I may be getting rid of my A4...
1st Gear
Joined: May 2008
Posts: 224
From: Naples, Italy
The coolant leak you will find at the back of the cylinder head where the coolant flange meets the head. Very difficult to get at without the correct tools and it takes a long time to do. Perfect example here, the entire flange costs $30 online. If you have the dealership (or any euro shop) you will pay 4+ hours of labor to change it. In other words $350+ just to fix a $30 leak. These can add up faster than you think, so if you don't plan on doing the work yourself, cut your loses and buy a toyota. Preferably a 4cyl VVTI engine that has a timing chain (most nissans use chains too) so the only thing you would likely need to do is change the oil.
Ill never get rid of it now. Just did TB and water pump should be good to go for another 80k.
Thread Starter
|
Junior Member
Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 10
No harm in jacking the thread, its all good!
And no worries about me being upset with Audi, the car won't let me be mad at it
. It is hell of a machine, and I love (just about) every second behind the wheel! I will hesitate buying another one, but only for the reason to read the warranty in depth!
to Kayakman, my name is Nick (the N in nburton.. original I know).
But in regards to the original post, I conversed with my father and we have come to a "solution". I (with my own money) will buy a car (the current car of choice, a 1987 Mustang 5 speed, 4cyl $400), fix it and use that as my daily driver. The Audi will be my fathers... we'll say second car, but in the cold weather, my car.
As for repairs, I will be paying as much as I can towards them. The "deal" furthers, saying if there are any more major repairs needed, then it is bye bye Audi. As Auditech mentioned, we have replace a lot so we figure not much more should need to be replaced. So there is it's loophole.
So I figure I'll take it in to my local shop once every now and then to have a tire rotation, and with that I'll have them do a once over on the car to see if anything is out of the norm. I'll have them pay special attention to the timing belt and other problematic areas.
Any other advice, comments, or anything on this?
Thank you for the multitude of responses!
And no worries about me being upset with Audi, the car won't let me be mad at it
. It is hell of a machine, and I love (just about) every second behind the wheel! I will hesitate buying another one, but only for the reason to read the warranty in depth! to Kayakman, my name is Nick (the N in nburton.. original I know).
But in regards to the original post, I conversed with my father and we have come to a "solution". I (with my own money) will buy a car (the current car of choice, a 1987 Mustang 5 speed, 4cyl $400), fix it and use that as my daily driver. The Audi will be my fathers... we'll say second car, but in the cold weather, my car.
As for repairs, I will be paying as much as I can towards them. The "deal" furthers, saying if there are any more major repairs needed, then it is bye bye Audi. As Auditech mentioned, we have replace a lot so we figure not much more should need to be replaced. So there is it's loophole.
So I figure I'll take it in to my local shop once every now and then to have a tire rotation, and with that I'll have them do a once over on the car to see if anything is out of the norm. I'll have them pay special attention to the timing belt and other problematic areas.
Any other advice, comments, or anything on this?
Thank you for the multitude of responses!
Site Moderator
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 9,004
From: Nor Cal
There is way too many things and information you can find on this website from searching, but to make a small checklist....
Timing belt/water pump (every 80k)
Thermostat (engine overheats)
Upper control arm bushings (squeaky suspension)
Wheel bearings (sound like driving on a concrete wheel)
Brakes (normal wear)
Coolant flange (that awesome coolant leak behind your engine)
Prop shaft seal leaks (there are 4 of them, but it isn't a huge deal when they leak, you can take your time fixing those)
Ignition switch (car won't crank)
Sunroof leak (the drains clog, just pull down the headliner and use compressed air to blow them out, sometimes the ends where they connect to the sunroof track need to be re-sealed with silicone. Easy fix)
All in all the parts for all of this combined is only about $600 online, so you can see where wrenching yourself makes this not a huge deal, but those are the common headache issues you will come across over the years.
Timing belt/water pump (every 80k)
Thermostat (engine overheats)
Upper control arm bushings (squeaky suspension)
Wheel bearings (sound like driving on a concrete wheel)
Brakes (normal wear)
Coolant flange (that awesome coolant leak behind your engine)
Prop shaft seal leaks (there are 4 of them, but it isn't a huge deal when they leak, you can take your time fixing those)
Ignition switch (car won't crank)
Sunroof leak (the drains clog, just pull down the headliner and use compressed air to blow them out, sometimes the ends where they connect to the sunroof track need to be re-sealed with silicone. Easy fix)
All in all the parts for all of this combined is only about $600 online, so you can see where wrenching yourself makes this not a huge deal, but those are the common headache issues you will come across over the years.
