I bought my a6 2.7t with just over 100k on the engine and I have been pondering preventative maintenence things that might restore a little lost performance/give me peace of mind on the way to school. Some things I have been thinking of looking into

-EGT sensors (CEL)
-front o2 sensors (also CEL)
-n75 valve (What do you look for to find wear on these?)
-MAF (last owner had K&N, want to clean it first but thinking of wear)
-Wheel bearings and tie rod ends
-shocks
-after-run coolant pump sensor (the blue one instead of green)
-DV, I feel like mine are starting to go
-other small projects (HVAC lube, airbag module, dash cluster stuff...)

Any input on signs of wear/failure would be appriciated and advice on interval maintenence of these kind of parts is always welcome

 

Read the sticky at the top of the page for 2.7T owners, it should answer most of your questions. If you have any more questions after that i'll help answer them.

 

I've read the stick but it doesn't mention shocks, the N75, or the wheel bearings. I was more interested in something to help me check the wear on some of the moving parts that see a lot of action. For instance, how do I know my N75 is working properly? I've never had another 2.7 to compare it with and I don't really have any benchmarks to measure it against (I am in the process of installing a boost gauge which will help me monitor such things)

 

A bad N75 valve with throw a fault code, the shocks almost NEVER go bad unless you see one leaking, and that only happens if its been slammed.
You would know if a wheel bearing is bad because it would sound like driving around on a concrete wheel. You can always lift the car off the ground and grab the wheel at 12 and 6 oclock and shake it back and forth. If you feel or hear any play the bearing is on its way out.
I highly recommend buying a vag com www.ross-tech.com so you can do your own diagnostic work.

 

Vag com is on the to do list. I have a place just down the street that will scan the codes and give me the readouts for nothing so its not super top priority. If thats the case then I guess I am in good shape for all that stuff.

 

Make sure you run Mobil1 0W-40 or equivalent so the turbos are well lubed. I have 165k+ plus on original shocks and always have them checked when my oil is changed. Same answer -- if they're not leaking and the car is not bouncing, they are fine. Also have run K&N for almost 100k and make sure it is well drained before installing to protect the MAF. Check your front axle covers -- mine did deteroriate and had to be replaced.

 

mobil1 0-40 check. I am curious as to why everyone runs K&N air filters. The guy I bought my car from was using them and last tune up I just decided to ditch it and put in a conventional wix filter (when I worked in auto parts we sold wix and I recommend their filters). I feel that I would rather have well filtered air that doesn't slowly gum my MAF than 5% increase in airflow speed.

Since then, my front wheel has started clunking and I think this last snow storm was too much for me CA bushing to handle. Next this is front suspension I guess.

 

Not everyone runs K&N. I suspect it is the exception rather than the rule. It does allow a little more airflow at the expense of more contaminants getting into the engine. And unless you drain the K&N real well, you can muck up your MAF. The only justification I have is that I installed the K&N at ~70k and it has worked fine for the last 95k miles. I usually clean and re-oil annually, so it saves me some money. I did not notice any performance or gas mileage improvement.

 

maybe its just the demographic of an forum about tuning and car stuff. I suppose we are more likely to put in such a filter. I also think its interesting that people have found that adding those little cold air intakes does little for performance.