First let me say hello to all who read this. I purchased 1999 A4 with a 1.8T and love the ride. This car was from what I can tell well taken care of. I have only heard about the sludge problem and was wondering how can one tell if there is sludge in the bottom of the pan?. Also for the first time, today it stalled running the AC any ideas? What should the Idle speed go down to? mine drops runs rough for a second and then back to the norm. All help and tips tricks would be great thanks all ahead of time.

 

When putting the A/C on its pretty normal to experience a slight stall in RPM's. That stall should be brief and the RPM's should go back to normal.

Sludge? Take your valve cover off, check for sludge. Take your oil pan off. Check for sludge. Unscrew your oil cap. Check for sludge. Take your spark plugs out and clean them. Check for any oil or coolant gathering there. I recommend replacing your fuel filter also.

 

easiest way to check for sludge is just take of the oil cap. if its black underneath the valve cover and theres black crusty stuff on the oil cap, you have engine sludge

 

Thanks found very little crusty under the oil cap and looking into the top end. Now how do I go about getting more power off the line?.

 

More power in your 1.8t?

From what I hear guys chip the ECU. If that's not enough for you well then your probably looking at installing a bigger turbine and a bunch of custom plumbing.

A nice exhaust is always nice.

 

How much of a performance issue or loss does sludge cause any ideas?.

 

its not about performance loss. its about the health of you engine. too much sludge equals clogged oil pickup equals engine go bad

 

Thanks for the info, checked all 4 plugges tonight and not burning oil. I am planing on changeing the spark plugs but before I do so I am going to seafoam first.

 

You can send the ECU out for a chip and easily get to 200 h.p. IF you have a manual transmission. With a slushbox just leave it alone.

Seafoam for about 100 miles then change the oil and filter. Seafoam the gas as well or Techron. Have fun.

 

If you can find Mopar CCC, buy that. Its better than Seafoam because it is a foam and expands into every crevice. Seafoam on the other hand is a liquid.