Magnet

Well Chris, Ford? Those who were sensible enough to 'invest' in any classic Ford are now seeing their asset escalating in value beyond any expectation, while the modern Audi de - values as much as the rest of them. Skoda were always maligned by those trying to be comedians, but VAG decided to buy them, and from my working experience, Skoda took on board all the quality control recommendations of VW and quickly overtook them - all at a much cheaper price, so brand snobbery doesn't result in anyone becoming funny anymore. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Andy, I take it you have already established that the heater core is partially blocked, or are you assuming it is since it will only blow a small amount of heat? If you have proved the core is partially blocked then fine to replace it. If not, it would be well worth checking whether the heater controls are working properly first. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Dan, Thanks for the reply, but please do confuse the elderly! If you couldn't find it, how could they lose it !? It either has locking wheel nuts or it doesn't, and you definitely need to know, before you have any need to remove the wheels. If there are locking wheel nuts then the special remover should be identifiable, and available, via. giving the VIN to your Audi dealer. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello A, Thanks for the responses. G12 - Unknown to me but if it's compares with the original spec and you are mixing it 50/50 then all should be well. If you are not using any coolant, then you simply cannot be leaking any coolant into the combustion, which equals no failure of the head gasket from combustion to a waterway. Not sure about your explanation regarding the smoke. If you would like to repeat exactly as I said and video the smoke at 2000 rpm taken over a 2 minute period. No pressure when removing cap after 20 secs. from start up would again suggest no HGF. What is it? Rerun the video under the conditions I suggested. Kind regards, Gareth. p.s. It's not a Rover with an Audi badge on it, is it?

Hello Paul, The filter is likely to be a pollen filter. I'm assuming your earlier-than-my A3 has a different location for it, since mine is up under the passenger footwell. Should change this every couple of years. From memory, I don't think you will need to remove the wipers, but simply gently lift where possible and you should be able to locate the drains. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Dan, There are only two possibilities:- There aren't any locking nuts on the wheels, or The tyre fitting depot has retained the locking nut remover - explaining why you cannot find it. (assuming you have only looked for it since then). Either way, the answer lies there. If it were mine, I would be paying them a visit (I would not depend in a phone call) and seek their advice. Funny thinks can happen when you assume, so - if there weren't locking nuts on the tyre changed wheels, I'd be asking them to check that there aren't any on the other two wheels. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Julie- Anne, No doubt you will have other replies, but I would say this number plate has little commercial value beyond the £110 (or whatever it is now) fee to get this onto a Retention Certificate. Such numbers are usually left on the car at the point of sale, but generally dealers don't welcome them since they have to stand the cost of transferring it off. Source of valuation:- Number plate agencies such as Registration Transfers - and there are many more to chose from. You could also advertise it on here. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Ian, and welcome to the forum. Apologies for appearing rather critical, but you really don't give us anything like enough detail to allow a realistic asking price to be suggested for your car. Of course the basics, such as mileage, no. of owners, how long you have had it, service history and when last serviced, MoT etc. are essential markers in valuations, before even considering the all important actual condition of the car. My advice would be to fill in the necessary detail on sites such as We Buy Any Car, and see what valuations you get. If you consider the valuations to be less than you would like, then you could use the forum's section and advertise it - with photos and a full description - and choosing an asking price based on WBAC plus your additional on cost. Hope some of this might help. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello A from Ireland, We really need more specific information from you:- How many miles ago was this thermostat changed? What coolant mix did you use to refill the system? How much coolant mix are you now adding (daily?) as a result of your assumed air locks? We take it you are topping this up to the max. mark only when cold. Was the 'after a 20 minute run test' smoke test carried out how I suggested? If so, at what stage/stages did the white smoke appear? Compression test for HG issues:- This is likely to give you an indication of HG issues if the gasket leak is between two cylinders, in which case the values on two adjacent cylinders is likely to be lower than the others. Combustion to waterway leak ( which you suspect due out white smoke)? To my mind, such a leak would have to be significant before you would notice a noticeable drop in one or more cylinder compressions. There are more reliable tests, such as pressuring the coolant system and checking how long it's capable of retaining that pressure. There is also a 'sniff test' which looks for evidence of combustion gases in the coolant. You could also try the following DIY test:- Carefully remove the coolant reservoir cap when cold, to release any residual pressure. Firmly refit cap and start engine and leave it idle for 20 seconds - no more. Quickly remove cap, and you should not experience any pressure at this point. Perhaps you could fill in all the useful detail when you come back to us. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Paul, Check that the drain holes in the plenum chambers under the bonnet are free from debris. You should be able to check these by gently lifting the plastic cover forward of the wipers. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Scott, Not wanting to interfere, but are your current tyres showing evidence of irregular wear? If not, personally, I would not contemplate any adjustment to the car's wheel alignment. If they are wearing irregularly then carefully consider who you are going to allow to fiddle with Audi's set up. Modern wheel alignment checking equipment is very complex and accurate. There is no doubt about that. Every tyre fitter's ability to use it correctly?? Their ability to detect minor wear in steering and suspension components which can result in out of alignment - rather than just attempting to reset the alignment?? Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Brian, Nothing complex about this :- just wander into your local dealer in your still-under- warranty car and ask them to update it for you. Having said that, I wouldn't have thought there wouldn't have been that many significant changes with the UK's road network in a little over a year which would cause you to get grossly misled by the current data. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello A? , OK, we are not sure if this car is losing coolant or not. Logical thought points to no coolant loss, then no coolant mingling with the combustion, so white smoke in this case would not be due to gasket issues, but may be due to expected condensation in the exhaust . I must own up to not having viewed your video, but I would be more interested in when/how this car exhibits white smoke from the exhaust. If it were mine:- I would take the car for a 10 mile fasting run on a relatively dry day, and at the end of the run - without switching off- leave the car idle for 2.minutes. Get an assistant to rev the engine to a steady 2000rpm and hold it there for at least another two minutes while you observe any smoke from the exhaust. A test under these conditions should be meaningful, and you should not see any significant white smoke. Having said that, we had a non Audi in long term ownership that liked pushing out a bit of white smoke during such a test, but never used a drop of coolant between annual services! Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello, After thoroughly bleeding air out of the refilled system, is the car losing coolant, and if so how much? Kind regards, Gareth.

Thanks for letting us know Chris. It seems you are buying a 5 year guarantee Bosch (their top of the guarantee range) so all should be well once you have established you are indeed buying the correct one. It seems Bosch are rebranded Varta - or is it vice versa? - and Varta were very popular with from-new OEM fittment with many marques. Just incase it helps anyone else:- I have bought such batteries from Battery Megastore (make sure you buy via. EBay or they will charge you carriage - odd isn't it!? ) and Plymouth Batteries for Bosch. Both at good prices and service. No connection, and there many other retailers. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Chris, A good place to start is the handbook for the car. That usually - or did- gives you the recommended battery specification. Would this be the first battery change (I guess so) and if so what is quoted on the original Audi branded battery should be what you should go for. OK 85Ah vs 95Ah is no great deal difference, but what I would be more interested in is the cold cranking current (CCA) comparison - old to new batteries. Compatibility sites? - notoriously unreliable. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Adam, Sorry to hear the problem has been ongoing, but pleased it now seems to be working out for you. I guess you will now insist on a greater than 5 mile test run for every car you buy from now on! Please Adam confirm with us that this Octavia is being bought in around Cardiff, and is not one of these 'looks lovely on the Internet' purchases. One other thing I bore folks with is the importance of checking with the recorded keeper before purchase. The full story of the good and bads of the car is privy only to them. Full service history etc. might be important, but after all, that's only a stamp in a book, or now just an entry on a computer scene. Neither of these can talk, but the previous keeper can! Better luck with the next one. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Daniel, I'm very sorry to hear of your on-going issues, particularly since when you presented your car for recall a year ago, there were already some 4 pages of problematic posts on this forum (how many on other VAG forums?) which could have pointed you towards not agreeing to the recall. Water under the bridge as we say, and we cannot go backwards. Where do you go from here? Depends on how much money you are prepared to spend to contest your issues, and of course your chances of a successful outcome. If it were mine, I think I would give this a good couple of coats of thinking about, but I would fear a pessimistic outcome. On a more positive note - cracking pipes? Pardon my ignorance but are these rubber pipes? If so, why are they cracking? Substandard quality? Some external cause causing them to crack? Even if substandard, do you want to continue to experience similar issues with replacements , and/or argue with VAG? More substantial equivalents available? We now hear of silicone pipes - would ones of this material be available or modifiable? This would be where my thoughts and efforts would be concentrated in the short term - unless someone else comes up with a better alternative. Good luck with some sort of improvement. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Pete, I'm suffering from stress here, simply reading your tales of woe! BT and others - all much of a muchness?? Been with BT for many a moon, and had some instances of problems, and certainly failed promises. I guess every one has with most of the providers, but frustrating it is, particularly when - if they can't cope with the customer base they have - they still advertise 'new-customer-only' special deals to attract even more poor unsuspecting ! But again they all do that anyway. When they have you on board, and you are in trouble, you get through to Keith! , Alan etc. at call centres well east of the Thames estuary. They invariably get upset when you challenge any of their statements to any degree, yet seem hell bent on keeping feeding you good-for-the-garden stuff. I think I have had to resort to writing Personal attn. CEO letters on three occasions and the problem was quickly actioned via. phone calls from a very helpful and progressive UK person - apologies and actions. However, on the last occasion about 18 months ago, no phone call, but an e-mail which eventually led to a series of different people replying to the e-mail chain! Not so good at all. Anyway Pete, it's nothing personal, and is only sent to try you! Good luck in sorting it out. Kind regards, Gareth.

Doesn't MyAudi apply to more current/new vehicles Mark? Might be worth Googling VIN checking in general, and homing in to Audi from there. If all else fails, then no doubt a call to Audi Customer Services UK will point you towards the appropriate contact. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Guy, I too would be treating the continuity test on the screen element as the first test. If the element has a ding in it (often due to putting something high in the boot and closing the glass against it) then pulling anything else apart will be to no avail. Obviously disconnect the terminals first. If that is OK then simply work back from there, checking for 12v where 12 volts should be. If the element tests show it to be OK, then it might be worth checking the harness in the flexible section where it feeds from the body into the tailgate - often a source of potential problems since the wiring can become brittle due to temperature and continued flexing. Kind regards, Gareth,

Hello Mark, Looks a very nice project. Not sure how much of this is going to help help but:- Were there indeed two power outputs from the 2.6 engine, or are you confusing it with the slightly later 2.8? If it were mine, I would attempt to get the build record for the car via. the VIN. I believe there is an on-line Audi VIN decoding system. This should clarify any engine output query, and equality importantly give you a colour code. You should be able to find a code plate somewhere (boot area was popular and front slam panel). Stabs at possibles:- LN1M - Lemongelb which ran to 1999. LK1D - Jasmine. 93/97 . LY1B - Brillantgelg - but might be later. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello David, In the absence of any other replies, I wonder if some of the following may help:- '........ very little knowledge of engines' ......... Just do not allow yourself to go near any (in caps!) secondhand car, with a wallet in your pocket without being chaperoned! No ifs, no buts.... Always work on the principle that viewing any car with a consideration to buy it, kicks in a very very high risk (in fact a certainty) that you will simply fall in love with the idea, and we all know what they say about the effect of love on your eyesight! 'Is it worth buying if I can buy it cheap?' . Even if you were thinking of buying a reputable Brand X car 'because it's cheap' yet you don't have the ability or equipment to repair the car, is unlikely to render it an economic proposition. R8?? This car seems to be a complete unknown to you even - leave alone us on here who are being called upon to advise. Two things I would suggest:- It's worth continuing to dream of owning such a car until a 'fully known about' example - within your price bracket - comes your way, and when it does, you engage the services of a fully experienced assessor of the actual condition of the car you are being offered, before signing up to taking ownership. If this car is within your price bracket, and you like the look of it, buy it, and put it on the drive, clean and polish it, and just enjoy sitting in it from time to time. Apologies David, if all of this appears rather contra productive in terms of your question, but my personal opinion (and other might well disagree) is that this love affair could end costing you in the long run. Having said that, we are only privy to very sketchy detail on this car, and you would need to share far more facts if you are to get any meaningful advice from your enquiry on here. Kind regards, Gareth.

Blinking heck! Whatever happened to the more polite use of the English language - like 'can anyone help me with this?'

What does two posts of 'up' mean Thomas?