Neither my coolant temp nor my oil temp gauges read anything. When the car starts they twitch but read nothing.... Ever..... No matter how long it runs. Therefore I don't let it run too long for fear of blowing it up, in case it is over heating. I borrowed an obd tester from my friend and ran a scan on it. It came up: P1122, P1118 and P0140 for the engine. P0740 for the transmission. Any knowledgeable advice would be much appreciated.

 

The engine codes are as follows:
P1122 - Throttle Position Sensor Circuit Intermittent Low Voltage
P1118 - HO2S Sensor Heater Circuit Open Bank 1 Sensor 2
P0140 - O2 Sensor Circuit No Activity Detected Bank 1 Sensor 2

Transmission:
P0740 - Torque Converter Clutch Malfunction

Before throwing any money and parts at it, the first thing I would check is the grounding points on the wiring harness. There are several and I'm not sure where they're located on your car. But they are easy to identify because it's where you see one or several wires into a connector that is bolted to the body or engine block. Simply loosening and re-retightening them will help them make better contact. Being that the items listed are in fairly close proximity, check for a grounding point on the rear of the engine near the firewall. It also could be a loose ground strap from the engine to the body.

 

Praise God for your wise council Dave. I found the engine ground and loosened and retightened it. I found another ground under and behind the coolant reservoir. It has about four wires going to it. One of which was split open and exposed. I spliced it back together and ran the obd again; p1122&p1118 are gone. P0140&p0741are still hanging around.

The most notable thing is before when I would run the car after it would heat up steam/smoke would come up from the sides. Not a lot. I assume it is burning off the gunk that is on it. That is what scared me and made me think it was over heating. After I fixed the ground I started it up and the fans kicked on and it never got hot enough to make it stream/ smoke again. I'm beginning to feel better about this car. Thanks again Dave.

 

Excellent news.. Glad that took care of some of it. Now for the other two codes. Check the connector for the O2 sensors that are located on the downstream of the Cat convertors. Bank 1 is the passenger side on the Audi engines. I think the connectors are under the carpet in the foot wells just in front of the seats if the wires lead into the floor pans from the exhaust pipe. Otherwise just trace the wire till you find it. It should be closeby. It should be an easy replacement if have to.

The trans code suggests it could be a little low on fluid or, more likely, the filter is getting dirty. Could also be a loose ground on the transmission wiring harness. If the transmission fluid has not been changed in a while, I recommend doing a fluid change with a new filter regardless. Blauparts.com has complete kits with fluid to do this job. The only hard part is getting the car off the ground (all 4 wheels) and on jack stands AND level because refilling the fluid to the proper level is depends on having the transmission level. I think there are a few Youtube videos that show how to do the job. I did mine a couple of years ago and need to do it again soon. My biggest obstacle is getting the car up in the air. I use 2 jacks and do one end at a time. Just be careful and go slow..

Anyway, let us know how it works out.

 

OK Dave, new problem. Well old problem that I didn't mention because I hoped it would go away. Power steering pump makes all kinds of noise, it's hard to steer and the fluid reservoir is full of bubbles... Like all the fluid turned to foam.... By the way, I really appreciate your time and concern. Thanks again.

 

It's sucking air in somewhere. Possibly the line from the fluid reservoir is a little loose. Are you seeing any obvious fluid leaks? The rack itself could be going bad and allowing air into the system. It'll buzz and make all kinds of racket when you get the fluid whipped up with air in it. Also make sure it's filled to the proper level. You have to use the mineral oil based Audi stuff in these cars. If someone has unknowingly put some other type of steering fluid in the thing, it's very likely it's damaged the seals in the rack and pump.....

 

I just spent $22 on a can of fancy fluid and filled it to the max mark. There are no leaks that I can see. What is this "rack" that you speak of? I did replace/rig a new hose on the pump. When I replaced the bracket the old hose was dried and cracked. I replaced it with a couple pieces of heater hose and brass 3/4" pex 90° water line fitting. It's not impossible that it's leaking there. It looks pretty ugly.

 

The rack is the "rack and pinion" steering. It's down at the end of the steering column. However, I'd check and make sure any clamps you may have used are nice and tight. If it's not leaking, it's not leaking on the pressure side of the system. So it has to be sucking air in somewhere.

Here's a picture. http://shop.rackdoctor.net/images/83...on_Picture.jpg

 

Thanks. I'll check them out.

 

So I put a new hose on the pump. It's not nearly as noisy. But but still noisy and it only about half works. I'm inclined to believe the pump is shot. On another note; the little screen on the dash doesn't display anything except a tiny bit of red close to the bottom. Do you think it needs replaced or is there way to reset it out something?