Jeff Sutcliffe
A2OC Donor
Hello All,
I'm a new A2 owner, having picked up my 2001 TDI 75 SE only on 1st April this year. Although there was no service history, the car was reasonably priced and drove better than I'd expected; it is also remarkably dent free with an almost unworn interior (apart from the driver's electric window switch) despite having covered almost 127,000 miles.
The car's MOT certificate was due to expire on 19th April and so, on 2nd April I took the car to a local Audi specialist that I'd read of on this forum to have it MOT'd, serviced and fitted with a new cambelt and water pump (better safe than sorry!) - I'd arranged this in advance as I'd bought the car several days before I collected it. I waited at the garage whilst the car was taken to the MOT test centre that the garage uses so that I'd be aware of any other work that proved necessary. In the event, the car only needed new tyres, which I'd anticipated, and, because the handbrake was ineffective, new brake shoes (which the helpful private seller had left in the boot.)
It was agreed that I'd take the car to have its new tyres fitted and then return it for the garage to fit the brake shoes, carry out the service and change the cambelt and water pump before taking it for re-test.
I had four new tyres fitted on 3rd April and then dropped my car off at the specialist on 4th April. I collected the car on 7th April, the garage having carried out the work as requested and also refitted a heat shield which had been in the boot when I bought the car and fitted a new clip to a CV joint (I think they said) which had had one missing. The car seemed quieter than when I'd dropped it off on the previous Friday and drove without incident for the first 7 miles of my 10 miles journey home.
At the 7 miles point, on a National speed limit dual carriageway where I was travelling at about 65 mph, it seemed that I'd driven over an object in the road. There was a 'graunching' noise from the nearside front wheel arch area followed by a sound as though the car was driving over something below the floorpan. I saw nothing via the rear view mirrors and was unable to stop to look for evidence on the busy, fast-moving road and so continued home, where I examined the car to look for any sign of impact/damage. There was nothing untoward and so I put the 'incident' down to having possibly run over, say, a cardboard box that I'd somehow not seen.
On the following day, I drove the car locally for around 10 miles, feeling quite pleased that it now had over a year's MOT and was serviced and unlikely to need any major work for several thousand miles.
However......on the morning of 9th April, I went to the car and noticed that there was a patch of oil underneath it, along with a line of oil drips marking the path I'd taken when reversing into the parking slot in the dark on the previous evening. I attempted to open the inspection flap in order to check how much oil remained in the sump but wasn't able to do so - I've since been shown the trick of putting a piece of folded paper into the space at the top of the flap before pulling the release handle - and so rang the specialist garage and agreed to drive there so that the source of the oil leak could be identified. I was reassured that the oil warning light would come on if the level became dangerously low.
After about 4 miles of the journey to the garage, as I travelled downhill on the same stretch of dual carriageway where the 'cardboard box incident' had occured, the engine note changed and, when setting off uphill from the next junction, it was obvious that the turbo had 'blown'. I made it to the garage anyway and left the car to be examined.
I received a 'phone call from the garage on the afternoon of 14th April, confirming that I needed a rebuilt turbo and asking me to take £350 + VAT to the garage before 4.00 pm so that the cash could be banked and the part ordered. (I assume there were cash flow problems rather than a lack of trust in me as I'd paid the £670 for the MOT and cambelt etc after the work had been carried out.
When I was at the garage delivering the cash, I was told that the cause of the oil leak was that a set screw had come out of an oil gallery (where an oil pressure gauge could be fitted if required) that was hidden behind the cambelt cover. I was shown the (damaged) offending set screw along with a bottom (crankshaft?) pulley that had a chunk missing, caused by the aforementioned set screw and also damage to the new cambelt and the cover of the oil pump - these would also need replacing.
I authorised the work and subsequently was telephoned to say that the car, along with a bill for just over £600 - a price discounted by over £300 - would be ready for collection at 5.00 pm on 17th April.
In the event, when I arrived at the garage, the work hadn't been completed and so I 'hung around' in the workshop whilst the proprietor and his mechanic finished off the job. As my car was up in the air on a ramp for some of the time, I took the opportunity to have a look at its underside, which I hadn't done pre-purchase or at any stage before that moment. I immediately noticed that the rearwards facing edge of the front bib - below the bumper/spotlights - was 'rough'; there were screws through the metal that weren't attached to anything and the edge would best be described as 'tatty'. I asked the proprietor about this and he told me that Audis have an undershield but that my car's had been taken off at some point.
The work on my car was completed by about 7.00 pm and, after the proprietor had driven it around the block to make sure all was well, I was able to set off for home, the proprietor saying that I should take the car back early this week so it could be checked after having so much work done to it. I did notice, before I got into the car, that it seemed noisier than I'd remembered, but put that down to not having driven it for a week or so.
Since then, the car has performed perfectly, I have driven about 100 miles, including approximately 70 miles of fast motorway work, and it seems that I'm back in the position of having a car that I'll be able to drive for several thousand miles without any major work being required - albeit over £1000 poorer than I'd expected to be!
However, after searching these forums (fori?) for information about the undershield that ought to be on my car, and particularly Sarge's guide to its removal with his comment that it includes sound insulation on diesel models, I had a 'lightbulb' moment that made me think that the 'cardboard box incident' after the service/cambelt work, might in fact have been the sound of my undershield coming adrift - possibly because it had been insecurely refitted after the cambelt change - which would explain why the car had sounded noisier when I collected it after the turbo/oil pump etc job.
Would any reader like to comment on my speculation and also, assuming I am correct, whether the cause of the oil leak and the consequential damage might have been attributable to the demise of the undershield rather than simply an unfortunate coincidence.
As I said, I'm due to take my car back to be checked over in the next couple of days, so I'd like to be in a position to offer other members' opinions to the proprietor if that's appropriate.
Thank you in advance for any replies (and I hope you all had a happy Easter break with your A2s.)
Jeff
I'm a new A2 owner, having picked up my 2001 TDI 75 SE only on 1st April this year. Although there was no service history, the car was reasonably priced and drove better than I'd expected; it is also remarkably dent free with an almost unworn interior (apart from the driver's electric window switch) despite having covered almost 127,000 miles.
The car's MOT certificate was due to expire on 19th April and so, on 2nd April I took the car to a local Audi specialist that I'd read of on this forum to have it MOT'd, serviced and fitted with a new cambelt and water pump (better safe than sorry!) - I'd arranged this in advance as I'd bought the car several days before I collected it. I waited at the garage whilst the car was taken to the MOT test centre that the garage uses so that I'd be aware of any other work that proved necessary. In the event, the car only needed new tyres, which I'd anticipated, and, because the handbrake was ineffective, new brake shoes (which the helpful private seller had left in the boot.)
It was agreed that I'd take the car to have its new tyres fitted and then return it for the garage to fit the brake shoes, carry out the service and change the cambelt and water pump before taking it for re-test.
I had four new tyres fitted on 3rd April and then dropped my car off at the specialist on 4th April. I collected the car on 7th April, the garage having carried out the work as requested and also refitted a heat shield which had been in the boot when I bought the car and fitted a new clip to a CV joint (I think they said) which had had one missing. The car seemed quieter than when I'd dropped it off on the previous Friday and drove without incident for the first 7 miles of my 10 miles journey home.
At the 7 miles point, on a National speed limit dual carriageway where I was travelling at about 65 mph, it seemed that I'd driven over an object in the road. There was a 'graunching' noise from the nearside front wheel arch area followed by a sound as though the car was driving over something below the floorpan. I saw nothing via the rear view mirrors and was unable to stop to look for evidence on the busy, fast-moving road and so continued home, where I examined the car to look for any sign of impact/damage. There was nothing untoward and so I put the 'incident' down to having possibly run over, say, a cardboard box that I'd somehow not seen.
On the following day, I drove the car locally for around 10 miles, feeling quite pleased that it now had over a year's MOT and was serviced and unlikely to need any major work for several thousand miles.
However......on the morning of 9th April, I went to the car and noticed that there was a patch of oil underneath it, along with a line of oil drips marking the path I'd taken when reversing into the parking slot in the dark on the previous evening. I attempted to open the inspection flap in order to check how much oil remained in the sump but wasn't able to do so - I've since been shown the trick of putting a piece of folded paper into the space at the top of the flap before pulling the release handle - and so rang the specialist garage and agreed to drive there so that the source of the oil leak could be identified. I was reassured that the oil warning light would come on if the level became dangerously low.
After about 4 miles of the journey to the garage, as I travelled downhill on the same stretch of dual carriageway where the 'cardboard box incident' had occured, the engine note changed and, when setting off uphill from the next junction, it was obvious that the turbo had 'blown'. I made it to the garage anyway and left the car to be examined.
I received a 'phone call from the garage on the afternoon of 14th April, confirming that I needed a rebuilt turbo and asking me to take £350 + VAT to the garage before 4.00 pm so that the cash could be banked and the part ordered. (I assume there were cash flow problems rather than a lack of trust in me as I'd paid the £670 for the MOT and cambelt etc after the work had been carried out.
When I was at the garage delivering the cash, I was told that the cause of the oil leak was that a set screw had come out of an oil gallery (where an oil pressure gauge could be fitted if required) that was hidden behind the cambelt cover. I was shown the (damaged) offending set screw along with a bottom (crankshaft?) pulley that had a chunk missing, caused by the aforementioned set screw and also damage to the new cambelt and the cover of the oil pump - these would also need replacing.
I authorised the work and subsequently was telephoned to say that the car, along with a bill for just over £600 - a price discounted by over £300 - would be ready for collection at 5.00 pm on 17th April.
In the event, when I arrived at the garage, the work hadn't been completed and so I 'hung around' in the workshop whilst the proprietor and his mechanic finished off the job. As my car was up in the air on a ramp for some of the time, I took the opportunity to have a look at its underside, which I hadn't done pre-purchase or at any stage before that moment. I immediately noticed that the rearwards facing edge of the front bib - below the bumper/spotlights - was 'rough'; there were screws through the metal that weren't attached to anything and the edge would best be described as 'tatty'. I asked the proprietor about this and he told me that Audis have an undershield but that my car's had been taken off at some point.
The work on my car was completed by about 7.00 pm and, after the proprietor had driven it around the block to make sure all was well, I was able to set off for home, the proprietor saying that I should take the car back early this week so it could be checked after having so much work done to it. I did notice, before I got into the car, that it seemed noisier than I'd remembered, but put that down to not having driven it for a week or so.
Since then, the car has performed perfectly, I have driven about 100 miles, including approximately 70 miles of fast motorway work, and it seems that I'm back in the position of having a car that I'll be able to drive for several thousand miles without any major work being required - albeit over £1000 poorer than I'd expected to be!
However, after searching these forums (fori?) for information about the undershield that ought to be on my car, and particularly Sarge's guide to its removal with his comment that it includes sound insulation on diesel models, I had a 'lightbulb' moment that made me think that the 'cardboard box incident' after the service/cambelt work, might in fact have been the sound of my undershield coming adrift - possibly because it had been insecurely refitted after the cambelt change - which would explain why the car had sounded noisier when I collected it after the turbo/oil pump etc job.
Would any reader like to comment on my speculation and also, assuming I am correct, whether the cause of the oil leak and the consequential damage might have been attributable to the demise of the undershield rather than simply an unfortunate coincidence.
As I said, I'm due to take my car back to be checked over in the next couple of days, so I'd like to be in a position to offer other members' opinions to the proprietor if that's appropriate.
Thank you in advance for any replies (and I hope you all had a happy Easter break with your A2s.)
Jeff
