cliffcoggin

It sounds very much like a bearing spinning its housing, but which one I have no idea. The possibilities that occur to me are: alternator, water pump, power steering pump, air-con pump, but there may be others.

Mike, is it definitely a water drain or could it be the vent or breather that allows air into the tank? A blocked vent could result in fuel starvation.

Yes of course you should have a speed display, it's a legal requirement.

I looked under the bonnet of my 2007 model and can see no way to release the catch from below unfortunately. I wonder if it is possible for the secondary catch, (the one you release from under the bonnet lip,) to be jamming. Normally, releasing the primary catch allows the bonnet to jump up half an inch on its spring until the secondary catch holds it. However if that secondary catch is jammed or its spring is broken it may give the false impression of the primary cable being broken. Sarah can you get somebody to operate the secondary lever and pull upwards on the bonnet while you simultaneously pull the primary lever?

Well it sounds plausible. Whether it is correct I couldn't say.

I don't know for certain, but I doubt there were different wiring looms for different models, that would have been too expensive to produce/identify/store/fit. It would be cheaper to make and fit one loom to all models and accept that some bits, such as foglight wires, would be wasted on your model.

Thanks for posting that William. It might help others with a similar problem. It's a shame Milos has not commented further on his problem.

I still don't think we have a full and accurate description of the symptoms, or the work that has been done, but from what I gather so far there is a hydraulic fault. Most likely air in the system, less likely damaged piston seals.

I'm not clear quite what you are describing. Are you saying the pedal moves up and down without you touching it, or do you mean the bite point changes from one pedal press to the next?

One possibility is a faulty spark plug which might cause the revs to drop so low that the anti-stall boosts the revs briefly to compensate, and you end up with unstable idling. That is a total guess but has a cheap solution. Another possibility is an air leak somewhere in the induction system. It might be hard to find if it is more than a split hose or loose connection.

It's right below the manifold <G> More seriously, I suggest searching for on-line car breakers if it is secondhand you are wanting.

I guess we'll never know the outcome as Darren has not had the courtesy to reply, or even acknowledge our responses.

I would expect she has solved the problem since it has been nine months from posing the question, but in the absence of any reply from Ann we can only guess.

The video shows a short engine (i.e. head removed,) that had had liquid poured into all four cylinders. Two pots still had liquid inside; the other two were empty. That to me is unequivocal proof that the bores and/or rings are worn.

Ouch! That must hurt.

Gareth. Watch the video. I think you will change your mind.

I agree with the diagnosis provided by Audi which is very clear: the low compression is a result of worn or broken piston rings, possibly also associated with worn bores. (The soot on the valve stems was caused by incomplete combustion of the fuel as a result of the low compression.) Three solutions occur to me: [1] Rebore and totally rebuild the existing engine. [2] Buy a new engine. [3] Buy a secondhand engine. Options 1 will give you effectively the same as option 2 in terms of performance and durability if it is done properly, i.e. a new engine. Reboring used to be cheaper years ago but that may not be the case now given the high cost of labour. Option 3 will be cheapest but the quality will be a lottery.

I have no personal experience of the matter but it strikes me that the on line repairers offer fast, cheap and guaranteed repair, while a secondhand unit would only be cheap.

Personally I would fit a new solenoid for no other reason than I dislike the sticky staining of WD40, but then I have a particular hatred of the stuff. It would be worth first testing the fuse and electrical supply if you can. You may already be aware that WD40 is not, and was never designed to be, a lubricant. It was the result of many tests of various mixtures whose purpose was to drive water from the surface of wet steel in order to prevent rusting. The winning mixture was the fortieth mix tried, hence WD (water displacement) 40. It's true that it contains a mineral oil, but the MSDS reveals it also contains an organic solvent similar to paraffin and a perfume to cover the stink of that paraffin. As the solvent evaporates it leaves the oil and the perfume residue which, as I mentioned earlier, leaves a nasty sticky mess.

WD40 may be fine for a temporary fix, but it isn't a good long term solution as the oils in it will dry up leaving a sticky residue.

Search for online car breakers. I bought a head rest for £30 including postage from one of them and it was an exact match to the existing rests.

Sorry Ed, I can not advise without information, and the only way I can get that information is if you provide specific answers to the questions I posed. The fact that the clutch is new does not eliminate it from the problem, because even new clutches can fail or be wrongly fitted or suffer hydraulic faults. Only once we are sure the clutch is fully functional should we consider other possible faults with the gearbox.

And the bite point?

Ed. My first suspect for all gear engagement problems is the clutch. Is the bite point at the top, middle, or bottom of the pedal travel? Does it grab smoothly or is it sudden? How many miles has the clutch done? Is the fluid level (assuming it is hydraulic) low?

Incompetent or not, the dealer is responsible for the warranty until it expires. Whether that means he has to do the work or only pay you for getting it done by somebody else under Australian law I have no idea, but if you don't complain now he will always have the excuse that the fault arose after the warranty ran out.