Andrew Bell

Thank you. My local "ol' boy" mechanic knows a guy... don't they all... who does replacement hydraulics for auto-lift boots, who thinks he can swap them, only problem now seems to be sourcing them. The local retrimmer, as you said, won't touch the hydraulics and won't replace the roof until they're done, so for now I'm stuck until I can find replacement rams.

I'm fairly sure water is circulating as I can feel various hoses either side of the rad getting hot and the coolant reservoir builds pressure, so would that indicate the water pump is working?

Thanks Gareth. Assume you mean thermostat for the heater matrix? I've changed the coolant sensor so know that's working now. Am I wrong in my thinking that the lack of engine temp would impact whether hot air comes out the blowers, or would a faulty blower thermostat impact what the engine temp sensor is showing?

Another day, another problem... If I open / close the roof (electric), there's hydraulic fluid leaking from the arms. Searching online shows that they can't be repaired / resealed. Does anyone have experience with replacing them or having them replaced? I assume it's not a simple DIY job? Any recommendations for places that can do the job? Thanks

Took the car on a longish journey recently, about 15 minutes in I noticed the engine temp wasn't going above 60. It was early hours and freezing cold, so assumed that it was ambient temperature plus not driving far or fast at that point. Turned the heaters on and got no warm air and another 30 minutes later still no rise in engine temp. Thought it might be an air lock in the cooling system, so pulled over at a services, checked coolant & oil levels (both Ok). Bled the coolant lines (from the plastic screw near the windscreen), fluid came out almost straight away. Rest of the journey there and back no change in engine temp and no heat from the blowers. Got home, swapped the coolant temp sensor as that seemed the next likely culprit. Noticed that the coolant level had dropped from Max to Min, so topped up and bled again, some air came out, but again, not a lot. Started the car and left it to idle on the drive, with an occasional blip of the throttle. After a few minutes the temp started rising, got to about 80-90, so I assumed all was good. Car sat for a couple weeks, took it out last night and once again, no warm air and temp gauge sat at 50-60. Checked the rad and hoses, both are getting warm then hot as the engine runs, so assuming that coolant is actually circulating. Oil level hasn't dropped and engine is hot after being driven, so think that side of things is ok. Noticed that there does seem to be a little coolant leaking from the bottom radiator hose. Not sure if it's original, but it's definitely far from new - neither hoses or radiator have been changed in the 11 years I've had the car and up till now there's never been an issue. I'm wondering if the hose has perished and is letting air in, causing a semi permanent air leak / lock. So replacing them is the next job, except, I can't seem to find anywhere online to buy replacements - Can anyone point me in the direction of a supplier. I have the OE part numbers, but searching online either yields "Discontinued" from Audi, or hoses from other sources (such as AutoDoc) that match the part number, but look nothing like what's under the bonnet. Lastly, if it turns out not to be hoses, what should I look for next? I'm assuming the water pump is working as I can feel coolant moving through the hoses and it comes out the bleed screw. I'm reasonably sure the block is ok as it had a strip and rebuild over lockdown and hasn't done more than 1000 miles since, so would welcome any advice or suggestions. TIA

Hi everyone, Looking for some help and advice please. I have a 1997 Cabriolet 2.6 which looks to be needing an engine swap. I'm looking for a donor engine and can't find any information on whether or not there were any differences between the 93-96 and 97 onwards v6 lumps and if there is a difference in the block between manual and automatic transmission. My guess would be that they're all identical and it's just ancillaries, etc that change but before I part with any cash I was hoping to get a little better educated. Cheers