What King said. I noticed mine was going when I accelerated hard merging into traffic and I got a check engine light. Car drives fine with it torn (and by fine I mean it is drivable and unless you are gunning it not to noticeable).


https://www.ecstuning.com/Audi-B7_A4...o-2.0T/ES9820/

 

Coming back from the race this weekend I had a chance to "get on it" a few times and only noticed a slight stumble, (new coils and plugs replaced today), but no CEL or lack of turbo spool. I may just get a Rev D and replace it for peace of mind...

 

Stumble at WOT is probably not your DV, but it's a cheap part and if you want to replace it, go for it. It's a bit of a pain to get to. I couldn't do it and ended up taking it to my local mechanic to do it. I swear he has snakes for arms.

I get a little stumbling (almost more of a lurch or jerk here and there) like that, but I suspect it's related to my TC issue. Is yours an auto? Do you have any RPM surging at very light throttle around 40mph?

The weird thing is I can't nail down for sure that it's that in my car. It does it hardcore for weeks on end and now all this week--nothing. No stumbling, no RPM surging, no hard shifts into and out of 3rd like it was doing. It's like the car is possessed. I'd probably bite the bullet and fix it if I knew it was going to fix it, but I'm not throwing that sort of stupid money at it without knowing with more of a certainty.

How long did you search for an A4 before you found one with such low miles and price? What tools did you use? That was a really good price for such a low mileage, clean car.

 

The stumble was not at WOT, in fact it was more like a misfire at low speed throttle, I had a coil go bad the second day I owned it so I just replaced all of them and plugs, misfire fixed. You might have a coil or plug misfire too, have you replaced them?

Lets hope your issue is not a TC, have you done regular preventive maintenance? Fuel filter, cam follower, injector cleanup? Have you had the tranny serviced yet? Since I didn't have a service history with my B7, for peace of mind I am getting all the regular stuff out of the way, that way I can start with a clean slate.

I found my jewel on Craigslist, we had been looking for another car for about a month without any real direction as to what to get, I have always liked Audi's and have heard good things about them and the German reputation is well known in this house. The seller is a wholesaler who got it at auction, listed it at 11:00 Sat night, I spotter it at 8:00 Sun. morning, by 12:00 it was mine.

 

Be careful with tranny service. These are sealed (supposedly) system that don't need service. Someone (I don't remember who) posted that their tranny shop recommended against service as it might actually create issues. They said it was better off to wait for an issue. Not really sure I agree with that. Then again I have 176k on mine with no plans to service the tranny.

 

I've had coil packs go and this feels different. Also, no codes (which popped immediately when I had a coil pack out). I'm pretty sure it's the TC, but despite the diagnosis issues, there's also no great fix. You can pay a fortune for an OE part that will likely fail again, pay a slightly smaller amount for a reconditioned one that will likely fail again, or have yours sent somewhere and rebuilt (best cost option, but you'll be out a car for several weeks). None of those are great solutions. Plus, like I said, this week it's totally not acting up. The car is possessed. If it starts happening regularly again, I'm considering just paying Audi the diagnosis fee and taking a tech with a VAGCOM on a test drive to demonstrate it. At least then I guess I'd KNOW for sure.

Personally, I think Audi is doing a disservice claiming that they don't need service. rhodes, you are absolutely right that at that mileage, it should not be touched--it can cause more problems than it helps. However, at lower mileages, it is a good idea to do a regular service interval (50-60k miles). All fluids break down when exposed to repeated heating/cooling cycles and Audi's transmission oil is no different there. My indy shop said as long as the fluid looked good and I didn't have too many miles on it, he recommended it. They checked the fluid and I only had about 80k miles, so we did it. It's also the first "diagnosis" step according to Audi's TSB to determining if you truly have a TC problem. I've been pretty good about all the other maintenance and had the cam follower checked in 2014 and replaced a couple months ago because the car aged out of Audi's free fix window.

You are lucky you contacted that seller so quickly, mgfranz. That one would not have lasted that long at that price. The reason I asked is that I am sort of half-looking for a decent, low mileage A3 sportback and they just don't pop up often enough.

 

It was a great find! However when he showed up at the bank to pick up his check he showed up in a 2009 A4 convert, black on black that was gorgeous! I almost changed the deal until he said it had 100k and he was selling it for $11k. Good luck finding a 3, they just do not come up often.

And rhodes, I agree with King that at 176k, I wouldn't touch it, however I am an old school mechanic, been doing this since 1969 and I believe that if it has a filter, it needs to be changed and serviced. As a BMW owner, (4 to date), they too say to not service them, I believe this is a fallacy created by either BMW or ZF to create a false sense of security, every bimmer I have owned has received tranny service at about 75k and so far, none of them have experienced any tranny issues, the E34 I sold had 176k on it and was very, very strong. A friend of mine who works at the stealership says other than electronics and suspension, the #1 issue of older bimmers is tranny issues,Mechatronic failures mostly due to either servos or fluid, (although I can't prove any of the claims).
And like I said, since my ride has zero maintenance history, and only at 60k, I would like to know that the service has been done, by me of course so I know it will be done right. Knowledge is power.
H&R Springs going on this weekend as is new cam follower, tint done, looking for a set of 19's and exhaust system... Pics to follow.

 

What springs? Lowering? Can't wait to see the pictures. If I decide to keep my A4 longer term, I'm thinking of lowering it just a tad, getting some nicer wheels (fill out the wheel wells a bit more), and an APR tune (something I've wanted for a while, but kept having to put off while I dump money into it for other repairs).

This week, my transmission has been 100% behaving. I'm starting to suspect a TCM issue instead of a mechanical one, but have no idea where to start with that. Might be time to bite the bullet and get set up with a VAGCOM. I have a cheap Chinese OBD-USB cable and ran VCDS-Lite at one time, but that laptop is no longer serviceable so I need to come up with an alternate solution.

PS - It's nice to have another active member here. This place has been a bit dormant lately.

 

ECS just happened to have these on sale the day after I bought it, https://www.ecstuning.com/Audi-B7_A4...prings/ES2022/ the car really needs to be lower... A good tune might be nice, gotta do something to get some more juice out of that little 2.0T. I am not familiar with VAGCOM or VCDS, OBD software like ISTA & INPA for the bimmers?

 

Wow, an inch and a half drop seems like a lot to me. I'll have to think on it. I really like these wheels, but I'm unsure of fit, sizing, and final results.

Here you go. Ross-Tech Store: VCDS VAGCOM/VCDS is the best tool for diagnosing issues and tweaking parameters. It's a bit pricey, but the amount of data you can get out of the car's computer seems to make it worth it. Back in the day, I used the Lite (free) version and a cheap knock off cable to reconfigure a few things (euro style headlights, key fob up/down, seat belt chime), but since then, my Windows laptop has died and become obsolete so I need to work on getting that set back up before I jump on the full VCDS/Ross-Tech cable setup.

PS - Glad to have another active member around. The forum has been a bit dormant lately.