Hey fellow peoples,

Just thought I would say g'day from Sydney Australia and tell you all about my recently purchased Audi a4 1.8.

Just bought it today second hand it is 1997 model, ming blue, auto with about 127,000km on the clock and got it for $11,000 Australian Dollars, I guess that is about 7000 US or probably 4000 British Pounds. It has full leather interior and the lovely wood grain trim. I have noticed that no one mentions the 1.8 model (no turbo), is Australia the only place that has it or what.

Just wondering I had the car check out by a mechanic before I purchased it and he said there was about 10mm of movement on the top suspension control arm on the front left wheel, would the tie rod recall fix that problem?

The only other thing that needs doing to the car is the timing belt overdue for replacement. Anyway just thought I would say hi.

Yellow

 

Hi Yellow, welcome to the forum. You probably havn't heard much about the non tubo model because most of us are American. That engine configuration wasn't offered here.

The recall is for the lower control arms, so it sounds like you are going to have to pay out of pocket.

As for the timing belt, PLEASE do not wait any longer to have it replaced. They are like walking time bombs after 100,000 km, and you are well overdue! Keep in mind that you will need to have the timing belt, water pump, idle pully, and tensioner replaced. It's also a good time to get the snub mount (rubber front engine mount) replaced also, which will make shifts smoother anyway! Hope this helps, let me know if you have any more questions.

 

Thank you very much for the reply. Once I get the suspension issue fixed the timing belt is very much an urgent repair I have heard what goes wrong when the timing belt goes.

 

Agree with all of the below.

I would add a few additional.

The tensioner is the part that fails prematurely on these cars. Make sure it is replaced with the new-upgraded version. Have the garage change the front engine cam and intermediate seals also. The parts are only an additional 15 USD and it only takes an additional 10 or 15 minutes.

If you change the snub mount, I would not suggest using the APR mount with an automatic. I had one installed when I had the timing belt changed, and it was like having a hive of hornets buzzing under my car. I took it to a local VW/Audi tuner and he said that he doesn't suggest it for cars with auto for this reason. You may want to replace it with OEM, however, as the rubber snub mount is probably shot.

OVer the next few months, switch out every fluid in your car. Use only Audi/VW fluids or others such as pentosin that are approved for your car.

Find a good local shop that specializes in Audi or VW.
Swap out the power steering fluid. Get a turkey baster, suck out as much fluid from the reservoir as possible and replace with Pentosin 11S fluid or Audi OEM. Do not use off the shelf fluid.

Check the electrolyte level in the battery, and top up with distilled water.

Bleed the brake system. It should be done every 2 years.

Drain and refill the auto transmission. Unless you are a home mechanic, this will need to be done at a garage as the unit is "sealed". Refill only with Audi fluid.

When you change the timing belt and water pump, you should change the coolant also. use only G12 fluid (Pink) and distilled water.

If you car is quattro, drain and fill the center and rear differential oil.

Suggest using synthetic oil and OEM or German Mann filters. If you change your own oil, make sure that you know which is the oil drain plug and which is the transmission drain plug.

Invest 15-20 dollars in a Haynes or Chilton Manual, or get a full service manual from Bentley.com

Get friendly with someone who has a vag com. (Link of people provided). If you don't know what it is, go to the Ross-Tech web site. At the least it lets you read stored error codes and monitor car performance. It can also be used to reprogram certain functions on your car.

Make sure you know the security code for your radio. I'm too lazy to look up which type of sound sytem you have, but most of the radios have a security code which is lost if the battery is disconnected. Audi does not have a backup battery which keeps power to the systems, so if the battery dies or is removed, your radio will lock up until you enter the 4 digit code.

If you don't have the code, it is sometimes hidden in the trunk (boot) crossmembers under the rear shelf of the car. you have to crawl in the trunck and really look. If you still don't have it, invest 15 dollars in a battery backup. You can use this temporarily if you have to disconnect the battery for service.

Helpful link

Helpful link 2

Helpful link 3

Enjoy!

 

One other thing... Do you guys get excessive road noise when driving, when driving my new it seems there is a lot of road noise perhaps from the tyres maybe?

The window wipers are standar aaren't they, I can change them by myself?

 

yeah you can just go buy new window wiper blades at a automotive parts store. Road noise is usually caused by bad tires. Might want to see if they are cupped or wearing unevenly.

 

cool, thank you.

 

sorry one more question, my air conditioning when turned make a funny rattlying noise I guess you could call it. I wasd advised by the inspection mechanic that the air conditioning needs servicing, does that have to be done by an Audi specialist or is any Air con fixer ok?

 

Never heard of that problem. I would guess any air conditioner technician could service it, but don't quote me on that.

 

Does the rattling change with the speed of the fan setting? I'm unclear if you mean it is coming from the compressor in the engine or whether you hear it from the interior blower fan. If it is the interior fan, it should change when you change the fan speed, and should be present even when the A/C is off and the heat is on.

If it follows the blower fan, the fan may just have worked itself crooken and is rubbing against the housing, or the bearing is starting to go.

Excessive road noise could be tires, but it could also be from a bad wheel bearing. Does the noise come from one particular wheel well? If so, rotate the tires front to back. If the noise follows the tire, it is caused by the tire. If the noise stays in the same wheel well, it may be a wheel bearing on its way out.

Also check and see if your car has the plastic belly pan under the engine. It also blocks road noise, but is often lost in older cars.

Hope this helps