Hey folks,

I just bought a 1998 A4 18.T and so far it has been a pretty good car. It is a manual, so I have been learning the ins and outs of driving in traffic. I have driven manuals before, but not as an everyday vehicle.

I have a couple questions.

Is it ok to come off the clutch slowly when getting into first and reverse? I feel as if I have to come off the clutch slowly to prevent speeding off in close quarters. I don't have any clutch speed issues getting through 2-5 and back down. Although I am concerned about getting into first and reverse in some situations, as I don't wish to burn out my clutch.

My check engine light came back and the code is a P1136, which denotes an air mass regulator issue. This was replaced on the vehicle prior to buying it. I reset the engine light and it has not turned back on for some time. What does this mean?

Thanks guys. I look forward to picking up some skills from the wealth of knowledge on AF.

M

 

Willkommen to the forums

congrats on the car. you will start to get a better feel for the clutch, as you continue to drive it. if you are allowing the clutch to "slip" (partially engage) you are going to wear it out a bit more quickly than normal wear and tear. you are better off "feathering" the clutch all the way in and out than to "ride the clutch". when you get the hang of it, it should feel like the natural and obvious way to drive.

if you cleared the CEL and it has not come back, you should be pretty good. sometimes even after you replace parts, the code is stored and continues to illuminate the CEL even though the problem is fixed.

good information and folks in the A4 sections

have fun

 

Hello M11,

I also recently purchased a 1998 A4 Turbo for only 3000$. It is first owner and only has 108,xxx miles. First Audi I've owned and so far have been very pleased. The car itself is way ahead of its time.

 

Thanks for the replies.

So I was running some errands this morning and my engine light came back on again. It was after driving the car a little bit, turning the car off and starting it again. It has been exactly a week since I last reset the check engine light.

I took it back down to O'reilly's Auto Center to use their diagnostics computer and it came back with the same P1136 code. I noticed this time around that two indicators were blinking at the top. They read "O2S" and "CAT."

O2 sensor and catalytic converter?

I can't hear or feel anything wrong with the car when it is running.

I spoke with an Audi repair place today and they said it sounds like it is running lean, which means too much O2... I think...

Is my car ok to drive until mid-week? I am waiting on a pay check to come in before I want to take it in and get it serviced.

 

Alright folks, I think I have narrowed it down to something.

As it turns out, my wife filled up the car a couple weeks ago with regular fuel (87), which really sucks considering an A4 1.8T requires 91 -lower compression ratio, etc. I feel like an idiot for not telling her to only use 91.

Anyway, I have since reset the check engine light and filled it up with 91.

What are the chances that running less than a full tank of regular through the car royally screwed something up, such as my new air mass sensor or catalytic converter?

The vehicle did make it several days without the check engine light coming back on. Do you think switching the fuel type could be the resolution to my problem? I am going to guess it will take a tank of gas or two to flush the regular out?

 

you should be fine

the knock sensor will "talk" to the ECU and compensate for the octane differences. If you have a bad O2 sensor it will likely interfere with the car's ability to monitor the cat for efficiency, thus giving you a cat efficiency code. I'm not sure what models are affected but I know that there is a manufacturer recommended ECU reflash to raise the cat efficiency threshold. they were finding that the car was thinking the cats were bad, when they were not due to some bad code. may be something to look into

good luck