A big hello to all the audi enthusiasts on this forum.

Aftermy wife and idecided we enjoy skiing, but would like to drive instead of flying, wewanted a car with 4 wheel drive and really really really didn't want a scooby.
I had a mondeo si 4x4 a while back and loved it for it's 4 wheel drive, but the engine was a bit lack lustre and it was a ford....enough said LOL

So i plumped for a 98 A4 2.8 quattro in black, partly because i've always admired the audi 80 quattro, and partly because i've read so many times that the audi v6 is bombproof. the mondeos engine wasn't...it was rubbish.
First impressions are good, it's smooth, reasonably powerful but not fast....not compared to the 2 saabs i've owned anyway, but it has the power and traction to get a better 0-60 for sure, dunno about out and out mid-range acceleration though....hhhmmm, a big lazy v6 but i'm liking it anyway, the precise turn in and limited body rollare much better than the saabs were.

after a couple of weeks i now have a few questions needing answered...

OIL.
(after looking at the owners manual i decided it was best to ask the people who know best)

what grade/spec of oil is considered the best to use in the 2.8 V6 in britain and colder climates?
the previous owner left a litre of castrol slx 5-30 in the boot (audi sponsored stuff), i assume this is what he's been using, but i noted that these engines don't like the thinner stuff when being driven hard, this concerns me, i don't drive like i stole it, but i do like to plant the pedal occasionaly, so i would like to know my engine has adequate protection from the oil.

so what is best?

IDLE SPEED.
is it normal for the big lazy v6 to idle near 650 rpm? most cars are higher, so i just want to be sure.....i assume it's normal.


THE RADIO.
sometimes when i get in the car and put the radio on, the sound is fine to start with, then it goes funny, kinda like it's going from stereo to mono, or from all the speakers to just the rear or front ones....or something....it's wierd and kinda hard to put a finger on....does anyone know what could be happening?? (it's not "muting" like the radio manual describes for various purposes)
It is a concert system - tape player/6 cd changer.
It only happens with radio - not with CDs.

LASTLY (and probably the most stupid/uneducated question) LOL

THE COOLANT.
Now, every car i have ever owned has had blue anti-freeze/coolant.
This car appears to have pinky coloured stuff.
I am aware that there are different types of anti-freeze.

So, is this a specific type of anti-freeze? does it need to be this pink coloured stuff?

A huge thank you to anyone who replies to any of these questions.

 

Welcome to the forums. The quick answers are:

Oil - 5W30 is recommended for summer driving, and in some climates, 0W30 in the cold. I live in NY and use 5W30 year round with no problems. The Castrol should be fine for your engine. I use Valvoline, and any of the Mobil1 and Royal Purple oils are good too.

Idle - sounds good to me. Mine's around 700-750 I'd guess, but yes, these engines do idle lower than many cars.

Radio - sounds like a fault of some type in the car's audio system or antenna (I'd lean toward the antenna since you don't have that problem with recorded music).

Coolant - yes, it's a special proprietary coolant. On your overflow tank you should see an etching or marking indicating what to use. On my 99 2.8L, it's called G12. Make sure only to use that. If you add conventional coolant to the G12, you end up with a goo that will result in major disassembly/cleanup/some part replacements. You don't want jelly for coolant.

 

Agree with all of the above.

I would suggest sticking to fully synthetic oil.

The coolant is Proprietary G12, available from audi dealers or over the internet.
Power steering fluid is proprietary or Pentosin 11S
Brake fluid is DOT 4(+)

Since the car is now 10 years old, I would suggest that you invest some money at a garage that specializes in Audi/VW and swap out all the fluids, including transmission, front, centre and rear differentials. brake fluid, etc over the next few months.

You don't mention how many miles are on the car. These cars have interference engines and if the timing belt gives way, the valves will be shot.

With regards to the radio, it sounds like reception problems. It could either be breaks in the continuity of the antennae in the rear window (you can check for high resistance using a digital volt meter. Also, there is a signal booster that tends to break leading to weak reception.

 

cheers to both of you guys for replying, very helpful stuff, the car has done 97 000 miles and has recently had a timing belt, it also hasa full stamped service record, so appears to have been maintained well.

It is my intention to change out the oil and coolant, not sure about the tranny and diffs though, sounds like an expensive job to have a garage do and i really don't have much cash spare for such a thing.

Is it a possible DIY job? or is it a job for a specialist?

(i'm fairly handy with tools, but i'm no garage mechanic)
I have done the transmission fluid on a car before and was quite straightforward but i'mnot sure what kind of job it is on one of these cars?

I agree that having all these fluids replaced is a good idea, so any suggestions about how to do it or how much it might cost are welcome.