PCV valve replacement - other things to check (upgrade?)

[HertS3]

Hey all,
Been a while since I've been on here.
So my PCV valve has been showing an intermittent fault since I got the car (first appeared 6 days into ownership, to be precise). After a protracted debate with RAC Warranty including mediation, they are not budging and will not honour their 3 month warranty I got with the car.
On the plus side, around a year ago I was quoted £500 just for the parts and now it appears to have dropped to £150! So now seems to be the time to get this sorted. Car drives fine as far as I can tell, but its always in the back of my mind that the valve could one day go and do some unspoken damage to the engine.
The question is, whilst supercharger is off, should I ask for specific things to be checked? Any cheap worthwhile upgrades whilst this work is being done?
TIA

 

[NHN]

I'm curious, why wont they honour the warranty?

 

[HertS3]

Long story but when my indie mechanic came to replace the valve, he found that the N19 (?) Cable was unplugged, its just under the engine cover. He was hoping that this was causing the car to think that the valve was malfunctioning as it affects the airflow, so we didn't proceed with the replacement. At this time RAC had confirmed that they'd honour the warranty for this.
Several months later MOT was due and fault code persisted so it's clear that the valve is actually faulty. RAC say it's been too long so not paying. Went to mediation and now their stance is that as the fault is first logged by the car 6 days after ownership, it must've been unplugged when I took ownership of the car (or maybe they think I unplugged it - who knows!) So refusing for that reason.
At the time I was looking at £500+ for labour and £500ish for parts, at least the parts seem to have come down considerably in the meantime

 

[PenttisHSR]

Just be careful, there are internal (pressure) differences between B8 & B8.5 PCV Valve.
Usually, it is highly recommended to replace the Waterpump and Thermostat whilst the supercharger is off. Definitely replace the Thermostat IMO. The plastic coolant "crossover" pipes can become brittle with age and break when removing, so having them to hand could be sensible. I must say, in my case the pipes were in perfect condition however. Also 3 injectors need to be disturbed for access, so replacement (well lubed) O-Rings are required to be on the safe side. [These only come from Audi as part of a kit]. The Upper & Lower intake gaskets are rubber rings and you could get away with refitting the originals, but seems silly to risk problems.
Here's my (genuine Audi) parts list and prices from JUL 2019. Note - mine is B8 - part No. for **B8.5 PCV = 06E103547AH**

Thermostat 06E121111AL £90.00
Water Pump 06E121018D £96.00
PCV 06E103547AC £98.40
Lower Gasket X3 079129717B £12.60
Upper Gasket X6 079129717D £47.30
Injector O-Ring Kit X3 06E998907E £44.00
Coolant Pipe 06E121065N £23.00
Coolant Pipe 06E121045BD £79.00

 

[HertS3]

Just be careful, there are internal (pressure) differences between B8 & B8.5 PCV Valve.
Usually, it is highly recommended to replace the Waterpump and Thermostat whilst the supercharger is off. Definitely replace the Thermostat IMO. The plastic coolant "crossover" pipes can become brittle with age and break when removing, so having them to hand could be sensible. I must say, in my case the pipes were in perfect condition however. Also 3 injectors need to be removed for access, so replacement (well lubed) O-Rings are required to be on the safe side. [These only come from Audi as part of a kit]. The Upper & Lower intake gaskets are rubber rings and you could get away with refitting the originals, but seems silly to risk problems.
Here's my (genuine Audi) parts list and prices from JUL 2019. Note - mine is B8 - part No. for **B8.5 PCV = 06E103547AH**

Thermostat 06E121111AL £90.00
Water Pump 06E121018D £96.00
PCV 06E103547AC £98.40
Lower Gasket X3 079129717B £12.60
Upper Gasket X6 079129717D £47.30
Injector O-Ring Kit X3 06E998907E £44.00
Coolant Pipe 06E121065N £23.00
Coolant Pipe 06E121045BD £79.00

Wow - very comprehensive! Luckily (in a way) I had a leaky thermostat last year which was replaced under the official Audi extended warranty (took it out as soon as I paid the deposit on the car but couldn't claim for PCV valve as date fell within first 30 days of the policy!), so should be all good on that side. Didn't realise the parts were so cheap, must be the Audi labour that makes every repair £1k+!
The mechanic that's going to do the work did say that there are other pipes etc which may need replacing if they're damaged whilst removing bits for the valve to be replaced.

 

[PenttisHSR]

Thermostats don't normally leak (that's the waterpump), they start to stick (closed) and cause the engine to overheat/fans running all the time. Are you certain the Thermostat was replaced?
For the extra cost of replacing the PCV Valve, whilst the supercharger was off last year, I would have happily paid the additional cost myself (in your position) to remove all the problems. That's why it's advisable to replace all three (PCV/Waterpump/Thermostat) when any one of them fail.

 

[HertS3]

Thermostats don't normally leak (that's the waterpump), they start to stick (closed) and cause the engine to overheat/fans running all the time. Are you certain the Thermostat was replaced?
For the extra cost of replacing the PCV Valve, whilst the supercharger was off last year, I would have happily paid the additional cost myself (in your position) to remove all the problems. That's why it's advisable to replace all three (PCV/Waterpump/Thermostat) when any one of them fail.

Had I have known they're in the same area I probably would have done this

 

[PenttisHSR]

This is a copy/paste of your post about this from last year (09/10/20)........
OK mechanic confirmed it's the bypass pipe that's leaking, not the thermostat housing
I repeat, "Are you certain the Thermostat was replaced?"

 

[HertS3]

I'll check my paperwork...

 

[HertS3]

This is a copy/paste of your post about this from last year (09/10/20)........
OK mechanic confirmed it's the bypass pipe that's leaking, not the thermostat housing
I repeat, "Are you certain the Thermostat was replaced?"

Only water pump was replaced - reckon it's worth replacing the thermostat housing whilst I'm at it? Warranty would pick it up if it did fail, though I opted for the £100 excess option.

 

[HertS3]

Some good news...
After months going backwards and forwards with RAC Warranty, they have agreed that as they categorically can't prove that the fault didn't exist when I bought the vehicle, they have agreed that their warranty will pay towards the replacement of the PCV valve, and they even gave me some cash as a gesture of goodwill for the mess-around
Will have the work done in Jan when my mechanic has more time.
I was debating upgrading the pulleys whilst the supercharger is off, by by the time you factor in a remap is needed also it becomes a costly affair...