Magnet

Hello Mark, I this post meant as some sort of advert or promotion for this device? Otherwise, very much as Steve says!

Many thanks Dave, Unfortunately the original poster chose to join the forum, post his plea for help, and has not visited the form since posting, so advice has either not got through, or has not been appreciated - or both. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Edward, Have you tried EBay, registering you want on the on line breaker search links etc? Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Dudley, Many thanks for the bit of additional information you have provided as an aid to selling your car. It’s not just me then Dudley, but if detail is a key to generate interest, then as the old school report would have said ‘ Could do (a lot) better’! Kind regards, Gareth. p.s. Incase it helps - In addition to Joe’s suggestion:- Extent of service history and when last serviced? MOT expiry? No. of owners, and how long you have owned it? Price? Whatever else you feel you would like to add to generate an interest.

Hello Eddie, Thanks for joining the forum and for posting your want. I trust you have tried Ebay for a serviceable secondhand one, advertised your want on one or more of the on line car breaker search websites, and enquired at your local commercial vehicle hydraulics suppliers, who should be able to make you one from your pattern. Perhaps you would be kind enough to come back to us and let us know how you get on. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Dudley again, Would you now be kind enough to provide a description of the car. It’s apparent that you’ve been back to the forum and read the response, so it would be great if you could follow up on the request made. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Ivars, So coil springs not air then. The garage’s description of ‘both rear coil springs dead’ seems rather strange to me (unless you have been continuously carrying heavy loads or heavy passengers) since in my experience coils seldom (suddenly?) develop weaknesses. Snapped springs are certainly not uncommon, but ‘dead’ ?? Re. replacement being too high? We take it you have had the car for some time since you say ‘..used to be able…’ so you will now be experienced in assessing the new ride height against the old pre-problem height. Choosing the correct springs can be a minefield, and aftermarket suppliers can confuse, and indeed may not even cater for some variants - say the Le Mans - and yours gets lumped in with most other variants, and you end up with the garage fitting the springs their motor factors supplier lists, which may or may not be the correct ones. I really don’t like the comment ‘ these are the springs they gave….’ - not very convincing. Positive action:- you will need to Google the correct ride height for your model. The ride height will be quoted in mm. as measured form the wheel centre to the underside of the rear wing ( make sure you adjust all tyre pressures to the correct pressure, and the car is sitting on level ground). Simply compare your actual ride height with the specified height and please let us know the variation if any. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Dudley from the Homeland, Apologies for the hopefully constructive opinion, but if you are really hoping to sell the car from your post, then I don’t think you could have been more brief, in your non existent description! Could you please describe the car, it’s mileage, it’s ownership history, it’s service history etc. etc., and the all important price you want for it. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Kai, Many thanks for being in touch with the forum, and now that we have more valuable information, it’s justifiable that the forum has sympathy with your plight. Obviously there is isn’t any doubt that the car is under warranty, and it understood that the issue was indeed brought to the dealer/manufacturer’s attention while still under the manufacturer’s warranty, which proceeded your extended warranty. It is indeed justifiable to believe that a clutch should last longer than 25k miles, and certainly 21K when first noticed - with the caveat, as Cliff points out - you don’t have any experience of how the car was driven in the 17k miles before you owned it. The hard fact to swallow is that clutches are not covered under the manufacturer’s warranty since they are rightly claimed to be wearing parts. I guess you would need to prove that the issue in your case, is not one of wear, but premature failure of a critical component - impossible without stripping down, and even more difficult to prove (in caps) at that time. Yes, you could challenge the warranty, but that can be costly in terms of specialist advice/inspection reports, appearances at court - all of which adds up and will certainly be time consuming in vehicle-off-the-road time. You don’t share with us, the (subsidised) costings which the Audi dealer has agreed, but it might be worth you considering that VAG clutch component prices to buy, are very high, so the ‘they pay for parts, you pay for labour’ may be a better compromise that the vice versa situation. OK, pessimistic overall view, but this may be the best deal you are going to get, without engaging in protracted battle, but of course, it’s up to you to decide whether you wish to compromise ,or put up a reasonable fight. Perhaps you could let us know what you decide Kai. Kind regards, Gareth.

OK Mike. I can now better interpret your concern, and the consequence of renewing the flexible hoses - which will result in the ends of the metal brake pipes being ‘destroyed’ by trying to separate the two. Not meaning to cause offence, but it’s clear to me that you are not going to rest easy until you have renewed these serviceable hoses, so really, the general opinion of the forum is not what you want to hear - and that’s OK too. I fear it’s not going to be any consolation to your way of thinking, but in 60 years of motoring, I’ve never experienced an unexpected and catastrophic failure of what appears to be a serviceable brake hose, following normal inspection at service intervals, but I might have been lucky -? You say, these could fail at some point, even when abroad, but why not be positive, and think they won’t - following your normal inspection. Sods Law will point to component B subsequently failing when you are worrying about the potential of component A failing! Again, with my negative hat on now, this could turn into one of those jobs where you wished you had left well alone! I really hope it doesn’t, but… Apologies Mike, but I don’t feel I can offer any more meaningful advice with this. Kind regards, Gareth. p.s. If you are minded to still go ahead with this - and I’m sure you are - is it worth getting a fine intense heat source and heating the hose to pipe connection in the hope that may help free the two from one another? Nothing lost if you still have to replace the metal pipe as well as the flexible.

Hello Phil, What have you checked so far? Kind regards, Gareth.

Thank Neil, Could you please let the forum know what price you want for the number, so that potentially interested parties will know whether to pursue this or not. Many thanks and kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Mike, Preventive maintenance is great if (in caps) any such maintenance is seen as necessary in the foreseeable future. You mention brake pipes which are difficult to get at, leave alone change, so why not extend your ‘maintenance’ and invest in a thorough assessment of the condition of these pipes to see if there indeed any significant deterioration in their condition. If there isn’t, just forget it, and find something else to worry about. If there is any concern, then consider the degree of concern vs. the complexity of change, and form a decision from there. Kind regards, Gareth.

The Ford forum sounds a very interesting and worthwhile approach Steve. As Steve Q rightly claims - we are a friendly and helpful bunch - and I think he is right. Too helpful sometimes?? personally, I find it increasingly difficult not to be helpful - if I can, so where from here?? Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Cliff, Many thanks for the valid comments. It’s becoming increasingly frustrating to find ourselves - hopefully- offering constructive advice to posters, only to find, as you say, that they cannot even be bothered to return to view that advice, leave alone acknowledge it. You can add that to the all too often ‘….done/checked/replaced that’ responses received in reply to suggestions made, since the poster has omitted to let the forum know what has and hasn’t been done, as a history of the issue. Is this forum alone in suffering from such ungracious lack of follow ups? - I seriously doubt it. I’m old and grizzly, and don’t take kindly to the …’ I want, you advise, I don’t thank you…..’ brigade, and it is indeed very refreshing when thanks are tendered. I’ll pass your post on to the administrators Cliff. Many thanks again and kind regards, Gareth.

Thanks Mark, That does indeed colour in more detail, and apologies for suggesting what you have already done in terms of the cap. The coolant loss on a reasonable run has to be explained by either a leak or being burnt in the combustion process - it has to be going somewhere! If it were mine, I would definitely carryout the exhaust emission investigation I suggested after a long run. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Anne, I’ve dealt with a couple of Audi discount chaps over the years - think Phil is in Cardiff? (part of Cardiff Audi as were - now Mon Motors). Nice, helpful chap. Well he would be off to a good start - being Welsh! Good luck with sorting it out. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Matt, Any noises when pressing the clutch pedal needs investigating/ stripping down, and unfortunately this does sound typical of DMF issues - assuming your early car does have a DMF rather than a solid flywheel. Might be worth having a word with LUK ( clutch manufacturers ) U.K. technical section - they should be able to clarify via your VIN (chassis number). Kind regards, Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Mark, To lose a reservoir full of coolant on an hour’s run is worrying. It could be as simple as a failing/failed reservoir (pressure) cap - but although this is not uncommon on other marques, I’m not aware that it’s an issue with Audi, but…. Let’s colour in a bit more detail:- what is the one way distance commute to work? Can you travel this accumulated distance for a week without any coolant loss? What would be your typical max. and average speed on your commute? With the ‘say an hour’ - would average speed over this travelling time have any influence on the amount of coolant loss? Couple you, for example, run the car on the motorway for half an hour at the legal limit and not experience your emptying of the reservoir? Suggested test:- take the car on your near to 1 hr. troublesome run, Park up, but leave the engine running, and get an assistant to rev the car to a steady 2000 rpm and hold it at that rev. for 2 minutes, while you observe the smoke from the exhaust. You will be looking for any evidence of white vapour smoke. Does the car overheat ( any degree over normal) during your troublesome hour run? Any evidence of emulsion on the oil dip stick? Perhaps you could come back to us Mark. Kind regards, Gareth.

Yes David, so have you done that? An have you checked if the vibration is worse after moderate braking - or not? Kind regards, Gareth.

Sorry Ivars - don’t know. Please don’t assume it’s the compressor, get the system checked before assuming. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Ivars, My guess is that the car has air suspension, and your issue rests there. The chances of two rear springs snapping at the same time is highly unlikely on a conventional spring system. Some marques can have conventional spring systems on the front, and air on the car ( usually with estate/ Sportback) so this theory of front oK/ back low, might make sense. If it does have air suspension, then common issues are faulty level sensors ( but possibly unlikely in your case where two are low at same time) air leaks, or most likely - a poor compressor. If the latter, look up Bagpiping Andy, who specialises in manufacturing piston rings for the compressors, and/or supplying replacement compressor. Perhaps you could keep us informed as things develop. Kind regards, Gareth.

OK David, but I’m not sure why you are not answering the question I asked and letting us know about the test I suggested. Anyway…. How are you going to test each caliper by the way? Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello David, I think you are in grave danger of going down the same knee jerk reaction route which has been followed before. Sticking caliper ? Possible suggestion only, and certainly not a probable. No feed n back yet on the questions I asked, but if it were mine, I would first be checking the fitting on the discs to ensure the mating surfaces of hub to disc are scrupulously clean and free from rust and that the discs are rotating true, within acceptable limits. Your call, but you can continue to throw parts at it in the hope it will go away. As yet, you haven’t convinced me ( although I might have missed something) that the problem is indeed due to some issue with the braking system. Kind regards, Gareth.

Thanks David, but that extra information doesn’t lead us any further forward. Why continue to change 3 sets of (suspect) brake pads in the hope that the problem is due to defective pads? Apologies, but that doesn’t sound a very logical approach to me. Hasn’t anyone thought the more likely cause is ill fitting discs or sticking caliper/s? You are yet to fill in the information about the effect of more pronounced braking and possibly greater chance of vibration after that. Apologies, but I don’t think I cannot offer any further advice based on what we know/don’t know. Kind regards, Gareth.