Thank you for having this excellent forum.

I am a noob here, but have had several VW Golfs, BMW's, and U.S. Turbo and Supercharged stuff, built 4x4 Detroit Iron Trucks, Small Block Chevies, etc... so, mechanically and electronically inclined. Good with PC/Mac computers, too.

Enough about me. I bought a pig-in-a-poke as a project to resurrect.
I'm in Cali, but will travel to DC to work on a month-long contract job.
The 97 A6 Avant Quattro 2.8L V6 Auto is in Alexandria, VA, so, it's a night project. It was abandoned, so, I'll start triage when I arrive there next week.

1. What is the best VAG-COM unit to have for run-and-gun overall diags?
I see there are USB/Notebook Computer Cable/CD Malware units on eBay, but I suspect this one may be the easiest to use: ebay auction 170303160035 It says it comms. with all 8 million data points on an Audi/Vw ISO ISO 9141-2 and ISO 14230-4(KWP2000), etc... Resets everything.... blah, blah, blah... I'm open to your unbiased suggestions, hopefully from actual users of the equipment...

2. Is this 97 Audi an OBD II Connector with VAG? (I ordered a Bently Manual for this darling little high-maint. babe - but I don't trust them totally)

3. I'll start with the engine dipstick and look for mocha oil, if lucky and it's clean oil, I'll check out the electronix, after I put in a new battery, or jump it for awhile to see lights and get codes. I see that timing belt and water pump are regulars on Audi's, too. It would be great to know how to tell if it skipped a few teeth and did the dance of many cams.... Any other suggestions? (I'll do a physical inspection first for completeness of engine room stuff, etc...

4. Once I know codes, I'll react from there and chat again with all you wonderful people.

5. I have seen in the forums (I read all 14 pages in the A6 area) that tranny's can be a problem, etc... and I see that the TCM is under the pass. carpet on the floor. This car is showing stains on the carpet wall about an inch high - just the pass. side, so, I'm thinking maybe a heater core leak that may have taken-out the TCM, and I'll kind of look in that area initially, after I see the codes. Are leaking heater cores or fluid in the pass. floor area common or abnormal? Carfax says it's not a flood vehicle, but what do they know??? Luckily I paid very little for it, and my sweat equity is good.

6. Fuel Pump Location: Under the rear seat, or??? A dead fuel pump or fuse could have downed this little gem....

Yes, I do crawl around wrecking yards, Pick A Part, Insurance Auctions, so, if I need a tranny, I'll probably buy a "good" wreck and do some swapping. Now to find out what years have interchangable driveline parts....

Thanks for reading! (and THANKS for all your help in these forums!)

I look forward to your jabs, jokes, war stories, and help!

Drive it like you stole it....