Search the Community

Hi all, I have just gotten myself a second-hand 2008 A3 8P 1.9TDI with the dreaded BXE engine and was wondering if it was worth it to repair it to tip top condition. I bought it off someone for £1000, which I thought was a good deal since other examples went for about £3000 and autotrader quoted me £2000 for it. It has 186,000 miles on it right now and I did a full servicing on it myself. So far, the car has no major mechanical or electronic problems that I can tell, except for a minor oil leak which I think might be from the rocker head gasket. I am not sure if the head gasket might be leaking oil too, though, as I vaguely remember seeing some oil marks near there. I haven't had the time yet to check on it yet, and because of how rare it it for head gaskets to leak oil externally, combined with no oil and water mixing in the block, and no power loss, I feel like it might be unlikely. The oil leak, however, is nothing major as there is no visible dripping and no oil on the lot despite being parked up for more than a week. It also require suspension bearings to be replaced along with the drop links. The underbody is quite clean with only surface corrosion and no structural issues. I have already spent £350 on it so far with a new set of tyres and a new battery I am considering if I should invest about £1000 in it more in repairing the suspension bearings and doing some preventive maintenance on it. What I have noted down so far is to replace the timing belt along with the water pump as I do not have a full service history for the car. I am also thinking of getting the main and big end bearings changed to sputter coated ones to prevent the conrod failures along with doing up the clutch at the same time since the engine will be out for it. I have been quoted £500 for the sputter bearing change and labour but I can't imagine adding on the timing belt, water pump and the clutch would be more than £200 extra. The clutch and timing belt is still fine so far but I was thinking that if the engine was going to be out, it might be worthwhile to get them done together to save on labour costs. I must admit that I have not worked much on cars, only doing my own servicing. I have however, bought up some tools and am willing to work on the car for easier components to keep costs down, such as ones that only require me to undo bolts to replace parts. I also have VCDS with me so I can do my own diagnosis for the most part. I guess my main concern is if I should invest the money into repairing the car entirely or if I should just do the bare minimum (suspension bearings and topping up the oil every now and then) and run it till it stops. I am looking for a car that is quite reliable and will not throw up any issues daily, which I have heard the 1.9TDI is quite renown for (except the BXE). I haven't heard of anything else that could go wrong with the car I have except for the conrod. I might have to change the brake discs in the near future along with the front springs as they are rusty but not broken yet. (Brake pads are fitted new by previous owner hence not changing them now) It doesn't have a DPF and I do not live near any ULEZ zones which is why I chose the model I got. My budget would definitely be around spending £1500 max on it this year before I consider just running it till it stops, or if I could delay some of the servicing for 3/4 years down the road, it would be much more palatable for me. In short, I have a 2008 A3 8P 1.9 TDI (BXE) with 186,000miles. No Service history except the one I just did. Wondering if it is economical to do preventive maintenance on it or to just run it and wait for issues to develop. Faults: Worn suspension bearings Worn drop links Preventive maintenance measures I am considering: Minor oil leak (rocker head gasket, maybe head gasket?) Change conrod main and big end bearings to sputter coated ones Timing belt and water pump Clutch Brake discs + pads Front springs Thanks!

Hi I’ve been loosing coolant pretty rapidly the past few day’s I can’t see any leaks I’ve changed the expansion tank cap and no difference I’ve changed the oil and it wasn’t milky at all if I put my foot down to about 90 the temp will start to creep up any ideas? Head gasket maybe? I’ve had The garage test the head for leaks twice and there wasn’t any but it seems like I’ve got back pressure in the coolant system.

Hi guys recently brought a stage 1 1.9tdi, Having an issue with the steering pulling to the left, so the steering wheel needs to be about 10 degrees to the right to drive straight. Also when I'm driving straight and hit a pot hole the steering wheel remains still but the car pulls to the left and then to the right like the front wheels aren't going in the same direction basically trying to pull me all over the shop, just wondered if anyone has had a similar issue? I was thinking it could be the track rod ends or ball joint but I'm just guessing, any advice would be appreciated as im a first time owner of an A3 8L. Thanks in advance if any of you beautiful people could help

Hello! Just joined up on the forum after reading several interesting threads. I have two Audi A4 (B6) Avant 1.9Tdi, one is 02 plate and the other is a 04 plate Quattro, I absolutely love these cars not only are they reliable and capable of everything that you throw at them they are comfortable and a pleasure to drive. I currently use the 02 plate for our work where we restore classic Mini's, its our 'works' tractor and pulls mini's on the trailer with ease. Its on an amazing 204300 miles at the moment and recently survived a side swipe on the motorway from a foreign lorry that hadn't seen me in his blind spot. Its now a CAT D but its back on the road still with the body damage but perfectly safe and legal. I bought the 04 plate with the insurance payout but so far it has only been used for family needs. Its in remarkable condition and it is now up to a good 177000 miles and running well. Having said that both have some issues which I am hoping to find out some information about on here :-)

Hi could someone help me please. My engine mounts in my 1.9 tdi avant have gone and I'm trying to find new ones but uprated ones and just wondering if a petrol 2.0 or 1.8 would fit my 1.9 tdi. any help would be great if anyone knows where I can get some from would be great. Thanks