Bluey

I have a very small collection of Renaults, of which one is currently being prepped for sale. It has occupied pride of place at the top of the drive (not quite special enough for the garage!) and today was body shop day to attend to some minor paintwork defects.

Extracting said vehicle involved a certain amount of car rodeo, very much like one of those sliding puzzle games you sometimes get in Christmas crackers. Anyhow, the point of this laboured waffle is that as Bluey sat idling waiting patiently to be reversed back into the drive, the CEL light flickered on and the rev counter needle started searching.

I cleared the (same as previous) code and all returned to normal. It is strange that it only gets grumpy when it's idling for a few minutes. Engine temp doesn't seem to be an issue as the previous light was after a 4 hour drive. I will ask Tony to investigate this afternoon. Hopefully just a 'quirk'...
 
Darren C said:
Just as well the boot is relatively small with the back seats in situ... ;) Your wallet is safe Taipan.
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We shall see, Darren. The wife tends to go into supermarket sweep mode whenever we visit IKEA. A list has apparently been written. The signs are foreboding :D
 
So it was an interesting little jaunt A2Cars last week to fit the cruise control (which wasn't fitted in the end!!) :D

I won't go into things in too much detail as it initially had me extremely frustrated, but suffice to say there were a number of things pointed out to me whilst the car was up in the air that were a bit eye opening to say the least.

On the face of it the most serious issues were:
- the rear brakes need adjusting to work as Audi intended;
- both rear bearings are shot and the NSR is practically seized;
- the engine has an oil leak
- the wheel bolt threads had copper grease on them
- the car has fallen off a jack, which has deformed and pierced the rear passenger footwell....:eek:
- both rear damper bump stops are falling apart and the damper cover has been scored and then cut on the NSR
- the exhaust has a fair few leaks and the rear silencer is covered liberally in exhaust paste

There were a number of other little bits and pieces, but at this stage they are nice to haves rather than urgent!

I left feeling rather unsure of what to do and more than a little perturbed. It was of course down to me to have spotted these issues pre-purchase and my subsequent discussions with the seller revolved around what was known and what wasn't at the point of sale. Whilst we didn't get anywhere at least we were able to part ways on relatively friendly terms. Definitely chalking this one up as one to learn from however!
 
So, I had a little bit of time away from the car and worked on my other cars as I decided what to do. Ultimately, I think the car has a lot going for it. Yes, there are faults but that's the joy of a project. At least I now know the foibles. 'Better the devil you know' and all that.

Getting back on the horse, I have split the new jobs down by priority and that resulted in three jumping to the fore
1) Replace NSR and OSR rear wheel bearing:
- ordered, awaiting delivery.
2) Trace oil leak:
- spent a good hour or so nosing around under the engine. In the end I narrowed it down to the oil pressure switch and/or the EGR valve. Seeing as one is c£10 and the other is, well, not. I have ordered a replacement oil pressure switch and am awaiting delivery.
3) Explore my options regarding the floorpan:
- I contacted a reputable aluminium welder and he is on standby, if required. First things first, I need to reform the panel without causing further issues!
 
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Best of luck getting these issues sorted. You seem positive and recognising the good in the car is a significantly positive step. As you say, you know the good points and the items that need addressing - one step at a time and your project will reward your patience and investment.
 
Darren C said:
Best of luck getting these issues sorted. You seem positive and recognising the good in the car is a significantly positive step. As you say, you know the good points and the items that need addressing - one step at a time and your project will reward your patience and investment.
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Could not have put it better myself Darren, thank you.
 
Some further little jobs completed:

Oil pressure switch
As I mentioned previously, the engine had a small oil leak. I narrowed it down to either the oil pressure switch and/or the EGR Valve. I knew that the oil pressure sensor switch was toast and needed replacing (oil seepage through the centre) but the question remained where the oil around the EGR valve had come from. Option 1 was that it had dropped down from the leaking oil pressure switch and - the much less palatable - option 2 was that the EGR itself was leaking.

I had to remove the carrier that holds the wiring in place as it traverses the engine, to gain better access to the oil pressure switch.
Wire carrier.jpg

Old and new comparison.
Old vs New.jpg

New switch all fitted and area cleaned up a little.
Replaced oil pressure switch.jpg

I’m pleased to report that the leak has been cured and the EGR valve wasn’t at fault. £10 and 10 minutes well spent.


Cabin filter
Whilst planning the upcoming filter and fluids service I realised that I wasn’t entirely confident I knew the location of the cabin filter and the logistics required to swap it. As I was working on the car over the weekend anyhow, I thought I’d do a dry run.

The cabin filter outer cover had been incorrectly located on its tracks and forced home. I managed to remove it in the end and there is no lasting damage but 2 things quickly became apparent: 1) It was very grubby down there; 2) It was clear that the cabin filter hadn’t been changed in an awfully long time – sticks (!), leaves and lots and lots of dust collapsed onto the passenger seat footmat on release of the inner retaining cover! :eek:

Cover pre wash
Dirty cover.jpg

Cover after seeing a soft bristle brush and some bio washing powder.
Clean cover.jpg

The only problem with cleaning one thing up is that everything around it looks even worse! :D
Replaced cover.jpg

So, new plan; replace cabin filter.
Cabin filter.jpg

The filter in situ was just a normal panel filter rather than a carbon cabin filter I like to use. It was also forced incorrectly in the housing, causing the side edges to deform. All-in-all, I’m glad I changed it.


Wiper blade
Tony pointed out to me that the wiper blade I had repositioned was not located quite correctly. The upshot of this is that the sweep didn’t quite reach the edge of the screen on the drivers side and actually made contact with the plastic scuttle in the resting position.

Wiper blade repositioned and following a few test sweeps I can confirm the wiper is now travelling the path Audi intended.
 
The pollen filter is an "exact fit" and an original Audi carbon replacement part is best fitted. Non originals can be ever so slightly on the large side and can result in the black plastic frame being broken. Not that expensive to replace but a nuisance nonetheless.

Ta
Dave
:)
 
Exactly my sentiments and findings, Dave.

On inspection the housing has luckily escaped any serious damage, but it rattles my OCD tree knowing that things aren't quite correct even if those things are hidden up inside the dash.
 
This weekend’s job was to change both rear wheel bearings. Both sides would be changed but it was the passenger side that caused the initial concern. Not only was the wheel clearly being impeded as the bearing applied a braking force, but the wheel hub was perceptively hotter than the drivers side after each journey :eek:

I didn’t get any pictures this time as; a) I forgot; and b) I was elbow deep in grease and brake dust, which isn’t the best environment for electronics.

Befitting the ‘measure twice, cut once’ mind-set, I had researched how to tackle the job as well as ensuring I had the required tools and replacement parts. Replacements were a toss-up between FAG and SKF. Both offered the complete kit and had positive reviews, so I opted for the slightly cheaper FAG offering. It was a nice surprise then to discover on removing the OE (?) rear bearings that alongside the VAG part number was a FAG product stamp. :cool:

Whilst the job prep was thorough, what I failed to account for was the complexities of raising and lowering the car. I had already decided that I wasn’t going to use the OE jack, but on inspection I couldn’t see an obvious place to locate my trolley jack. In the end I discovered a sufficiently flattened surface on either end of the rear axle and fashioned a block of wood at an angle to match this gradient – the fact that two blocks were required as the angles were subtly different each side, was not a welcome discovery!

With the car in the air I decided to break my golden rule and work on it solely supported by the jack. I did however position axle stands directly underneath where the axle meets the hub, to provide a failsafe should the car move or the jack fail. The removed wheels also went under the car, as I always do.

An appropriately sized screwdriver through the bolt hole rather than the rubber mallet was the preferred method for releasing the brake drums from the shoes and that turned out to be the trickiest part of the whole thing. Satisfactorily simple engineering from Audi. It turns out that both rear bearings were well past their best with the replacements spinning without the grumbling exhibited by the removed parts. I took the opportunity to give everything a good clean, paying particular attention to the drums, which had heavy deposits of baked on brake dust betraying many miles of use.

With everything cleaned, back together, torqued up correctly and a final adjustment of the handbrake nut the job was finished. A quick test drive revealed that things have perceptively improved. This of course shows that the effect of the failing bearings was worse than I had first thought, but I’m pleased to report that the car genuinely feels more sprightly and also brakes with more conviction, perhaps suggesting that the lip of deposits was impeding the shoe travel.

One more tick off the list. :D
 
Nice work.

For future reference, please see the following link regarding trolley jack positioning; post/item 12.

http://www.a2oc.net/forum/showthread.php?23606-General-A2-Servicing-Information/page2

Cheers,

Darren

Taipan said:
I had already decided that I wasn’t going to use the OE jack, but on inspection I couldn’t see an obvious place to locate my trolley jack. In the end I discovered a sufficiently flattened surface on either end of the rear axle and fashioned a block of wood at an angle to match this gradient – the fact that two blocks were required as the angles were subtly different each side, was not a welcome discovery!
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Two further project jobs completed over the weekend.

I had suspected the boot gas struts were not actually doing very much. The boot lid was incredibly easy to slam and the tell-tale hissy death knell could be heard emanating when fully extended.

As usual, I researched to far too greater depth when considering their replacements. Ultimately, the requirements were for the OE damper effect at the top of the travel and for that there seemed to only be two options; Audi or Stabilus. On closer inspection of the car I discovered that there was a pair of Stabilus offerings already fitted, so that settled things.

You can see the state that the old ones were in below.

Old vs New gas struts 1.jpg

Old vs New gas struts 2.jpg

Old ones removed and new ones fitted and pleasingly the boot is now effortless and silent to lift. I won’t dwell on the added pleasure I got from the replacements being black – and therefore more befitting of the body colour – as that would mark me out as the anorak I am. :D
 
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2) The second completed job was more of a finishing touch type effort that I brought forward based on the (perceived) rareness and quality of the replacement part – I have no idea whether it is or not but the condition and price were too good to pass up.

When changing the rear wheel bearings, I utilised parts of the Audi tool kit. This as we all know has lots of little compartments and the majority of mine were empty. Those that were filled, contained pretty ropey and tired looking tools, which annoyed me.

Old toolbox.jpg

Now there are plenty of other things that require attention and so replacement tools were added to the list and filed in the ‘nice-to-have’ category. This was until I spotted a seemingly brand new and complete A2 toolkit on EBay. I practically fell over myself pressing the ‘buy it now’ button.

It may not mean much to the casual bystander but I got rather excited when I opened the package to reveal this little beauty – honestly, the tools could be used to eat with :lol:
New toolbox.jpg

A quick transfer of the locking wheel nut and centre cap removal wire from my old tool kit and it was ready to put back into the boot.
Old vs new comparison.jpg

Now the inner Columbo has managed to deduce a previous owner was a fishing enthusiast. There was a fishing hook and fly embedded in the bootlid inner carpet and a smattering of empty fly maggot cases dotted about the interior: nice…….

The state of the inner boot well continues the laissez faire outlook the owner had to cleanliness. That is not corrosion in the picture by the way; it’s washing powder!
Boot well mess.jpg

After a thorough going over with APC and microfibres all was well with the world and the tool kit could be fitted back into its housing.
Fitted toolbox 2.jpg
 
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I went a little overboard with the APC cleaner application to the microfibre so decided to tackle the panels surrounding the pollen filter housing as, from a previous job, I knew these were filthy. Came up like new :cool:

Replaced cover.jpg

Pollen filter area clean.jpg
 
Couple of questions as I want everything to be present and correct:

What goes into this hole?
Missing 1.jpg

What does the information on the sticker mean and does anything go in that hole?
Fitted toolbox 2.jpg

What are these bolt housings for?
Mystery bolt holes.jpg
 
The first photo is where your tyre "gunk" should go. Without a spare wheel the gunk was provided by Audi to be pressurized into a punctured tyre so that you could inflate it and get home. I think that the second photo is the label showing your vehicle specc from new, ie exterior and interior colours etc.

The space is where i think the sat nav unit would have gone if it had one fitted.

Ta
Dave
:)
 
Special edition said:
The first photo is where your tyre "gunk" should go. Without a spare wheel the gunk was provided by Audi to be pressurized into a punctured tyre so that you could inflate it and get home. I think that the second photo is the label showing your vehicle specc from new, ie exterior and interior colours etc.

The space is where i think the sat nav unit would have gone if it had one fitted.

Ta
Dave
:)
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Good man, thanks Dave. :) Tyre gunk bottle added to the list :D

I will photograph the options sticker and input them into the online configurator thingy. It's pretty spartan but be interesting to find out anyhow.
 
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