Magnet

Apologies John. Pressed wrong button!

Hello Luke, Not sure if you are having difficulty removing and refitting a new one, or simply trying to buy a new one. Could you let us know. Also, it’s difficult to work out from your photos the difference between damage and possible reflections. Whatever, the damage is, isn’t it within the bounds of being repaired by your local trusted ‘smart repairs’ specialists? Probably far cheaper than buying new (if you can find a delay who is open), and removing and refitting a new one. New ones already colour finished? Doubt it. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Mark, The only true reference I have from my ageing car catalogue is for First Line shock absorbers , but I’m pretty sure they have long since given up s/a after market supplies. Having said that, the numbers may be useful for cross referencing purposes:- Rear non sport for the 1991 to 1995 series would have been FSA5165G for gas or 5165 for hydraulic. If sport suspension, then the number would have been FSA5022G. Strangely, there is another reference to ‘.....exc. sport suspension -optional sport driving’ and the part number would then have been FSA 5213G. I also have a Kayaba (KYB) catalogue, but that appears less precise, but quotes 341901 or 341130 ( both gas) but excludes sports suspension. It lists 341132 for the rears for sports suspension. I’m not sure if any of the above will be of help, but if it were mine, I would be talking with KYB Technical in the U.K. I’ve found them very helpful in the past. Open due to Covid? Kind regards, Gareth. Take it you have searched EBay.?

Hello ‘b’, Foam spray not containing any caustic? or acid? Not sure, but be surprised if it isn’t. Alloy wheel cleaner? Certainly acidic. Can I ask if you are using a pressure washer as part of the foam cleaning process? If so, you are aiming (harmful) chemicals at the car at a fair old pressure/speed and they will inevitably attack the lacquer finish on the car and it’s wheels. I’d be very surprised if your current problem is not cleaner chemical/cleaning process associated. Appreciating it’s ‘not so much fun’, but I would be sticking to a washing regime of hose, bucket and sponge - and car wax shampoo, which is far less aggressive. Kind regards, Gareth.

How is the car generally washed ‘b’? Kind regards, Gareth.

Dum-dum I think Steve. What olden days of motoring were these then? Of course, there is a far greater variety of superior sealers on the market now for sealing outside - from silicone based compounds of all colours, to over-paintable acrylic sealers. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Stephen, By adding spacers, you are moving the wheel out of centre from the hub bearings, so not really recommended engineering wise. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Miroslav, Have you carried out the the connecting cleaner process which Piotr suggests? Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Carl, You plan sounds fine. Is this a different autoelectrician from the other two? It sounds like you and the auto electricians you have used are hanging their hats on the importance of diagnostic checks. Not always a good principle to me - in preference to good old voltage and resistance checking. Did you, or anyone else check that wiring harness after. It would be my port of (eliminating) call, particularly since understandably suspect this may be associated with loose connections. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Darren, In addition to Steve’s advice, you can also try Partsfinder and others, who operate an on line system which alerts breakers of the part you want. They then contact you if they have one. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Steve & Zeeeshan, It maybe important to stress that the ‘x miles or x years’ schedule for cambelt changes is reinforced by ‘whichever come first’. So in your case where 120k or 5 years is specified, your car needs a cambelt change now since the car is 5 years old - irrespective of the fact that it hasn’t covered 120K miles. I will bow to your experience Steve, but I thought the mileage figure was 75K with this, but whatever Zeeshan, It needs doing. As I understand it, this is a front-of-of-the -car off job, and Audi quote around £795 to renew cambelt assembly and the water pump. To my mind, the quality of the parts used is critical, and for such a labour intensive job, I would only use genuine VAG parts ( available on discount - or at least were, pre Covid) - particular the water pump - with no exceptions. Kind regards, Gareth.

Sorry David, but it’s highly unlikely that a new battery would be flat at the point of fitting. Back to my original suggestion:- potentially you have two problems here, one a starting issue on fitting a new battery, and/or a substantial ‘short’ or battery drain. Suggest investing in an hour’s services of a trusted local auto electrician. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Nick, I think that’s it’s more important to get the battery efficiency checked rather than be too concerned about the EML at this stage. Chances are that this battery will let you down again. Of course, we are assuming the charging system is up to par, but first port of call would be the battery check. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello David, It’s probably me not understanding, but could you confirm that you were unable to start the car immediately after fitting the new battery. If so, that set of symptoms is unlikely to be associated with the battery losing power when not in use - i.e. when something is draining the battery. Sounds like you might have two sets of issues here. Have you tried disconnecting the negative connection onto the battery and then observing any significant sparking when you reconnect it? Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello David from the Homeland, You have to give us a bit more detail to go on. ’Fitted same issue’. Does this mean it will not start even when a new battery has just been fitted? Or do you mean it does not start say after you leave it overnight? Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Jacques, If you don’t get any luck on here, it might be worth trying wanted Ads. in specialist press such as Modern Classics, Classic Car Weekly, Classic Car Buyer, Classic Car Mart etc. since the car could now be classed as a ‘modern classic’. Another avenue would be on-line breaker searches such as Partsfinder? (there are others), whereby you register your want, and it gets circulated to participating car breakers, who make contact with you if they have the part you want. Kind regards, Gareth.

Sorry, I can see you say it’s 2010.

As you probably know, the car is currently MOT’d and taxed and had covered a bit over 150K miles by July last year. It’s probably me being over cautious, but ‘...want to in touch with the current owner .... have spare wheel for it...’ sounds a rather ‘incomplete reason’ to me. Personally, I would be wary of any disclosures regarding its whereabouts based on the information given by the middle-of-the-night first time poster. Apologies if this offends.

Hello Jim, Year? History of insurance loss, stolen etc? Why not enter the registration number into the WBAC website, get their valuation and start moving down value-wise from this point for a non runner. Take it you have done the on- line MOT history check. Tyres flat? Could/likely to dictate the need for a new set of tyres for safety. Objective of buying? To keep it, or work on it for a profitable return? Kind regards, Gareth. p.s. Don’t forget the auction house will require the payment of an indemnity fee on top of the bid price. Do you know what this will be? I guess you will have also factored in transport costs at around £1/mile, return journey.

Hello Justin, I guess the car has stop/start facilities. If so, this facility puts batteries under stress and I would say that at 6 years old, it is likely to be passed its best. In the last year, I known one to fail (catastrophically) on a 15 month old car, and one just over 3 years old - both non-Audi. If it were mine, I would be getting the battery efficiency check following a 20 mile run. Halfords were doing this. Now?? If it needs replacing then I would be looking on line with the battery specialists , Battery Megastore, Tayna etc ( there are more). They will give you all the advice you need and deliver to the door. Personally, I would only buy Varta or Bosch batteries - buying their ones which have at least 4 years warranty. Kind regards, Gareth.

Apologies Terry, but I missed your latest post. Sorry this hasn’t fixed the issue. There has been suggestions of blocked heater cores, but personally I haven’t come across this with modern antifreeze solutions and concentration, but.......? I guess you could conduct a flow test if (in caps) you can get at the small diameter inlet and outlet hoses. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Steve, Slipping belt? - auxiliary one? Thanks for the additional detail - it really does help. Information is king when anyone is trying to diagnose anything at a distance and without access to the vehicle. Kind regards, Gareth. p.s. Not a fan of this, but you can get spray on belt anti squeal. It might be helpful as a test.

Hello Joe, My guess (but a guess it is) that this problem is plug connector associated. Where? If it were mine, I would be investing in some spray on contact cleaner and giving everything a good old squirt - including the fuse contacts. At least you are getting somewhere. Well done. Kind regards, Gareth.

‘.......Quantum stuff, not saying it’s bad oil’. ‘Why would it be ‘bad stuff’ when it is the VAG recommended brand? And why would the ECP’s own brand?- Motul oil be superior to it? I wouldn’t think it is! I know which one I would, and always have used in our >150K miles A3. Please don’t tell us you are using, or proposing to use, ECP’s Crosslands filters as well. Once a very well respected brand. Now simply a bought out brand name. Re. Flush additive:- I can only repeat that knowing what you have already done, I would not be using any additional aggressive flushing agent, in preference to a refill and drain with Quantum,but your posts comes over as looking for support for your intention of using it, and my feeling is you will use it anyway. Anyway, good luck with continuing your good work. Kind regards, Gareth.