My Audi MT3 (Monster Truck A3)

[LanceG]

Hello fellow users

was really bored at home and thought I'd post a thread to show how my car was then explain my issue with it. It will be extremely slow progress because I recently been riding to work to save money for a MK2 TTs or S5 which i wont have enough for many many years LOL

Anyway - Got a A3 SE 170 BHP for £4,400 unsure if its BKD or BMN though

Sits a bit high though

So Here she is when I bought it's Snapback on backwards. (The roof)

Which came with these for free


but they're a bit battered




(I love the neighbours BM)


I really wanted 3sdm 0.01 wheels to change the wheels that came with the car so settled for some that I thought look similar.

This is what they looked like new, my poor parking skills have curbed then a LOT... the car opposite now have my old wheels on, I must say, it definitely suited his car a lot better than mine and I am so happy to see them go.


[BORING BIT]
I noticed my car was very jerky low down in the revs and I was advised to change the fuel filter which I did. After doing so everywhere I went and parked it up for a day it would leave a little pool of fuel so I clearly didn't do it correctly. So off it came and i went around tightening each bolt one by one bit by bit so there was no stress or strain, but the problem was still there so i left it (BAD IDEA)

OMW to that jumping place in Guildford I started seeing smoke then the car just cut out so I mounted the curb so I wasn't in the way of traffic and tried to turn it on 2 more times, no luck, Breakdown came, unclipped something in the engine and started spraying wd40 into the hose and turned it over a few more times and still no luck, after a few goes he noticed the serpentine belt had snapped.

Eventually got it home and the next day somebody came out to fix it then turned it over and still no luck then he realised the cambelt was ruined

Got my cambelt changed from 'DD Motors' in 'Raynes Park' after being told multiple times the car is dead (If you decide to go there, ask for Mason, Magician with cars) and the car was back but clearly injured.

The symptoms were now juddering and black smoke under load. Had a major service by Audi because it needed a service so i thought why not and as praying it would fix the issue but nope, still there.

Today I took it in explaining the issues and have been advised that Injector 1 has thrown up a fault so i need to get that replaced but because of the age and mileage of the car I'm advised to change all 4.

Labour at £130/hr at 3hrs = £390 :'(
Injector - £327.46
Gasket - £18.62
Harness - £92.16
bolts and screws
Total £1026.58 :'(

I dunno if this is regular price but I'm the type of person to try things myself so the plan now is to find somebody breaking the same car then try do them with the help of my brother myself, I save £390 on labour which already brings the cost down to £636.58 whoop whoop
[END OF BORING BIT]

Update soon Guys!!!!

 

[LanceG]

So I spent today sourcing parts.

Got 4 injectors from a Octavia for 210 delivered

and the seals and bolts etc from darkside aswell as a free manual whoop whoop


So so far my total bill on this issue is 345.90 :'(

just gotta wait for parts to come and a dry day

 

[LanceG]

Took my car to my garage to get Injectors done and was told the injectors were fine, however the Rocker Arms were ********, so bought a set, got them to fit them which fixed the problem!!! Power was back and nooooo black clouds of smoke when I put my foot down..





UNTIL...

On the way home on the A3 from the garage, she just cut out... so toed back to the garage just waiting for them to get back to me!.!.!.!.

 

[hollows wife]

£130 p h labour . wouldn't pay that if it was a ferrari

 

[LanceG]

Right so been going back and forth with the garage for a month saying a different problem has come up and it will be done by next week, then when i phone them the following week its another problem and another week to wait.

Weekly apparent problems...
[Week1] Previous person to do cambelt broke off a pin which caused it conk (Although i've had no problems since cambelt was done)
[Week2] oil galleries are blocked up need to be cleared
[Week3] told the engine has to come out (Which he said would have to happen whilst changing the rocker arms in the first place) but apparently it wasn't because I didn't ask for it to come out along with new rocker arms being rubbish and I now need new ones...
[Week4] Need new cam shells too and oil galleries again.

I mentioned i've never had any problems with the car apart from the black smoke before I given the car to this garage and was told because the rocker arms wasn't functioning before hand for so long it caused the valves to eventually become blocked and now that they work the valve is blocked causing the car to overload in oil pressure??

didn't think it would take over a month to fix though but hey, i'm no mechanic so I cant say. [sorry for long post]

Last call was Tuesday 26th April and was told he's sourcing for parts car will be done next week [tomorrow] lets see what excuse I got tomorrow

 

[LanceG]

£130 p h labour . wouldn't pay that if it was a ferrari

I know right, but you do get a courtesy car whilst yours is being worked on so I suppose getting dealerships to look at it has its perks right... right?

 

[audismart]

£130ph
Find an Audi independent and pay £45ph max.

 

[LanceG]

5 Weeks later...
​

Phoned em Tuesday said it would be done Thursday....

Phoned em today (Thursday 5th May) and been told they've taken it to an engineering shop and was advised the cradle is out of shape which is why the camshaft keeps rocking up. Also you cant get the cradle on its on own so you have to buy it with a new head. So "Apparently" he's going to phone me once he's found one.... I'll give em a week to get one (shouldn't realistically take that long right?) till i phone again and have an update

The communication skills are so poor with these guys, unless you phone them they will NOT phone you (Must be a mechanic thing)... I don't know what to do now apart from wait. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

I'm ****** off because it was driveable before I gave it to them, although it poo'd out a LOT of smoke. However, I could've part ex'd it for something, now the thing is undriveable and im out of pocket £700

ah well, hopefully it gets fixed eh?

 

[LanceG]

£130ph
Find an Audi independent and pay £45ph max.

I might have to in the end, seems these guys are clueless to what the issue is.

either that or they're enjoying having me on... My brother says i'm paranoid but 5 weeks with no call unless i call them and a different excuse every, time??? nah i don't think so

 

[audismart]

Also you car hight looks like standard, so fit some Eibach pro springs with your stock dampers, or if your pockets are deeper then streatch for a Bilstein B12 kit that comes with Eibach pro or sportline springs, the sportline are lower if you can cope with firmer ride, but you will have to pair up the dampers with them.

 

[LanceG]

Phoned them again Monday 23rd,and was told something else is wrong....

The thread has been pulled out the block where the tensioner pulley goes for the cambelt and at the moment they're stuck

so I'm assuming where they've had it apart and put it back together so many times alongside possibly rushing; they've f***ed up the thread???

Dunno...

Also; to the guys with experience and knowledge. I'm skeptical about keeping the thing now. the reason for this Is because I'm worried that, once it is eventually fixed how long will it last until it breaks down again

Should I keep it ? or not??? I love the car but if its costs every few months to fix expensive problems I cant keep it.

Also you car hight looks like standard, so fit some Eibach pro springs with your stock dampers, or if your pockets are deeper then streatch for a Bilstein B12 kit that comes with Eibach pro or sportline springs, the sportline are lower if you can cope with firmer ride, but you will have to pair up the dampers with them.

That's standard ??!??!>?! ewwwwwwwww

I've got coilovers that my bro gave to me from his old car, would you advise the springs or the coils?? they cheap fks btw?

p.s sorry for the long essay

 

[Chrisk1993]

That is standard for sure. If you can only do springs that's not a great idea so stay with the coilovers.
Generally coilovers are more harsh on the ride than damper/spring setup.
Once everything is sorted I would keep it as you know it's all been done.

 

[LanceG]

That is standard for sure. If you can only do springs that's not a great idea so stay with the coilovers.
Generally coilovers are more harsh on the ride than damper/spring setup.
Once everything is sorted I would keep it as you know it's all been done.

My brother told me to keep it too even though I keep telling him it wont last because its been 8 weeks, they're eventually gonna get fed up with it and bodge it, then when I take it, it will break down within a month or two, but he rekons garages think about their reputation too much to do that which I guess makes sense.

 

[LanceG]

KMT

So i went down there for an update

was told the bolt that holds the tensioner to the engine has stripped the thread on the inside of the block???

So i asked but that wasn't an issue before, everytime i phone you i'm told that the engine has been pulled apart and put back together...

his reply was because they've pulled it apart and put back together so many times they've threaded the bolt......


its been 2 months... what do I do now??? Surely they're liable for something

is there anybody that know what my options are????

 

[DJ_26]

Man that is a terrible experience with the garage, my mate in Surrey used a garage around the Guildford area I think and when I heard the prices, I was pretty shocked! Plus they had his car for ages for a simple coilpack job on an Astra. I hope you haven't gone to the same garage! These garages in Guildford/Surrey charge way too much. I'd rather have a better independent garage that didn't offer a courtesy car and did a proper job for a reasonable price.

But anyway, for your predicament, it may be worth speaking to other garages to see what their solutions would be for the current situation with the threading. Maybe some helicoil will do it. There's another thread that mentions it here. Then if your current garage can't do it, try and get some reimbursement and take the car elsewhere.

Try and find a good VW/Audi specialist and don't be afraid to travel.

 

[LanceG]

Yo, so phoned em again and erm... explained that they were the cause of the issue and should fix the issue free of charge and the gentlement I spoke to. "Kevin from GB Motors Walton on Thames KT12 2HL" laughed and said I'm having a laugh because I was the one that broke the car...

Gonna get a bangger for a while till this is sorted LOL

P.S. Don't go GB Motorz (damn, are you allowed to name and shame on here? lemme read the rules)

 

[LanceG]

Back in an A3 again

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[LanceG]

Plans are to keep fairly standard

A bit of ice. It's a non Bose so upgrade with components... Please send your suggestions

Screen from old car going in, build a too big for the boot speaker box

My wheels never sold so they'll be going back on...

Tints

hopefully that's it.. for now

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[HOGG]

But what happened to the old A3?

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[LanceG]

But what happened to the old A3?

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Garage f***ed it! so had to get rid.

Tried a 2004 120d (As you can tell I was into my diesels), felt miles slower than the Audi, felt heavier too which I hated but got used too then began to like the way RWD drives

Then had a Lexus IS200 which made me realise BMW - Ultimate Driving Machine my asssss.. now I'm back in this red A3 - Hopefully it's my last car for some time.

 

[SootySport]

You bought a Diesel and you live in London?

 

[LanceG]

You bought a Diesel and you live in London?

Lol people always say that... There's loads of diesels on my commute to work in London.

£30 got me around 140miles, now I get 100..

Plus they're torquey... Not that I drive fast... Airplane runways ofcourse

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[SootySport]

How do you get away with the emmission zones charging, is yours a Euro 6?

 

[samisnake]

How do you get away with the emmission zones charging, is yours a Euro 6?

LEZ atm only covers central London, pretty much the same as the congestion charge. its 24/7 365 though whereas congestion is up until 6/6.30pm mon to Fri.

2021 is when it's getting extended to the suburbs.
It's all a bit mad as all diesels made before 2015, and basically any petrol made before 2001 will be hit with the LEZ charge anywhere near the north and south circular.

Op is fine for now if he doesn't work in the current lez (and tbh who's driving to work in Central London, noone)

 

[SootySport]

He’s got less than 2 years to change his car then.
There’s already a glut of non conforming diesel cars for sale around the south east at bargain prices. So may be of interest to the rural buyers for a cheap car.

 

[LanceG]

LEZ atm only covers central London, pretty much the same as the congestion charge. its 24/7 365 though whereas congestion is up until 6/6.30pm mon to Fri.

2021 is when it's getting extended to the suburbs.
It's all a bit mad as all diesels made before 2015, and basically any petrol made before 2001 will be hit with the LEZ charge anywhere near the north and south circular.

Op is fine for now if he doesn't work in the current lez (and tbh who's driving to work in Central London, noone)

lol you would've thought noone but Central London is always chocka block!

He’s got less than 2 years to change his car then.
There’s already a glut of non conforming diesel cars for sale around the south east at bargain prices. So may be of interest to the rural buyers for a cheap car.

Nah, I got rid of my diesel 1 ages ago (Black one)

the red one is petrol 2.0 tfsi so I'm good for now, unless they miraculously think of a brand sparkling new idea that ruins that for me

 

[LanceG]

Yeah, Getting rid... after driving my diesels, going back to 100 miles from £30 is a joke.

Looks like im going for a Fix Or Repair Daily vehicle.

Want a mk3, yeah they're slow but I get double the miles from £30... plus £400 cheaper insurance? no brainer...

 

[LanceG]

I can't leave it alone

Failed MOT on a droplink.. obviously that was sorted then passed.

Engine light kept coming on every 500ish miles and revs were bouncing around for some time so replaced pcv valve.

Engine light disappeard whoop whoop

Enjoying it whilst I still can :'(

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[LanceG]

Broke my fuel line

Fuel line in question is the black one beside the blue.

Is it as easy as it looks or is it one of those things that is too good to be true?

 

[LanceG]

Window switchy changed

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[HOGG]

That's a lot better

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