cliffcoggin

Lisa. I think your expectations of finding a buyer who will both treat the car well and give what you consider to be a good price are unrealistic. We all believe our cars are worth more than buyers will offer, so it is a shock to discover how little even a six year old car will fetch.

Mark. As Gareth said, your choices are to sell the car in its present condition or to investigate repair by removing the head. At one time there were companys who would rebuild blocks, heads and even whole engines, but I get the impression they are now rare. That is something you would need to research. A secondhand head from a breaker's yard is a possibility if it comes with a cast iron guarantee. I would not worry about the bore scope report of a little oil on the pistons, that is to be expected as some of the valves are not closing, as long as no damage was visible on the piston crowns. Damaged pistons would add greatly to the cost. I still feel the garage that changed the belt bears some responsibilty providing it did the job properly, including any recommended change of water pump and belt tensioner etc. If short cuts were taken to reduce the cost by not carrying out all those tasks then its liability is reduced or eliminated.

O dear, that is very bad news but not unexpected. I believe you have the potential for a claim against the garage which fitted the cambelt 15 months ago. Can we assume the belt tensioner was renewed at the same time? If not, why not? Was other work done at the same time? Has the belt cover been removed at any since the belt was fitted? I am trying to get an idea of how well the work was done, and whether it has since been interfered with.

Well if retiming the cambelt does not give decent compression on all cylinders it's likely the valves are damaged. A new head will be very expensive, but a secondhand head might be a viable option if you can find somebody to overhaul it.

I have never heard of a dry clutch automatic Audi. Can you provide a reference? As far as I know the choice is between a manual box with dry clutch, and an automatic box with two wet clutches i.e. a DSG. As for the reliabilty of DSG, if neglected it's true they will fail, but that is no different from any other part of the car or any other brand of car come to that.

Steven. You need to specify which particular model in your profile, and then ask your question in the appropriate category. This category relates to forum etiquette, not repair.

Any progress on this Dion?

Any progress on the problem Michael?

Chris. Your trust is misplaced. Time to find a new garage because the fellow you go to at the moment is lying to you. Diesel cars do not run cold; they run at 90 degrees. No ifs buts or maybes about it. It's true the thermostat will have a small bypass, but it is not large enough to prevent the engine reach its correct operating temperature in the coldest British weather.

Thanks for the information Josh. That's the level of detail often missing from simple guides.

Glad to hear it Charlie. Some thanks would have been welcome.

It could be a thousand things Jessica, all of them electrical, so it makes sense to ensure the battery, (which you have thrown doubt on,) is in good condition before embarking on some diagnosis. Don't be tempted to renew components at random, or have the ECU remapped unnecessarily, else you will throw thousands of pounds down the drain. You have not, or maybe can not, answer my question about whether the battery was coded to the car when it was renewed, hence my suggestion to get it tested as a first step. Once that has been established, get the car tested with a decent code scanner, not a cheap home tool.

Perhaps, but never having had it happen to me I don't know.

Mark. It certainly sounds like there is no compression. Given that the camshaft is turning, the crankshaft must also be turning. My guess is the belt has jumped a few teeth so that the camshaft is out of phase with the crankshaft. If that is so there is the possibility of damage to the valves so it would be unwise to turn the engine again. I suggest you get the car towed or lifted to a garage for a deeper investigation. Do you have any form of guarantee on the cambelt?

I could not open the logs Syed, but I don't really need to if your words accurately reflect the data. Whether it is worthwhile to pursue a claim is debatable. You appear to have a valid claim but the time, effort and expense of doing so is going to be considerable. Only you can decide if you are prepared for that.

The temperature should remain rock steady at 90 once the engine has warmed up, so Audi are lying to you with their claim that it normally varies from 50 to 90 degrees. Take the car to an independant VAG specialist who should be able to diagnose the idling problem as well.

There is a chance that the instrument cluster is faulty. It's a common problem on A3s, which can be repaired for less than £300. If you want to be certain of the diagnosis you are going to need a better diagnostic tool than that. The usual recommendations are for OBD11 or VCDS I think they are called. Stevey Y will be able to confirm if he reads this.

You say the problem started when the battery was changed, but did you code the new battery to the car. If not, that might explain many of the subsequent problems. I suggest you take the car to an auto electrician for a full diagnosis and hope no permanent damage has been done.

Can we assume you have tested the fuse? Have you checked the mechanical parts of the door lock to ensure they are not jammed?

Clean the oil off the pulleys and fit a new belt. Belts rely on friction to transmit drive so it makes no sense to spray oil on it.

Is this a recent change in behaviour or a problem that has been present since you owned the car?

If the heater was working prior to losing coolant there is a fair chance that the system is now airlocked. Try applying suction to the reservoir to make the air expand and find its way up. Of course that will be a waste of time unless the cause of the coolant loss is rectified first. Was there a high temperature warning or any other symptoms of overheating?

Happy to oblige. Do please let us know the outcome.

Are you aware that water is formed as condensate from all heat exchangers that cool the air passing over them? Refridgerators, freezers, aircon systems all work the same. Whether you call the water stagnant or something else, the odour comes from the mould that grows in it. Most of the green moulds are harmless but smelly, the black and red moulds are less innocuous. Either way the solution is drain the water from the AC as it was designed. Do that and you won't need bombs, perfumes, or other chemicals.

John. The first thing to check is the battery. Get it tested professionally because a simple voltmeter will tell you nothing about its internal condition.