cliffcoggin

I suspect it is simply jammed from being slightly twisted. If wriggling alternate sides does not work I can only suggest brute force,

That suggests the wheels have been changed for a non-standard size. I looked online for A3 tyre pressures and did not see your particular size mentioned.

If you got a handbook with the car it should be in there.

Just over £700 is what I paid at an Audi dealer three years ago. The high cost is the reason owners delay getting it done. If it proves necessary to add the cost of a new wiper motor and door lock actuators you could be looking at a repair bill of over £1000.

I agree with Steve's advice, though for the door locking I suggest a new battery for the key fob as a first step. Be prepared for a £700 bill for the cambelt and water pump!

If you can't trace the leak by listening I suggest you locate the vacuum hose under the bonnet and follow it to the vacuum pump or manifold at one end and the servo at the other. Check for loose connections, splits, etc.

A vacuum leak sounds a reasonable diagnosis, but I am puzzled that you hear it from a dashboard air vent. Have you listened under the bonnet?

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Happy Christmas to all the regulars here including Gareth, Ken, and the two Steves. Cliff.

Mantas. Are you really running on your second set of injectors in a few months yet the fault is still present? If so I suspect there is nothing wrong with either set of injectors, and that the fault lies elsewhere. Injectors are extremely reliable and rarely fail. Please confirm whether your engine is petrol or diesel. The type of fuel is not clear from the above comments. Please tell us also: -how many miles (or kilometres) the car has done, -whether it has been properly maintained during its life, -whether there are any other symptoms apart from the shaking and associated knocking.

Glad to hear the tyres are OK. Please explain more about the brake fault. 5 mm wear is extraordinary, nevertheless the wear should be uniform. Was the disc loose or was the pad loose?

Many decades ago I had remould tyres fitted to the first vehicle I owned because I could not afford new tyres. Unfortunately a section of tread partially detached and at high speed it slapped the road surface with a sound much like the one Marlon describes, yet when stationary it retracted back to the carcass and was barely visible. Now I am not saying Marlon has the same problem as remould tyres are no longer sold, but it shows that minor or nearly invisible tyre faults can have dramatic effects.

Well here's a third who shares that opinion Gareth and Ken. I understand questioners doubting or even rejecting some of the advice received from the regulars here, after all we are unknown strangers with no proven reputation or experience, but it irritates me that rarely is there any feedback by way of resolutions to their problems, and still less any thanks for the time and effort we contribute. Perhaps I am also too old and cynical to cope with the ungracious demands of those who expect instant answers at the touch of a keyboard. Cliff.

There is too much potential for sucking back air through a one way bleed pipe to convince me it is a reliable method. If the fit of the pipe on the nipple is poor, air will be drawn back. If the thread on the nipple is worn, air will be drawn back. If the check valve is sticky, air will be drawn back. The only reliable manual bleed method I know of is a two man operation in which one presses the pedal while other wields a spanner on the nipple. In essence: fit a hose to the nipple with the lower end in a clear glass jar, loosen the nipple, press the pedal to the floor and hold it there, tighten the nipple, release the pedal, top up the reservoir. Repeat until air bubbles can no longer be seen emerging from the hose. The spanner man controls the process and commands the other when to raise and lower the pedal using clear orders like "up" and "down", which the pedal man repeats when he has carried out the order. There are various pressure and suction systems available which can automate the process, but having never used any of them I can not comment on their effectiveness. You are rightly concentrating on getting the air out, but have you considered that the spongy pedal may be caused by defective seals in one of the cylinders?

You presume too much in thinking I am agitated. Since you are clearly desperate to believe whatever the dealer tells you I'll withdraw from the discussion. Good luck with your purchase.

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In a word: YES. How much more clearly can I state it? Neither engine cleaner nor new oil will rectify a faulty clutch/gearbox. At best they will only mask the fault for a while until the guarantee expires, and then it is your problem.

The instrument console is prone to faults it seems. Several companies will repair them for less than £200, which to my mind is a better option than a breaker's item, and far cheaper than a new one. I can't help regarding the tuning, though it strikes me as odd that you would take the car from Norfolk to Scotland to get the work done.

If the dealer was so convinced an oil change would solve the problem he should have done it himself. That he did not do so is evidence that you made the right decision to walk away.

Try conductive paint. I have no idea how effective it is but you have nothing to lose.

Agreed. There's no knowing if the solution to the leak is easy or difficult, so best to walk away and find something else.

Irrespective of what the guage is reading, or what might or might not have been fitted, or whether any of it is of decent quality, the fact remains that the engine is overheating. That much is at last finally clear, so let's focus on a solution. I still believe you should first remove any airlocks from the cooling system, the A3 being prone to air locks after a thermostat change. If that does not resolve the problem then take the thermostat out and test it. Testing is easy: put it in a pan of boiling water and watch to see if the wax bellows opens. If those actions don't cure the fault then something more serious (meaning expensive) is wrong with the engine. Let us know what transpires.

I too am confused as to whether the car is overheating or not. The little I could see from Gary's shaky video seemed to show steam and hot water spraying out of the header tank, which indicates overheating. If that is not the case we need Gary to clarify what exactly the video was supposed to show.

Well if the temperature guage reads normal yet the engine overheats my first thought is that there is no water circulation. The obvious culprit would be a faulty thermostat, or the system was left air locked after changing the stat. Alternatively the water pump could be faulty, though that should have been replaced many thousands of miles ago on a 1.9 litre diesel. The service history, which you have not mentioned, would show if the pump had been changed.

Gary. Repeating Gareth's question, and adding a few of my own. Did the temperature guage show it to be overheating? Are there any other symptoms like smoke from the exhaust, mis-firing, lack of power, black or emulsified oil in the sump? Do you have a full service history? What engine is it? How many miles has it done?