I am the proud owner of a 1997 A6 Quattro. Just turned over 243 thousand miles the other day. Haven't had too many issues with her so far. Just the usual. I know my way around the shop, but this being my first german car...I am pretty much lost on some of the things under the hood. I am reaching out to the pro's in here on some advice on what to look for to keep it running well over 300k.
Some of the issues I know about right now,
a very odd ticking from the trans only when its cold and only for about 5 minutes while it warms up....

sounds like a bad u-joint in the driveshaft going to the rear diff (quite a clunk when shifting from Drive to Reverse)

the normal dash lighting going bad (just haven't ordered the bulbs)

incredible sludge build up that i can see from peeking into the oil fill cap..

From what i have read many of you have years of experience in german engineering, any pointers from you guys would be greatly appreciated. Any help finding a repair manual for this car would be amazing as well. Thanks guys.

 

sell it and buy another one.

 

I dont think I could ever get rid of this one. It was my first, and I don't believe anyone would want a car with almost a quarter million miles on it besides me.

 

1 - ticking noise - as long as it goes away, take it easy when it is cold and don't worry about it.
2 - the u-joints are non-seviceable and you will need a new driveshaft.
3 - order the bulbs
4 - try SeaFoam in your oil and in your gas.

Good luck with your new car and have fun!!!

Bob

 

I have 225K on my 97 Avant and looking forward to 350 K like I got on an 89 200QT.

don't listen to Jackmup - He's just an old fart from Florida!

Unfortunalty repair manuals are hard to find. Bentley is the only source and most people get the CD version. Bentley supplies the factory service manual so they assume you know where everything is.

Get a VagCom - do a search in this forum and get a cheep Ebay cable and the freebee software from Rosstech.

Make friends with a good sparts supplier - Blauparts, Shokan or Force Five - I get 95% of my new and used Audi parts from Force Five in Concord NH.

As for Sea Foam and cleaning sludge -- Walk carefully with that. If you have loads of sludge, breaking it loose will wreck havoc with you motor because it will plug up some of the little passages and you'll be in big trouble.

other than that have fun and continue reading things that are posted on this and other Audi boards. But don't believe everything you read because there are some strange ideas out there! LOL

 

Ticking noise.. You should prolly do a Tranny drain/fill.. Need the bove mentioned manual and cable for that.

Sludge.. Its prolly not really sludged in the engine, per say.. just the valve covers. You can pull them and check. Do this before flushing with Seafoam. Change the gaskets while in there.

Driveshaft.. as said, you'll prolly need to replace it, not too sure.

Bulbs.. just about anywhere. Make sure they are the correct base, which might mean looking at yours first. Dont trust the parts store.

Welcome!!

 

Thank you everyone for being so helpful. I will never buy another non-german car again. And I had a quick question, wanted to drain and fill the rear diff but having a heck of a time locating the fill plug. Any help would be amazing.

 

Steve, I pdfed for you the pages for the rear Drive Servicing, but I'll need your e-mail, since:
I cannot uploaded as an attachment in here.

 

Passenger side of diff @ 9 o'clock looking at it from the rear tire.

 

# 18 on the illustration, is that right, Jim?