Magnet

Hello Charles,

If this were mine, I would be seeking advice on your air suspension issue from BagpipingAndy ( obviously up your neck of the woods). He is the guru on these systems, and may well have come across this before with this model. You will find him on eBay. Try searching ‘air suspension compressor piston ring’ or similar.

Please let us know how you get on. 
Regards,

Gareth. 

Thanks Gerry,

Current mileage and mileages at which it’s been serviced during its 8 years?

Who will you be entrusting the servicing to?

At only 5k/a, if were mine, it would be having it serviced every year, since low mileages can be hard on a vehicle.

We cover about the same miles a year with our A3 - now on 176K, and if it helps, I can outline what I do annually. 
“Inspection interval”? Maybe, whoever serviced it last didn’t reset the system-? Maybe due a brake fluid change if this coincides with the car’s anniversary of first registration?

Regards,

Gareth. 

Hello Gerry,

No service book - all records will be digital for services carried out by authorised service agencies. Or receipts. 

Service intervals? Either annual if mileage is less than c1K/a, or Longlife which could equate to c18k miles or 18 months. 
Are you looking for evidence of previous history, or wanting to know what you have to do from here in?

If you could let us have your anticipated annual mileage, and the current mileage, then we should be able to advise further.

Regards,

Gareth. 
p.s. brake fluid change every 2 or 3 years. 
Belt/s? Current recommendation is highly questionable in my book. 

Audi dealer Simon? 
Size? Can we take it you don’t have one as an example? 
Regards,

Gareth. 

Welcome Carrie and thanks for joining. 
Do you have a multi-meter to check for voltage on permanently live, or ignition- fed live fuses -  whichever is recommended by the manufacturer? 
Connecting spade connector to bodywork? This suggests it’s an earth connector, but again check with the instructions/ manufacturer. 
If it is an earth, then it’s strange that it has a spade connector rather than a connector with a hole in it which can be bolted to the bodywork via. an accessible small bolt. 
Regards,

Garet.

So it’s no longer ride quality that dissatisfies you, but road noise. 
What tyre brands and types do you currently have fitted? 
You may find that changing wheel sizes may not give you significantly less road noise, due to the the inherent likely-less insulation on the A1.

Welcome Alan.

Could you please post a photo of the hose, and measure its internal diameter. 
Regards,

Gareth. 

Thank you for coming back on this Ants. 

Please note, the reason given for warning this poster is not ‘ Not responding to posts’ (apologies - system error) but for unacceptably disrespectful comments. 
 

Incidentally, ‘Your’ should be written as ‘you are’. There we go, you’ve learned something new today! 

Hello Ants,

Apologies for the delay in responding. 
Personally, I don’t like warranties, particularly those sold by salesmen on a ‘only £x a month’ basis.

Possibly pessimistic, but I wouldn’t enter into any contract without copy of the warranty to be able to judge the all important exclusions - of which there are likely to be many.

If you are happy with those, then fine.

Service plans:- if it were mine, I would just put that money away per month, and get the car serviced at a trusted independent. 
Main dealer service plans can result in say ‘ your brake pads and discs need renewing’ and that will cost you £x hundreds of pounds’ and you could well be tied into it. 
What is your anticipated annual mileage Ants? 
Regards,

Gareth. 

Mark, 

You are now resorting to being abusive because no one to date agrees with your views.
Totally unacceptable and immature behaviour.

I will just dip out of making further responses to your posts. 
Repeated good luck with it.

Regards,

Gareth. 

Really no need to shout Mark - we don’t do that on here.
Your car, your decision, your logic. 
Look at it like this Mark, you know the full facts, and if you only share that information with us as you see fit, then it makes it very difficult for anyone to offer you logical advice.

Good luck with it. 

Probably worth more for scrap/ breaking than the cost to rectify the issue. 
If you are not thinking that far ahead, then you certainly aren’t thinking about the whole issue from a logical point of view 

So where did you buy your Febi parts from Tony? 

Ferodo? that’s why I asked him how old his mechanic was.

In Mk 3 Cortina days - when you couldn’t give them away, unlike now, when they aren’t affordable! - The two makes of brake shoes and pads to buy were Ferodo and Mintex. Now?? Like Cortinas , things have moved on. Wouldn’t any longer be my choice, but…

OK Mark, but repeating :- 

What value would you put on the car when it’s up and running properly? Take it it has a sensibly long current MOT. 

So it’s head off then, and replace at least 2 valves - they don’t stick if they aren’t slightly bent. New timing chain and associated components. Refit everything and keep fingers crossed that the work and expense has resulted in some sort of rectification. 
How do you value this 20 year old car Mark, when you have it back in reasonable working order?

Welcome Mark,

How long have you owned the car, and how long have you had this sticking valve issue? 
Timing chain tension, and any chance it’s jumped a tooth or two? 
Regards,

Gareth. 
p.s. Can you be more specific with your location please? 
Large country is the U.K.! 

Let us know how you get on John. 

It’s Brembo for me for brake parts - often bought off reputable sellers on eBay.

Other parts:- I favour Febi etc. usually bought at competitive prices from Parts in Motion ( who also supply via. eBay. 
Let us know what you think Tony.

Regards,

Gareth. 
p.s. Turlough - how old is your mechanic? 

Welcome Graham,

Have you searched eBay, and registered your want with on-line car breaker link sites such as Partsfinder - there are more? 

Regards,

Gareth. 

Thank you Frank,

Your case is unusual. Usually,owners want to buy larger diameter wheels, because ‘they look better’!

Ride quality is obviously important to you ( and would be to me), but in effect, you have bought the wrong car by buying an S.Line, which has inherently harder suspension. My money would be on the likelihood that you bought the car on ‘looks and toys’, which Audi translate into ‘owner also wants roadholding at the expense of ride quality’. 
One other factor to consider is whether your current tyres are extra load (XL), since if so, this will aggravate the already harsh ride.

Please let us know. 

Thanks John.

Pessimistic possibly, but my gut feeling is that any garage would simply! replace the clutch assembly, at very, very serious damages to your wallet. 
Have you got a pal etc. who can first check the arm operation and give it a dosing, before going to a garage? 
Regards,

Gareth. 

Welcome John and thanks for joining.

I would be suspecting the clutch concentric slave cylinder -if not cable operated - ( in bell housing), but the driving style association confuses. 
If it were mine, I would first be seeking advice/inspection at a trusted local independent.

Another possibility from experience with a couple of non-Audis would be the actually clutch operating lever as it goes into the bell housing. This can tend to get dry and rusty and results in the lever not returning properly. Give it a good dosing with WD 40 to start. Apologies Cliff, I know you are anti this stuff! 
 

Perhaps you could let us know how you get on. 
Regards,

Gareth. 

Thanks Frank,

Have you worked out the economics of buying different  size wheels and then appropriate tyres vs. having your current wheels refurbished? 

Micro switches are often the culprit with these. Are you able to tackle this yourself if you know what switch/s are at fault?

If not, I would be searching Classic car trimmers in a doable radius - they are often versed in issues with such things. 
‘If I lower it (manually) what would that do’? 

The same end result as if you did it electrically! 
Regards,

Gareth.