cliffcoggin

Paul. Wheel bearing noise might be a hum, but more usually the noise is a scraping, grinding, or rumbling sound. If there are no other symptoms I'd say the most likely suspect is a faulty tyre. Does the sound change when decelerating? Does it happen in all gears? Does it change when cornering? Can you feel vibration through the steering wheel or the seat? Does it change when applying the brakes?

Once again Sid. Which engine does it have?

It can not possibly be mint condition if it has done 135000 miles. Wear and tear is inevitable no matter who made the car. Let's have a realistic assessment. Until you tell us which engine is fitted how can anybody comment? Some engines have a reputation for rapid oil loss, others are very durable.

Little faith? Moi? I place my faith in the saying that you only get what you pay for. Nevertheless I hope it works out for you.

If the hinge pins have not worn, it must be the hinge mounting bolts have worked loose.

That does not answer my question which I shall repeat: was it new or secondhand?

Sorry, but I can't hear any unusual noises.

No coolant loss should be ignored, particularly one as bad as that, unless you want to ruin the engine. As you don't know your way around cars I agree with Steve that it should be taken to a garage as soon as possible.

Defective batteries are a well known cause for these sort of problems. Was your replacement battery new or secondhand? If the latter get a new one, then report back.

Skyler mentioned using the car on a track which I interpreted as racing, hence my suggestion of the 3.2 engine, but since he has not had the courtesy to aknowledge our responses or provide any more information I guess we'll never know.

Why not another Audi 2 litre engine? I suppose you could change it for the 3.2 litre if you also swap the transmission, suspension, wheels, and brakes to suit, but then might as well have bought a 3.2 in the first place. As for the transmission, if you are satisfied with the manual gearbox, keep it. I don't understand why you would ask the question.

Craig if you know the battery to be weak then the first thing to do is fit a new one, not a clapped out old one from your other car. Duff batteries are known to cause a variety of apparently unrelated electrical and electronic problems, so a new battery alone may solve the problem with the gear indicator lights. It is likely that new battery will need to be coded to the car.

Craig said he replaced the column not the rack. Does the column also need to be coded?

Yes.

I thought it was an air lock when you first raised the matter. Your report of a dry heater matrix only confirms my opinion. It is a common problem after any work on the cooling system that involves draining any of the coolant. There are several methods posted on-line to deal with air locks which can be difficult to shift from the A3, though I admit I have not tried them myself.

All I can suggest is a visit to a car breaker to buy a seat you can take the parts from.

Are you sure the controls alone are missing? It would be very odd to remove them. Is it possible the whole seat been changed for a non-standard one?

I can't help with the details of the wiring. Have you looked on line for wiring diagrams? I know I have seen them in the past. It would be worth checking if the car's original wiring will withstand the extra current resulting from using two fans.

What about the wiring do you dislike? Is it unsafe, untidy, ugly colours? Being" not keen" on it tells us nothing.

On second thoughts it would be better to have the wheels inspected first by somebody without a vested interest in the outcome. The garage that left the nuts loose is hardly a disinterested party.

Take it back to the garage that did the work and have the wheels inspected. There is a real chance they have been damaged around the stud holes.

Sounds like an air lock in the cooling system. Given you know nothing about cars I suggest you take it to a garage.

So quickly? That's even better. Thanks for letting us know.

Paul. What a lot of words to say your battery won't hold a charge. Driving it once per week will not replace the charge used in starting the engine unless you drive it for at least an hour. It would be better and cheaper to put it on a trickle charger overnight once per fortnight. Allowing the battery to go flat will damage it so vigilance is necessary. As for buying a new battery for £30, I'd guess you haven't bought a battery for a few decades.

So it was an external leak after all. O well it's a cheaper repair than the alternatives.