Audi A4 - Have a few jobs to do, would like advice plz!

[Tarmons]

Hi All,

I recently purchased a A4 2001 2.5tdi V6, 98K miles, AKE engine code. Got the car at a good price but have a few jobs to do to it, I have spent some money already and have found that the fault code given by Vag-Com does not always point towards the actually problem but we live and learn. I am not skilled with tools so I rely on a mechanic friend to do the jobs in his spare time.

Purchased so far:

No.3 Injector with Sensor (New Bosch Injector)
Hydro Electric Engine Mount (Genuine Audi Part)

Faults remaining with the Car:
Quite a bit of vibration during idle, gear knob moves with acceleration and lift off, hence the reason for the engine mounting change as indicated by Vag-Com but vibration still remains and fault code has returned after a few miles. At the moment I am thinking its the Snub mount on the front of the engine, as these are quite cheap and I believe you do not need to drop the subframe to change, I will do that next.

Temperature gauge does not go above 70 and Fuel gauge erratic, used Vag-Com to check the cluster and temperature worked as expected but Fuel gauge did not respond consistently so this may be a cluster issue where the temperature may be a sensor issue.

Some Cam wear evident but does not yet seem to affect the performance at this point or starting of the car.

I plan to change timing belt/Water pump, etc soon but wished to change the cams at the same time so its not a small job (parts wise) and will change the temperature sensor at that time too.

I have been looking at Cam Kits but they range widely in price and I have no idea what is a good make other than to avoid hollow cams.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

 

[simon.m]

maybe your cluch giving the vibration as for temp id go with stat and temp sensor very comon had mine do the same thing and it was that. as for cams id have to say stick to oem parts but thats just me

 

[Tarmons]

Thanks Simon, I guess I am hoping its not the clutch but it did cross my mind. Would that cause the Hydro mounting intermittent fault? To my understanding, if there is too much play on the snub mount it will tear the hydro electric mounts? BTW, I have the EKTA program for parts and it says that both P & D side mounts have sensors but my mechanic buddy says that only one of them has a sensor, is this right?

Cheers!

 

[simon.m]

no i cant see it myself the mounts is very comon i also had this it was just a snaped wier on mine. the mount works some thing like this when your on tick over it pushes a small rod into the mount witch gets hot and worms the jell so you get less vibration when you drive off it pulls the rod out it gose cold and hardons up again. im not sure if there is more than one that do this as far as i know its just one but there are more ppl on here that no more than me and im sure they will help soon.

 

[Tarmons]

Thanks Simon, hopefully some other members may also be able to help.

 

[quattrojames]

As well as the mounts it's worth checking the wiring hasn't got damaged. The 2.5 is a big old engine to tick over and isn't the smoothest, but I'm sure you'd know if something was wrong.

I also get some gearstick movement and a judder sometimes when pulling away, I'm thinking a gearbox mount too so will be interested to hear how you get on with this.

The temp gauge is almost certainly to blame for the erratic temp, even if you're not mechanically minded it's an easy change, I did mine last night:

http://www.audi-sport.net/vb/a4-a4-...temperature-sensor-g62-replacement-guide.html

 

[Tarmons]

Thanks James, appreciate the advice. From my reading, I believe there is two temperature sensors? The one you have mentioned and another which is behind the timing belt, not sure if this is correct though. May try the one you suggested first, your post makes it look easy.

The vibration on idle is quite pronounced, you can visibly see the front wheels juddering at times and the gear knob is not so much moving but waving at you (once driving I mean ). Once I have it solved I will post back.

Thanks again!

 

[swarcup]

Shoooot man you must have nearly all the major expense jobs all at the same time, cams are not cheap even doing yourself will set you back a couple of grand i would imagine once you factor in all the ancillaries, unless you know something i would stick to oem and make sure the oil is changed every 6-8k and the should be ok, its usually the long service shedule that kills them,mine have just hit 133k and are still sound, cam wear could be the cause of your vibration issue or as simon said the dual mass flywheel,your correct with the snub, this is there to resist the movement on the engine drivetrain and once installed should reduce vibration and any movement in the engine, this could also be the vibration cause,
the temp guage not getting over 70 sounds familiar, my bets on the thermostat as ive never seen a cts fix this unless the needle is eratic also, if if so then you may aswell do the cambelts and tensioners,waterpump at the same time as they all come off to get to it, its a pretty big job when all said
the fuel guage is fully changeable inside the dash pod as ive swapped my temp guage, get a donor pod and simply swap them over, of course it may be the sender so a little investigation is needed. Although the temp and fuel guages from a b7 fit straight in the needles differ slightly(found that out the hard way)

lovely cars when running right hang in there

when you pull off in first and you experience judder it is most likely the dual mass flywheel showing signs of wear, mine has been doing it on and off for the last year or so also.

 

[Tarmons]

Cheers Swarcup, lol mate, yeah the list of jobs is daunting but I guess I am lucky enough that none of them are really pressing and its still more of a "jobs I would like to get done" list, for now at least

You can pick up a cam kit for in around £600, which includes the followers, etc. The main cost of doing the cams is in the ripping of the car to get at them, much of that ripping is also done when changing the timing belt so I am hoping to do the lot in one go along with the temperature sensor and water pump.

With the vibration, I have my fingers, legs and even my eyes crossed hoping that its not the DMF, maybe I'm in denial but I actually believe this is not the main culprit. I dont really have judder when moving off, its more when the car is stationary and ticking over, standing outside the car you can see the front wheels juddering (when its at its worst). Depressing the clutch makes no difference to it, I have an intermittent hydro mounting sensor fault although its just been replaced with a genuine part. This and the waving of the gear stick, leads me to believe there is too much play in the snub mount allowing the engine to shift forwards and back. Snub mount is not expensive and much easier than the other mounts to replace so may be worth a punt.

I have a few other small jobs to do also, such as a bushing on the rear diff but I believe this may be part of the sub frame so may get one frabricated out of nylon. All this before I even look at new rims lol

I will stick with it, the car really drives well and not a rattle, absolutely love it!

 

[bowen]

my 1.8t gives alot of vibration through the gear stick too. Never thought about what it could be...

 

[Tarmons]

Ordered the snub mounting, part number 8e0199339 at just €8 for the genuine part makes me wonder could it be that simple and cheap to sort out such pronounced vibration.

Could get the mount inspected first but it would take nearly the same time to inspect it as replace it. Hopefully my luck is in, eh!