Just bought my first audi and have a few q's

[acf8181]

Just got a 1999 a4 avant 1.8t sport and have a few q's...

Cambelt change interval? Seems to suggest 115k in the owners book which seems a bit crazily long!

Retrofitting cruise control? How, and how much (second hand bits obviously)?

Centre armrest...was one fitted as an option? (and thus i can see if i can find one second hand)

Oil type and viscocity?

Gearbox oil type and viscocity?

 

[acf8181]

Oh, and one more....can you retrofit the bose system? what parts are needed?

 

[S4_dan]

BOSE is not worth retrofitting due to the low impedance of the speakers and the hassle of the Concert HU volume control and then there is installing it all. Buy an amp and sub yourself and wire that up. Gives better sound anyway in the avant.

Cruise control isn't too expensive to do. Circa £50 mark or even less. There is a guide that was posted recently regarding cruise install.

Engine Oil....A lot of folk tend to use mainly 5/40 fully synth. Again, there are a few threads of discussion on oil types....do a search of the A4/B5 forum. Again, search for oils to use in gearboxes.

Centre armrest isn't too diffiuclt to fit. Some came with it, some didn't.

Not sure on cambelt for the 1.8T. I'm sure someone will be able to help you on that more shortly.

Dan

 

[aragorn]

Cambelt interval is 70k or 5 years.

Personally i'd probably want to cut that down a bit.

Cruise is tricky on a 1.8T if it has cable throttle. If its electronic throttle its very easy and there are many guides around.

Engine oil 5w40 synth as above. When your buying an oil filter make sure you get the larger B6 one at the very least.
Gear oil is 75w90 fully synth.

I'd agree on the BOSE. Spend the money replacing the crappy concert head unit and fitting a nice amp/sub.

 

[acf8181]

Cheers for the replies.

Have been reading up on the problems with the concert after a google search...sounds a bit rubbish, so i shall unretire my old kenwood unit from the loft i think. Not really into subs/amps esp as i need my boot space. I believe i have the o.e. sub at side of boot anyway.

Cambelt change is kind of what i expected.....as its done 80k now on the belt i shall get it done ASAP.

Seems to be a lot of conflicting opinions as to weather to go for semi or full synth oil....its is a budget car though so i suspect i'll go for the cheaper route. Ok, i may end up having problems, but then again it might well be just fine.

Cheers for the advice on gear fluid...is that gl4 or gl5?

 

[aragorn]

The price difference is negligible at any decent motorfactors, so just buy the fully synth stuff. That said regular changes are just as important. I change my oil every 5k, but i use the cheaper fully synthetic oils from the likes of Comma or Carplan rather than filling it with 50quids worth of mobil1. Its usually only a few pounds more expensive than the semi-synth stuff. If you intend on running it to the full service interval, then you definitely want good fully synth oil. Semi-synth cant handle the heat of the turbo and turns to sludge

Audi did originally specify 10w40 semi-synth, but it was later superceded to 5w40 synth.

Officially the gear oil is GL4, but i've used GL5 without any issues because i couldnt find 4 anywhere.