Magnet

Thanks for coming back on this John. We take it it’s a manual gearbox. You mention changing the gearbox oil - daft question, but does this box actually have a drain plug? If not, you will have to resort to sucking the oil out. If it does indeed have a drain plug, make sure you can undo the filler plug before opening the drain plug. Rather serious when you’ve drained the oil off, and find the filler plug doesn’t want to be undone! Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Phil, Keith has indeed done a superb job with his wheels. Black as opposed to the colour Kath has used? Personally choice of course, but to me gloss black just looks tarty and cheapens the car - opinions will vary! Re. replicating Keith’s standard of work? Skill will certainly be required, and although you can improve on your yours, only you will be able to judge whether you can meet that skill base necessary to overcome the risk of any work being seen as simply a DIY attempt. You say you had a good discount due to the car’s wheels needing to be attended to, so it may now be worth investing that discount in getting them done once and wisely. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Bailey, Thanks for being in touch. From your description, it sounds as if the clutch release bearing/slave cylinder assembly is starting to fail - as they do! If it is that, then apologies for the not too good news, but it lives within the gearbox bell housing, so it’s a gearbox out job, at which stage, it would be false economy not to renew the other two wearing parts of the clutch assembly. Having said all that possible doom and gloom, 2015 does seem rather soon for this to start giving problems, unless the car has been subjected to short journey use where the clutch has seen a fair degree of usage - or the mileage is very high, so worth checking the clutch pedal linkage swivel point is free, and give it a spray with WD40 or similar. Please note that your late model car may have a different set up, so it would be well worth having a chat with your trusted local garage. If it turns out that the slave cylinder is indeed starting to play up and needs renewing then I think you will fine that Audi clutch parts are expensive - to the point that I would use an aftermarket kit by LUK. Kind regards, Gareth.

Thanks Steve. Sounds like VAG have saved some more steel again then- bless them. 6 year old (and average mileage?) and needing a bearing changed? Perhaps the progress is marked by selling parts quicker than they previously did. Kind regards, Gareth.

Sorry Alun - don’t understand. I meant that you buying a Febi bearing to fit into your old hub, rather than buying the complete Febi hub-and-bearing assembly, which would be much easier and better solution than pressing/hammering bearings in and out.

Not sure about resurrecting this 3 month old thread, but for what it’s worth, I use Fabsil, but I would bow to the use of Autoglym products as well. Whatever, my tip is to start at one side at the edge nearest to you (above the door) and work to the middle. Then go around the other side and work from the middle out - avoiding the risk of a ‘dry edge’, if you start at the mild and work towards the edge. Kind regards, Gareth.

Febi bearing, not hub Alan? Difference in price worth the extra hassle? Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Phil, If all else fails, TPS should be able to give you a schematic of the switch location. Kind regards, Gareth.

Sorry Alan, Senior moment! Just read the title of your post - does help to do so! Apologies and kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Alan, As I understand it - and I could be wrong - but the ‘sender’ is part of the hub, and not the bearing. Irrespective, I simply had the whole hub replaced, since it was a much quicker job than replacing the bearing in an old hub. I used a Febi hub and bearing assembly - bought at a competitive price off EBay. Kind regards, Gareth. p.s. Have a look at the disc splash/backing plate at the same time. These rust fairly quickly, so worth changing it at the same time if it’s showing signs of deterioration.

Hello Derek, Mt first port of call would be to get all aspects of the battery’s serviceability checked. I would not opt for a simple ‘drop test’ , but check characteristics such as cold cranking efficiency etc. as well. Probably worth getting this checked at your main dealer in this case. Batteries operating stop/start systems get a hammering, and although they may continue to start the car OK, the battery condition monitor may detect certain substandard characteristics which can throw up a variety of warnings. Worth a check before spending on anything else. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Patrick, Many thanks for the very useful update. Pleased to hear there has been a sensible outcome to this unfortunate situation. Of course, the inconvenience remains an unpaid debt, but at least you can now move on. Kind regards, Gareth.

‘…not much choice and all about the same price…’ Where are you looking Darren? Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Darren, Not wanting to reintroduce the debate on specifications, and manufacturers having to satisfy the minimum (in caps) requirements of these specifications, the only additional comment I can make in terms of your particular circumstances is that you say that you don’t need anything ‘fancy’, since your performance car only covers 2K miles a year. I may have got this wrong, but low mileage normally equates to short local trips, rather than long runs at very infrequent intervals. If indeed your car is used for short local journeys, then you are going to encounter more stops/starts than a vehicle which covers greater mileages on open roads, and you are likely to be more dependent on your brakes. I can understand cost may influence your choice, but I would always recommend spending once and wisely. Kind regards, Gareth.

Thanks for coming back on this Richard, and sorry you have already replaced parts to no avail. If it were mine, and I didn’t have ramp facilities, I would be entrusting an inspection to a local garage, since you could go on replacing parts in the hope that you will find the cause - not an economic way to do it. Not that is is going to help you at all, but you’ve just found the pitfall of buying off internet, where the purchase is made at some distance away from home - you can generally kiss goodbye to any warranty. Invest a relatively small amount of money and get it thoroughly inspected.

Hello Branden, Well done. Let’s hope the ‘intelligent’ charging system doesn’t fail its exams. Sure it won’t, but just keep in touch if anything else misbehaves. Good choice of battery by the way. I’ve also dealt with Battery Megastore a number of times, and found them to be reasonable on the one occasion things went a little wrong. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Mark, Could you confirm you are talking of needing a wishbone here? If so, my recent choice were Lemforder brand, - obtained via. an EBay search and enquiry. These appear to be good quality, and more expensive than the cheapest, but I try to buy good quality at best prices, rather than buying the cheapest available. Buy once and wisely. Kind regards, Gareth.

Thanks Branden, Um. So now we most definitely need to know if the original equipment battery was specified as being an AGM. What have you ordered as a Bosch? Have you taken advice on the correct battery type ( as apposed to just Ah and cold current capabilities)? As I understood it - still applies? - AGM batteries were specified where the vehicle was equipped with an ‘intelligent charging system’ , and failure to use this type could/can result in adverse affects on the charging system, so it may not be so important that you damage a wrong battery, but more to do with damaging the charging system. I think it’s well worth doing some homework on what is actually required here, and what you have ordered. Where did you order from as a matter of interest, and did they confirm correct fitment via, your registration number? Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Branden, Was the Yuasa battery an AGM battery? Is the recommended battery for your car an AGM type? Failure to use an AGM battery where specified can cause longer term issues with the ‘intelligent’ charging system. Kind regards, Gareth.

Don’t worry too much about what you can’t control Steve. One thing is for sure, they are going to need some pretty good salesmen to sell electric cars to those in terraced houses up the valleys with us - unless they come with exceptionally long extension leads! Mind, the same will apply in the suburbs where you are lucky to find a parking space within 100 yds of your front door. All good stuff. Kind regards, Gareth.

I would be buying them and getting your local garage to fit them for you. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Anthony, £120 to regas the system would seem rather expensive to me, but charges in your area may be higher. £445 to fit a cheap ECP compressor would be a no go area for me, but obviously fitting a reasonable quality one - by anyone - is going to be even more expensive. If it were mine, I would be asking myself if our unpredictable climate justifies spending half the value of the car +, on sorting out air conditioning for the comparatively few times it will be really necessary. When it would be good to have it, I would be resorting to opening all the windows, or staying in the house in the cool! Having said that, if you (in caps) consider the expense is justified than I very much follow your logic of spend once and wisely. Of course, getting the system checked by a specialist may be quite cheap, and I would certainly be more inclined to take their advice, rather than the garage would recharged the system. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Paul, First port of call is to check if you have 12 volts supplied to the solenoid when the car is unlocked. If not report back. Kind regards, Gareth.

Better than £600 o.n.o. then!

Hello Anthony. Thanks for being in touch. Can I ask what is wrong with your compressor, and/or, are you sure it is at fault at all? There are numerous posts on here regarding failure of pressure sensor issues on later cars, so it may be of interest to look these up. If your compressor has confirmed issues then if the problem is clutch associated, then this component can be replaced. Replacement compressors? Yes, ECP sell compressors much cheaper than most, but lasting quality?? Have you searched air con. specialists in your area? If not, that is worth a try. There was one specialist supplier in the Gloucester area ( name evades me now) and I believe they did reconditioned ones. Hope some of this helps. Kind regards, Gareth.