Magnet

Hello Nath, I guess you are talking wheel spacers to increase the track of your car? If so, be aware that manufacturers design wheel hubs, bearing set up and wheel design to ensure that there is a natural inline and even loading on bearings and shafts. By moving wheels out by adding spacers, you are likely to end up with this loading being offset. Good idea engineering wise? No. Kind regards, Gareth.

Special kit Marcus. It’s a sort of manometer tube arrangement, best left to your trusted local diesel specialist. I’m not claiming this is definitely an injector issue, but these are often overlooked in favour of replacing glow plugs, which really only influence the cold starting ability in fairly cold weather. It sounds like you have spent a fortune on this car, and to my mind, it’s always worth investing in a couple of hours inspection by a diesel specialist ( for get main dealers or independents) before spending money on anything. Finding a good local diesel specialist? Ask for recommendations from local taxi owners. Kind regards, Gareth.

Leak-back test on injectors Marcus? Kind regards, Gareth.

Very much so Steve, Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Ryan, Many thanks for the additional meaningful detail. A couple of points which you may like to consider:- I would put these items under the heading of ‘advisories’, and if was your intention to keep the car, then it is useful information to allow you to better plan its ongoing maintenance. Tyre wear - are the tyres currently showing uneven tyre wear? 3 mm left on thread could see you through, but obviously you will need to stay legal. Future uneven tyre wear - not really going to affect you if you are not keeping it. Since you are not going to keep it, my view would be to spend as little as you can on the car, since you stand very little/no chance of recouping your expenditure. Realistic situation is the car is worth ‘ 3/4 of not much’, and to spend on is likely to result in a potential buyer clapping his hands before offering you a good bit less than your asking price! As for trading it in, there will be a basic price dependent on visual condition with no add on for recent expenditure. If you couple the above with a possibility that some others faults may be detected when it is MOT’d - e.g. emissions etc. you may find you had spent to sort advisories, but worse case scenario will be it fails. Personally, I would get it MOT’d when you decide to part with it, and spend the minimum amount to secure a pass, and as little as possible meanwhile. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Ryan, ‘.......had a full service....’. Who did the service? Trying to apply a bit of logic here:- If any of the wear issues were considered excessive, then the servicing garage would most likely have declared that, and would have been reluctant to let the car leave their premises. Have you had the car MOTD during your ownership, or did you buy it (from a dealer?) with a new MOT? When would the next MOT be due ( appreciating the Covid extension)? My plan would probably be to present it for an MOT. If it fails on any of the above then replace whatever it fails on. If any are listed as Advisories then schedule them as funds and time permits. If there isn’t any mention then I would be tempted to sit back and just keep a regular check on things. Perhaps you could fill in the detail. Kind regards, Gareth.

Chances of success with double sided tape??? Contacting Audi? If this were mine, I would be searching out trusted local (classic car) trimmers. I think that is where you will have the best chances of getting meaningful advice. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Terry, Just picked up your latest post. If this were mine, I would be investing in an hour’s time of an auto electrician. Trusted Audi independent. Audi dealer. In that order of preference. Kind regards, Gareth. .

Hello Terry, We take it the radiator gets hot since as you say, the coolant temperature reaches normal and maintains a normal temperature reading. I agree that’s it’s unlikely a code reader will give you any meaningful information in this case, and I am with Steve on this and my guess at it would be to suspect the actual heater control unit - ignoring the fan resistor, since I believe you said you can select various fan speeds. Blocked Hester core? Possibly, but unlikely in my book, since your description points to suggesting there was a sudden rather than a gradual deterioration in the amount of heat from the system. Kind regards, Gareth.

Apologies Terry. That latest question was addressed to Kev. I would suggest forgetting about your issue being due to a faulty thermostat. Kind regards, Gareth.

So the car would have been overheating then.

Jammed - open Kev? If so, then the coolant temperature would be reading below normal after say a 3 mile run. We now need to ask Terry - Does the coolant temperature gauge rise to normal and maintain that reading? If so, forget about a thermostat issue, if it doesn’t then indeed it could be suspect - but we need to know before passing judgement. Perhaps you could come back to us in that. Kind regards, Gareth.

How competent and equipped are you with dealing with the safe removal of the plastic edgings Philip? Worth thinking about that while also researching suitable adhesives.

That decision would need to to rest with you Tom, since only you know the motive for compromising ride quality. Kind regards, Gareth.

Thanks Tom, Without boring you with the maths, your current wheels and tyres will have a theoretical rolling dia. of 653mm, and the proposed 20 inch ones will be 661mm, so not significantly different. Obviously what you do need to bear in mind is that the ride quality of the new set up will be much harsher than it is - 30 profile tyres are akin to solid tyres! Also worth checking whether the tyres are run-flat, since if they are, that will make it even worse. Not for me to judge why you want these, but what you will be doing is compromising ride quality for ‘nicer looking’ wheels - which of course, you won’t be able to see, since you are inside the car! Still..... The new wheels will be 10mm wider, so you will need satisfy yourself that you you have more than sufficient clearance to allow for this, if the offset is the same. Then there is the insurance consideration, which to me is a must consider factor to avoid the risk of your cover being declared null and void. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Philip, Personally, I would be taking some specialist advice on the correct (spray-on?) adhesive to minimise the risk of you don’t end up having any adhesive bleed-through etc. through your headlining, and it has the best chance of remaining re- stuck. Perhaps it would be better to delay any work on this until appropriate businesses reopen and you can seek advice. Trimmers would be a good place to start getting advice, but you can always gather more knowledge online meanwhile. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Tom, If you are looking to replace your original wheels with non original 20 inch diameter ones and are concerned whether they will fit or not, is a bit like asking if you will get away with buying and wearing oversize shoes! The answer to that will be - probably yes - but,.......... Questions:- Diameter of original wheels and size of tyres fitted? Are replacement 20 inch wheels genuine Audi, or aftermarket? Do these wheels (secondhand?) come with tyres already fitted, and if so, what is the tyres size? Let’s assume the wheel stud holes are the same as your original ones - but you don’t tell us - whether they are suitable will depend on the final outside diameter of the new wheel and tyre, being the same as your current ones, so bigger dia. wheels will require much lower profile tyres to ensure the car’s gearing is not affected. So Tom, bit of homework to do, and that’s before you inform your insurers and see how they react to fitting non standard wheels and tyres to your car. Perhaps you could come back to us. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello James, Sounds like a reasonable guess then. I would be tempted to book this in ASAP to any garage which is open, and it’s certainly worth checking the oil meanwhile. If the filter is found to be at fault and needs replacing, I would suggest you stipulate it is replaced only with a Mann or Bosch one - unlikely they will be able to obtain a genuine VAG one. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello James, As you realise, you need this checked as quickly as possible, so you will need to to find someone/ anyone who is open in reasonable distance. 500 miles a month may be considered ‘rarely used’ but not really in my book. You location-of-leak is unlikely to be meaningful since the underbody shield will mask the leak site, and make it appear to be located where the oil is able to egress from the shield. Hope some of this helps. Kind regards, Gareth. p.s. Has the car been serviced in recent times, and the oil filter changed? Just a thought that it may be associated with an ill fitting filter - and that would dictate a need for even more urgency.

Hello Lynsey, Are you talking the owner’s handbook here, or some sort of official Audi workshop manual? If owners handbook:- Tried EBay, and/or placing a wanted ad. in the specialist ‘classic car’ press? - e.g. Modern Classics, Classic Car Weekly, Classic Car Buyer etc. etc. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello David, Many thanks for the additional information. Pleased you think it’s wise to notify them in writing and ideally not to use the car. Re. the warranty:- For the first 3 months ( maybe 6) Lookers are responsible for ensuring the car remains fit for purpose, so it should not be a question of dismissing their responsibilities to Autoprotect. It would be worth you spending some search time to investigate the consumer law in relation to used car sales, and contacting the CAB (if open), so that you are fully clued up before any work is carried out on the car. Personally, I would be very wary of following any suggestion that you get the work done, pay for it, and reclaim the funds from Autoprotect. This should not be the way this is dealt with. Lookers should arrange, and pay for, any work necessary, and it would be up to them to decide if they want to claim off Autoprotect or not. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Justin, Sounds like it has a regulator issue. Are you intending to try to sort this yourself and do you have a suitable meter etc? Might be something best left to an auto electrician when you can get hold of one? Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello David, Personally, I would not be doing anything with this car, or allowing anyone else to look at it until you have the agreement of the seller, otherwise it may be argued that someone else has contributed to the problem. If it were mine, I would be e-mailing the seller ( it is likely they will have access to incoming e-mails) and recording the issue, and most importantly, asking them for guidance on which course of action you can undertake. Do you have access to another vehicle? If so, I would not continue to use this car. We take it that you bought the car from a secondhand car dealer and not an Audi dealership. Kind regards, Gareth.

Harris, please do not fiddle with the non working remote until you fit your new battery. The car has started with your non working remote, so any fiddling with it may just introduce another variable. One step at a time! Kind regards, Gareth.

Great Harris, Personally, I wouldn’t touch this car (spark plugs etc) until you have had the battery checked. If you fiddle about with spark plugs etc. and the trouble returns, you will be left in a situation of not knowing whether you have created another issue. The battery efficiency is fundamental, so I would strongly advise to leave everything else alone until you are sure it is serviceable or not. Kind regards, Gareth.