cliffcoggin

Virginia.

A wet air filter suggests water may have been sucked into the engine, so it is very possible it has been damaged and will need to be replaced.

It is equally possible parts of the electrical system have been soaked and no longer work as they should. Water and electricity do not mix.

Your first course of action should be to get the car diagnosed on a decent tester to get an idea of what is wrong, and hence how much it will cost to put right. A new engine would cost a few thousand pounds and would probably be unjustified on a 12 year old car. A secondhand engine would be more viable if you are keen to keep the car. Wet electronics may be cheap or expensive depending on precisely what has to be replaced.

Whatever the problems are, get a diagnosis before deciding what to do.

I am even more confused. Are we now discussing a leak into the boot rather than a light fitting?

For the sake of clarity the lights on a car comprise two headlights at the front, four sidelights (two front, two rear,) four indicator lights (two front, two rear,) two brake or stop lights at the rear, and one or two reversing lights at the rear. Please remember we can not see what you are talking about so it's important to use the right words to describe the problem.

Headlight? You mentioned rear light earlier. Which one do you mean?

As I see the matter the marked solution is the only sensible response from forum staff to the question, even if it is not what Matt wanted to hear. We can not condone any illegal modification.

That is not to say the thread should be closed for legal reasons. People have a right to express their opinions in a civilised manner, no matter how foolish they may be. However if the thread descends into abuse that would be good grounds for closing it, and I will have no hesitation in doing so if necessary.

Should anybody really wish to advise Matt on how to achieve his aim it would be better done privately rather than publicly on this forum.

Being equally lazy I would take the easy way and have a new hood fitted professionally...

and give the bill to person responsible for the damage.

Thanks for letting us know the outcome Deborah, even if it isn't the one you wanted.

Happy New Year.

Rain is undoubtedly getting into the boot, and until that leak is found and cured no amount of new locks will resolve the recurring alarm problem. Finding the leak is not going to be easy and I am not familiar enough with the cabriolet to know of specific weak points, so all I can do is give general pointers.

Look at:

-boot lid seal,

-side/stop light seals,

-holes in the boot floor (rain can be thrown up from the wheels).

17 hours ago, Magnet said:

Exactly as mine Grant - it could be a Welsh thing! 

It must be all those fire breathing dragons Gareth.  Audis can't take the heat.

Happy Christmas.

Cliff.

17 hours ago, Safara said:

Yepper 🙂
One fob is working fine.
Changed the battery in the spare fob. It works physically unlocking the door, and starting the car. Just the remotre buttons on it not working.

That confirms it is the fob that is at fault, not the receiver in the car nor the electric mechanism in the door. It doesn't get you any closer to a solution but at least you know the door card does not need to be removed or the wiring examined as is often the case with faulty lock mechanisms.

Grant.

You said you changed the battery in "one" fob, implying that you have a second fob which works. Is that true?

Like Gareth, I am uneasy about ignoring a time limit. It is known that rubber (any rubber) degrades over time, so even if the car does zero miles the rubber will eventually lose its strength and flexibility over time. Consequently I would change the belt at about 70000 miles assuming a typical usage. That limit is admittedly rather arbitrary, but failure of the belt is unpredictable and will happen without warning so a line has to be drawn somewhere.

It's unfortunate the problem has not been solved by a new battery Deborah. However the money was not wasted because old defective batteries are a well known cause of electronic problems. At nine years old yours has lasted far longer than most.

That's usually a sign of a bad earth at one of the light fittings. Remove all the bulbs and clean their contacts. Do the same for the contacts within the fittings. Ensure any earth leads from the fittings are unbroken and securely attached to the chassis.

7 hours ago, Goldsnape said:

I will try and get a pic of the bolts when I next go down to the garage 

Please do. While there, see if the garage will assess the condition of the other bolts. I have my suspicions about what happened but it is too early to speculate without more evidence.

I am not surprised the garage is confused. I am too as I have never heard of a cap bolt snapping.

I see little signs of wear on the bearing shell. What is the condition of the other main bearings and big end bearings?

The rubbing you mentioned against the oil pump is also strange. Something must have shifted out of alignment to cause that rubbing. Had any work been done on the lower part of the engine in the past?

Was the earlier oil leak truly a leak that dripped down the outside of the engine, or was it just a reduction in oil level as the oil was burned inside the engine? How many miles had the engine done?

I see lots of pipes in the pictures but none of them appear to be broken. Which one do you mean? Is it rigid or flexible? Where does it run to and from?

Jordan.

That is not normal behaviour for a cold engine. In other words you need to get it diagnosed and repaired. The possible causes are too numerous to list here.

I am glad you are making progress. Do please let us know the final outcome.

Deborah.

Firstly thanks for starting a new topic. I have hidden our contributions to the other one.

It sound as if your dealer has no clue about engines or fault diagnosis. There is no way a new oil filter can affect how smoothly an engine runs, though a new fuel filter may well do. As for the idea of a magnet to extract metal shavings and a new fuel system, that is sheer nonsense. He is either ignorant or is deceiving you.

If you are reliant on a mechanic for the work rather than doing it yourself I strongly suggest you get a diagnosis from somebody who knows what he is doing. Main Audi dealers will be expensive, and it can be a lottery whether they can resolve the problem. A better choice would be an independent VAG garage or an independent diesel specialist if you find one nearby. I would not know of any in Hampshire so you will need to make your own search.

Good morning Dan.

Plenty of people have had that problem. Here is one example

and there are others if you search the forum.

Sebastian.

Phil has not looked at this forum for more than two years so you are unlikely to get a reply from him. I suggest you work through the diagnostic steps shown in the thread.

Good to read that you have solved the clutch problem. Translators don't always get the right phrase, so I guess "upper clutch pump" is what we would call a "master cylinder".

As a first step to diagnosing the gearbox noise I suggest you drain all the oil out. Examine the oil closely and feel it between fingers. If you detect any solid particles, no matter how small, it indicates something is damaged inside. If you are lucky new oil may make the car usable for a little longer; if you are unlucky the gearbox needs an expensive overhaul. I expect there is some type of filter in the gearbox which should be changed, but having never done it myself I can not be specific.

The problem is obvious: there is water in one or more parts of the electrical system. Water and electricity do not mix.

The solution is altogether less easy. Every single electrical connection in and around every single light needs to be opened, cleaned, and dried. That includes any plug connections on the wiring loom. If should go without saying that any water inside the light fittings also needs to be drained to ensure the problem does not reoccur.

3 hours ago, Stvn66 said:

My old car would lock up and I thought all manual cars were the same?

It depends how steep the hill is.

To be sure I understand the question, are you saying that:

- ignition is off,

- first gear is engaged,

- handbrake is off,

- car rolls downhill in jerks.

Is that correct? If so, that is exactly what I would expect. The jerkiness is caused when each piston arrives at TDC (top dead centre) where compression is at a maximum, hence resistance to motion is at a maximum.

If I have misunderstood please give more detail.