A week in the shop and my 1997 A6 Quattro wagon (130,000 mi)is still not fixed. Started with engine light going on and loss of power (poor acceleration). Code p0305 (as I recall) which was a misfire on cylinder 5. Mechanic said I need 2 fuel injectors, but once those were in, he said it was "poor compression".He ending up just cleaning the old fuel injectors since he now believes I need a "valve" job. Can anyone tell me what that entails? I need to get the car to my Audi mechanic who is approximately 35 miles away. Can I drive it, albeit slowly, to the garage or am I risking more damage? Engine light is still flashing.Any thoughts on what I could get on a trade-in if I leave the problem unfixed? KBBwas 4-5k in good condition. Thanks in advance

 

i'm confused. PO305 is a single misfiring cylinder... so why would you need two injectors...?

and a "valve job"... i didn't know anyone still did that kind of thing. I wouldn't let them do anything else to it. I'd get it to an Audi dealer. problem is you cannot drive it when its misfiring. your gonna have to tow it.

 

Once he got inside, he said that it would be best to replace the "bad" one and a second one that didn't look so hot. In the end, he did not replace either because he said it was "poor compression". Since he couldn't handle the job, he put it all back together and only charged $50 for the diagnostic. So I am back to square one. We had drive home and it had the same symptoms:Engine light flashing,No acceleration. There was also white smoke from the tailpipe, which we have often associated with the frigid temps here in VT. I have read that the smoke and the poor acceleration can indicate timing belt/chain problems.

Are you saying we can't drive because we can do more damage or because it may take awhile to get to our destination (via highway)?

I appreciate any advice. The mechanic we are taking it to is very competent.

 

it would be interesting to know what the compression readings were for each cylinder? the car is in limp mode so I cant see why he only got P0305 and as for change 2 injectors because one doesn't look good means the guy doesn't know what the problem is, driving in limp mode can have serious consequences when so little is known about the problem so personally I wont drive it any long distance and especially on the freeway ( Ive watched the cops show on my TV[:-] ) and looks dangerous even when the car is good lol j/k, have it scanned again for fault codes with a good code reader

 

Change the spark plugs. If the engine still misses,
change the ignition coil packs.
Good luck.

 

Thanks for the advice. We will have it towed. My husband mentioned shaking that wasn't there before so he is concerned it wasn't put back together properly. I will report back when it is resolved!