Magnet

Congratulations Charlie, you have just won Shortest post of the Year award.

No probs Guy, I’ve messaged Stevey and asked him to have a look at your post when he has a chance - he’s a busy chap though. Regards, Gareth.

No problem Guy, it seems our posts overlapped. So logic would now point to dismissing the thermostat as the culprit, since the car was OK until the water pump was changed. So water pump associated ( or something else which has gone wrong in the meantime)? Still air locks, level sensor? Solenoid associated with water pump?? Stevey Y on here would be your best point of contact. Send him a PM and ask him to have a look at this thread - he’s a busy man, so give him a bit of time. Why was the water pump changed Guy? Others on here will hopefully be along to offer advice. Regards, Gareth. p.s. Audi main dealer?? Oh blinking heck, your wallet will need gas and air! I’d forget that as an idea, and take advice on other independents in your area.

Thanks for the very informative update Tony. I’ve dealt with Andy in the past re. air suspension on a non-Audi, and found him very knowledgeable and helpful. I rebuilt a couple of compressors using his piston rings - to good effect. He should be able to help you with a replacement compressor. It seems there are Chinese struts available for some marques, but not sure of contact or availability. Might be worth dipping into the Jaguar Forum and searching through the X350 section with a search on air suspension. Don’t know about this, but I’ll throw it in:- Consider changing to conventional suspension. Doable? Practical and economic?? Regards, Gareth.

Welcome Guy, and sorry to hear of your issue. As I see it, whoever (garage?) fitted the new thermostat should be your first port of call. It could be as simple as air locks in the system, faulty temperature sensor or even a substandard replaced thermostat. Ideal would be to get it plugged in to diagnostics to get any fault codes and to record live temperature data. Please keep us up to date on progress. Regards, Gareth.

You could also check with ‘Bagpipingandy’ - on EBay. He was the pioneer of compressor repair kits, and much more re. air suspension as I understand. Please let us know how you get on.

Hello Robert, So what did your checks come up with, and do you intend to buy it? Regards, Gareth.

Hello again Ingrid, Notice you have replied to another thread with similar issues. Just wondering if you would be prepared to share its service history as requested earlier, and as the owner of the car on the other thread has posted? Regards, Gareth.

Thanks Tony, So have you tried the sources I mentioned? Regards, Gareth.

But they will need to be sorted straight away, since the car cannot be moved. If I’m reading it correctly, the bags/ SA were not blown when it went in there, so….? Now it’s going to cost you to get it transported to an independent. Air suspensions systems, although not too complicated, do need to be worked on by mechanics who have been there done that, not leaving you with an unusable vehicle. Hope you can get some sense out of this Tony. Please keep us posted on how it pans out. Regards, Gareth.

Bear in mind that fuses blow for a reason -to protect the circuit, so if anything has blown, you will need to investigate why, rather than just putting another one in.

Welcome Tony and sorry to hear of your issue. If you have two blown bags and a leaking tank then I assume this vehicle was sitting on its backside prior to investigation -? This is an air suspension on back only on this isn’t it. Alternative suppliers may well be limited, but you could try Arnotts website for sort of aftermarket replacements. Would be worth putting your reg. no. into Parts in Motion website and see what they come up with. If it were mine, I’d be getting a second opinion from a trusted local independent before progressing this. Please let us know how you get on Tony. Regards, Gareth.

In case it helps anyone, and as I understand it:- VAG’s recommendation on timing belts changed in July 2023, to supposedly bring the U.K. in line with the Continent. Change - remove the time limit (taken as every 5 years) Current mileage recommendation has been quoted at 180k miles - but I’m doubtful on that - and most likely?? to be in km. - and an inspection at 150k miles - or it’s it Kms For what it’s worth, I would not run a timing belt for more than 5 years unless you are prepared to gamble thousands of £s on consequential damage. Justification:- engineeringly averse stop/start systems, low annual mileages, with consequence of vehicle running at less than optimum temperature, more gear changes etc. all putting additional stresses on belts. Change auxiliary belt at same time. Regards, Gareth.

Welcome Edmund, Engine oil - Check in your handbook for the correct grade, since you may find that this 1980s car runs on semi synthetic engine oil (possibly 10w/40 but please check). If so, I’ve used Shell Helix to good effect. Filters:- again EBay will be your best search source, since mainstream motor factors are unlikely to hold stock for this age car. You should find sellers of new-old-stock. Try to find out part numbers. Brands such as Mann, Bosch and others are well respected. Please let us know how you get on Edmund. If you need any further guidance then please come back to us. Regards, Gareth.

Hello Colwyn, Are you enquiring to ensure you have the right spanners for the job, or is it something to do with thread type and sizes?

Sounds like it Mark. Have you had a look on the on-line DVLA Vehicle Check?

Just scan back over the last couple of weeks and pick up posts by Stevey Y and Clifford. The consensus of opinion there is mapping = increased potential for subsequent issues.

Hello Dabir, Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but the pitfalls of mapping have recently been discussed on here.

Hello again Ingrid, Sorry to contradict 3 specialists, but there is a recommended ‘change at mileage’ limit, but what VAG have done is to remove the time limit and obviously the ‘whichever come first’. Regards, Gareth.

Thanks Ingrid, As I understand it, you will have to provide a comprehensive engineer’s report on the damage caused, and more importantly, a full report on the belt, it’s mode of failure, and the precise reason it failed. The specialists who complied the reports, will also have to be present at the hearing to answer any questions. All of this is obviously going to cost a considerable amount of funds - fine if you win, but one heck of a loss if you don’t. As has already been said, Audi legal and technical specialists will have been through this before, and will be well versed in getting under a snakes belly with a top hat on and coming out blameless on the other side - just so you know what you will be up against. Before advising further, would you be prepared to let us know the extent of the service history of the vehicle - with dates and mileages and where carried out? Regards, Gareth. analysed

Starting to make sense then!

Welcome J ? This thread is going on 5 years old, and the OP hasn’t been on here for about 3 years. Would you please re-post your enquiry under a new post, giving as much detail as possible. Also, do us a kindness and amend your profile to include a real name - as opposed to J, and your location -rather than ‘town’. Thanks.

Hello David, The ideal would have been to have started it on a fully charged battery and taken it for an ‘Italian tube’ there and then. Simple starting it puts a high current load on the battery, which then dictates a need to recoupe that discharge via. a reasonable run. Then is the time to evaluate what warning lights remain illuminated. Regards, Gareth.

I thank you for your comments Andrew, but your update really leaves me none the wiser in terms of whether your system has worked to any reasonable degree, but thanks for returning anyway. It’s pleasing to hear that you consider yourself to be ‘..enough of an engineer..’ This would at least help more-helpful- than-I members to take due notice of your opinions. ‘I’m an 80 year old pensioner…’. Great, so you are younger than me then. I avoid personal criticism on here or any face to face dealings, based on much earlier experience of when this is resorted to, then the argument is lost. I wish you contentment with all other forums you take part in Andrew, and as always, you are very welcome to err your views on here, as long as they aren’t personal. Take care. Regards, Gareth.

Hello David, Different symptoms now, which suggests a sub standard battery as being at least a contributor. I would recommend you get this checked before moving on. This car seems to have been built during Covid, and likely to have been sitting around for months - not good for batteries. Yes, charge it by all means ( using an ‘intelligent’ charger) and see if you have any reduction in symptoms. If so, it may be worthwhile getting the battery professionally tested - Halfords stores can do this. If it is eventually declared to be substandard then please come back to us if you have respect for your wallet, and we can give you some pointers for good deals. Regards, Gareth.