Hi all,

Just purchased a 98 1.8T for my son. Very clean car, 105Kmiles, timing belt done at 70K, well maintained. I think we bought a good car, it certainly is a great looking car.

I have spotted a set of wheels/tires for sale, and could use some advice on fitment. They are Audi OEM Sport Package A6 wheels with Continental 215/55 tires. The specs on the wheels are 16x7 with et45 backspacing and 5x112 bolt pattern. Will these fit OK?

Thanks,
Thom

 

I have a set of 17x8" ASA AR-1 wheels with a 5x112 bolt pattern and 35mm backspacing, using 255 45 tires

 

P.S. Good luck with the car

 

Did the first owner always use synthetic oil? Most 1.8Ts in the U.S. started out on dealer-provided dino. Couple this with a 5k mi OCI (7500??? eek!) and some stop-and-go or short-trip driving, and you have a guaranteed sludge recipe.

Congrats on the purchase. I just bought a remarkably clean 1996 A4 2.8Q for my younger son, and it IS a gorgeous car. I don't have to worry about oil coke/sludge (I do on my 2001 Passat 1.8T!), but AWD has its own maintenance joys, such as driveshaft seals.

 

Thank you for the replies, and the good wishes with the car.

The owner said he used only synthetic oil and changed between 3 and 5k. I do think the car was reasonably well taken care of.

The car is a quattro - so any insight you can give into seals (or other places to keep an eye on) would be greatly appreciated.

This is our first Audi experience - and so far I have really been impressed with the build quality and its styling. Hopefully the mechanicals will prove solid as well.

Thanks,
Thom

 

juat keep an eye out for the tierod ends and control arms, these will clunk when running over a bump if they are bad. some have also evperienced oil sludge problems with the 1.8t. just keep it well maintained and you will get plenty of life out of it,

 

Riceeater, you said you had AR1's on ur car. WOuld you mind posting or PMing me some pics?? I love those wheels and am seriously thinking about getting them when I can get enough money together to get wheels.

 

Hi Thom,

I bought mine knowing that the main (front/rear) differential will need a new seal pretty soon. The symptom is oil splatter on the left catalytic converter. I am going for a pan-drop ATF change at the same time, as preventive maintenance.

I am also going to start replacing the engine's 3.5mm cloth-over-rubber vacuum hoses. The ones on the Audi have lasted 9 years, but I got my first vacuum leak at 4 years with the Passat (much hotter-running 1.8T).

Yes, these are real driver's cars. I think their overall reliability is about average, so it could be alot worse!

All the best,

John