Our Audi 80 2.0e has started making a loud whining noise from the rear of the car, louder than normal. Then it started stalling when it tried to change gears. The car has always had starting problems which has cost me several arms and legs at mechanics with no result. Has my fuel pump failed? Would i have done damage trying to get her home?

Driving with a bad fuel pump wont damage the car at all. All of your problems may have been caused by a bad fuel pump. I would check the fuel pressure and if its low replace the pump.

Thanks dankhound. That is a relief! Thought I may have made things worse. Have spent a good part of today organising getting her fixed. Hopefully I will see a big change on Monday when I get her back. At very least a car that goes. LOL. Will let you know how it went. Cheers.

She's Alive! She still has starting problems though. My radio is having a well needed rest too as the loud whining has gone. The fuel pump must have been on the way out since we got her which was six months ago. So for those out there which suspect they have a problem, the fuel pump is not always an instant failure and mine was dying for a long long time. Hence the noise and stalling at the end. One thing I find strange is that she has done 160,000km but runs like she has done more. The odo is correct and she has a full service record. Maybe Japanese cars are better at lasting! The old gall might be slow at getting moving and sluggish when she does but she is still going and moving me from A to B so i am happy. :-)

What kinda of starting problems? Just long crank times when cold. Or random or what?

Hi dankhound, the old girl takes a long time to turn over. You have to give her heeps of gas. When she does turn over it sounds like she is not running on all cylinders for a minute then she comes right. She has had a tune and also runs rough if stuck in traffic. I have found now that she is starting better. Only a few attempts. (not so embarrasing. LOL) Cheers.

P.S She starts better when warm, not 100% though. Consistantly a bad starter.

Rough running durning warmup and hard starting can often be attributed to a faulty coolant temp sensor. As for the rough idle, you may want to try cleaning the throttle body. Also check for vacuum leaks.

If i remember correcty your version injection has a solenoid that controls fuel flow. Unfortuanlty im not really sure how to check it. But it could be failing to control the fuel mixture properly.

Thanks, will have it checked. Awesome advice again, many thanks!