong, they don't do the what if calculation based on the age and milage plus history they just soak up the thought of riding round in an Audi which is apparently invincible, as realistic and experienced individuals we know better but I can't help but be in awe of yourself and Gareths tenacity and resolve to keep trying to answer some of the inane questions on here, I too share your frustration Cliff. Steve.

Hi I believe you may get access by removing the splash guard on that side the other side is more tricky as the water bottle is housed there, I wouldn't think you need a new bumper as its probably just pushed out of the holder that is moulded on the bumper, even if one side of the holder is broken I have got away with it before by cable tying the unit to the bit thats still on the bumper. Steve.

Hi Thomas, I would be getting that one done soon as if its never been done you are now entering due to age/milage the twilight zone. Steve.

Hi you will need the serial number on your original unit, google in Audi radio codes and their are loads doing it based on your information for a small fee they will email you your code within 24hrs, if there is no label on the unit it will be stamped on the body of the unit. Steve.

Hi personally I would leave well alone until they actually need replacing then you can get nasty with the flexable/metal pipe connection and have a go at it with some heat and a lot of plusgas it will come free eventually you just have to be patient and careful. Steve.

Hi Thomas just keep going as long as the belt is changed and the brake fluid regularly you just have to wait and see what occurs, bit like me I have just hit 117k so both driveshafts decided to self destruct ££££, there are some things that happen due to the law of diversity but my problem comes under Murphys Law. Steve.

Hi give it a large dose of Cataclean for Diesels this stuff works on cats/dpf and at about £15 a bottle is worth a go and a lot cheaper than Audi. Steve.

Hi you posted at the same time as I did, this is great stuff to have codes, it would appear that replacing the injector was correct but he seems to have missed p2425 which would cause the majority of the bad running symptoms this code applies to the EGR cooler control solenoid, I had this with my daughters Q3 its a solenoid with a white cap with made in the U.S.A. stamped on it and it sits on a bracket to the right of the inlet manifold and apparently is a common problem as the wires [two of them] to the connector seem to snap and thats what causes the problem, I got a temporary repair by soldering the broken wire and then bought a repair plug from eBay and made a permanent repair, I checked the pipework to the solenoid as well as this is another failure prone area. Steve.

Hi most likely as in the old days injectors were plug in and play but since 2002 most vehicles will require recoding as the ECU won't know the status of the new unit until its coded to the car, in essence the ECU will put the new unit into default [running rich] which is the cause of the smoke. Steve.

Hi yes thats about the long and short of it. Steve.

Hi did the mechanic code the refurbished injector in when fitted, as when they refurbish them they need recoding to balance them with the old injectors. Steve.

Hi it all depends on which version of VCDS is installed if its old or cloned it won't do keys. Steve

Hi probably an earth fault or a blown fuse/relay. Steve

Hi Trade Parts Services as they are known have branches all over the U.K. and only deal in VAG parts, the only thing I know for certain is that 90% of aftermarket DPFs are actually smaller internally and have Cordierite cores which tend to block quicker than the O.E. DPFs as they are fitted with a Silicon Carbide core which has a higher melting point when blocked, the main cause of DPF failure is a bad EGR valve which will not always throw a code and leaks exhaust gas into the system when not required which poisons the Cat and blocks the DPF, therefore before you hurtle off to buy a new unit replace the EGR and get your original DPF sonically cleaned believe me it works there is a place near me that does it and most cabs on our circuit are obliged to make the pilgrimage and at £150 its cheaper than a new O.E. from the dealer. Steve.

Hi Steve from what I can glean from the post it looks like he has retro fitted adaptive lights but his BCM is for the as built lighting which won't accommodate the new lights therefore the new BCM will need coding as well. Steve.

Hi all the filters are supplied by Bosch,Mann,Hengst, Blueprint are a good shout I use them on my A6 and never had one go wonky yet, car producers source their O.E. parts from a multitude of suppliers who have to put their products in a badge engineered box at twice the price from the dealer and a lot less in the original makers packaging, so in the final analysis if you want to pay a lot more for a cardboard box that is your prerogative, the only part I would not buy aftermarket from Euros or anywhere else is a DPF that you would get cheaper from TPS. Steve.

Hi easiest way is take the door card off and have a look at the part number on the speaker as there are many variables to this one as it depends on the build specification. Steve.

I am totally in agreement with the elimination process but the only real way to do it is check everything supplying the starter system including the pedal switch that initiates the starter, they are prone to failure and don't always flag up on a scan. Steve.

Hi Karl this is a bit of a mystery, if the car starts ok from cold it would as you suggest be a heat related problem as I don't think its starter related its more like a sensor breaking down which in theory should flag a code, have you had the battery checked for charging or battery condition. Steve.

Hi magnetic ride is old technology therefore multiple aftermarket companies now build the units judging by the price I am assuming its a rear shock. Steve.

Hi Karl best get it plugged in before condemning the starter.

Hi chances are you have a bad battery if its the original its probably going to be extinct, easy test is connect a donor battery to the jumper posts clear all redundant codes and try and start it, if it will not start re scan and look for fresh codes and it all depends on what diagnostic platform you are using it should show can communication errors where you have unplugged things. Steve.