Hey everyone!

I'm in Australia and I've recently purchased a 1996 A4 2.6 V6 (Auto) and I love the car but it does have some (hopefully) minor problems.

Basically I'll list the problems and if any of you Audi techs have any clue on what the problem might be, can you please let me know and possibly give me an idea how much you think an indie mechanic would charge to fix it?! Thanks!

I'll start from what I think is the most basic.

1) When letting off my brakes slowly, I feel and hear a significant grinding sound, but if I quickly let off the breaks its just quick and sudden rather than soon. Could this be the break pads need changing?

2) For a couple of weeks, every now and then, while driving or after driving I experience the smell of burning rubber and wispy smoke coming from the engine. The other day I saw where the smoke was coming from, while the hood was popped. it seemed to be coming from a sort of gap down in the engine on the right hand side (standing at the front) It would appear there is a heat plate in that vicinity. Any ideas? I've read it could be a valve cover gasket.

3) The last problem is perhaps the most significant. After owning the car for about a month, suddenly one day I noticed a whirring sound coming from the engine. Possibly a power steering sort of noise? It seems to be directly linked to acceleration in lower gears, and as you get higher in speed and gear it seems to either go away or be drowned out. The noise seems to come from somewhere in the valley or engine control unit vicinity. Thought maybe a coil pack, but they seem to be fine. I used to park the car facing up a hill, since parking facing down a hill, the noise seems to have gotten perhaps quiter and less prominent in higher gears. Any ideas?

If you think photos or sound clips will help, I will submit them tomorrow.

Appreciate the help and look forward to any replies.

Thanks.

Zac.

 

1) Could this be the break pads need changing? Got to pull the wheels and see. If any of them are down to the metal, you'll see it on the rotor.

2) Any ideas? I've read it could be a valve cover gasket. You've just got to do some looking for this one. I drove a 96 for 271,000 miles and never had that one. I'm guessing something is touching the exhaust on that side. Might want to also look through the axle hole on the driver's side. You get a better look at the exhaust manifold from there.

3) I used to park the car facing up a hill, since parking facing down a hill, the noise seems to have gotten perhaps quiter and less prominent in higher gears. Any ideas? When you talk about the direction you park on a hill, I think tranny fluid. When the trans pump is starving, it can make noise. Check the fluid level as a starting point on this one.

 

Hey Zac, welcome to AF!

Sounds like you've got a pretty standard list of problems for a new B5 owner. Lets see here...

1. Sounds to me like either the pads, rotors, or both need to be changed. There should be a wear indicator on the pads that will rub against the rotor and create an awful squeaking noise. If you ignore that long enough it will grind itself down to a little nub, leaving just the metal rotor and the metal backing plate on the brake pads. Take a look at the brakes pads and rotors. If you pop the wheel off you should be able to get a good look at them both. Run your finger nail across the rotor from the center of the wheel outward towards the edge. If you feel grooves or your finger nail catches on the outer edge of the rotor, it's a good bet everything needs to be replaced. If you're mechanically inclined, brakes are a great way to get your feet wet working on these cars. If not, I wouldn't pay more than a few hundred bucks for front brakes.

2. Burning rubber or burning oil? Is the car consuming oil? There are exhaust manifolds in the gaps you're talking about, and if the valve cover(s) are leaking oil onto them, it would create the smoke and burning smell you're describing. Best way to diagnose this for sure is to remove all of the plastic engine covers and get a good look at the valve covers. Oil leaking in this area should be easy to spot.

3. The noise you describe and the area from which it seems to be coming makes me think power steering pump. It's probably not going away at higher rpm's so much as just being drowned out by engine noise. It's probably just low on power steering fluid. If you're standing at the front of the car looking at the engine bay, there should be a green cap on top of a clear(ish) reservoir in the lower right hand corner of the engine bay. This is your power steering reservoir. Go to the dealership and pick up a bottle of power steering fluid and top it up.

Hope this helps! If you have any more questions feel free to post them up.

 

Good idea. That motor is known for head gaskets that leak oil (externally) and on my 271,000 mile 96 A4, I just put up with it rather than do a head gasket job.