2000 A4 2.5TDi Quattro Avant... A couple of small issues

[mboy]

Just bought a 2000X A4 2.5TDi V6 Quattro Avant, with good spec, in pretty decent condition, and am reasonably happy with it. Just got a couple of small issues I want to hurry up and sort out though, which I need some help with.

1. The front windscreen wipers are rubbish! The slowest wipers I have ever come across, I swear it's like they're off an Original Austin Seven or something! What's going on there, do I need a new wiper motor? Or is it something else? Everything works, it's just they're sooooooooo sloooooow...

2. The brakes are poor. Have read about the conversions to fit 312mm discs up front instead of the 288's, and can get hold of the parts easily, but will they fit under my standard 16" wheels?

3. The engine takes a long time to get up to any kind of temperature, and even then the water and engine oil do not go above 80 degrees. Having owned numerous VW's before, all with TDi engines, I am used to them getting up to 90 degrees pretty quickly, but then staying there solid as a rock. Obviously, far better this than overheating and warping the heads or blowing a head gasket, but what's up? Stuck thermostat perhpas? And if so, how much of a job to fix?

Oh, and anyone know if the upgraded Symphony stereo with in dash CD player and tape deck can be removed, for fitting of a normal DIN sized head unit?

Cheers

[hibbsy21]

Hi,

Wipers: Is there anything squeaking when they are on? Try greasing up the joints on the arms near the motor. If not it would be best to have a new motor.

Brakes: No. They wouldnt. You'll ave to get some bigger wheels. How do you mean the brakes are poor? Do they feel spongy? Might be a good idea to change the pads discs and get some new fluid in there! Use DOT4 or above!

Temp: Yep thats the thermostat. Fairly simple job an a 1.9tdi. not 100% on yours though. But its a case of drain the radiator undo a few bolts pull the old stat out (get soaked by all the coolant that is stuck behind it) wipe the edge, fit new stat with new seal. Fill the coolant back up with audi standard coolant.

HU: I have a sony hu in mine, easy to pop out you may need to swap a wire or two round in order to keep the radio and equalizer settings saved too.

Hope all helps!

Rich

[mboy]

Yeah, there is some squeaking, will get in there with a load of lube to see if that helps first off, if not, will investigate a new motor... Are they expensive?

You sure 312mm discs wouldn't fit under 16" wheels? iirc all Audi TT's came with 312mm front brakes, and some of the lesser powered cars came on 16" wheels... Or did they have 288mm front brakes?

As far as what's wrong with my brakes, just no power really, and they fade too easily! Probably do need new discs and pads indeed, but my last car, a B5 Passat, had had the 312mm brake upgrade (on 17" wheels) and the brakes were very strong, and I know it's an easy upgrade.

So it is the thermostat then, fair enough... What would happen if I don't get it done immediately? Bearing in mind that summer is on its way... Car is due a service anyway in about 7k miles, which I'll probably do by about September/October I reckon, so can it wait til then? Or is it more important than that?

The Head unit is massive, that was my point, not a standard DIN sized unit. Bit annoyed the original owner upgraded this, as the non upgrade head unit was a normal DIN sized unit iirc! Is there any way I can get it out, and fit my nice Alpine iPod controlling head unit?

[yaman]

Its a wiper-linkage problem http://www.audiworld.com/tech/misc44.shtml

The stat replacement is a job n' a half, do the timing-belt and water-pump
at the same time.

Standard brakes should be sharp, look at discs and pads first.

Regards
Jim

[mboy]

Cheers Yaman for that link

Which makes me now beg another question... Is the wiper mechanism in a B5 VW Passat the same as that in a B5 A4? Cos I have a B5 Passat sat on my drive at home, that I am having to break cos the engine seized in it sadly, and maybe I could just nick the fully functional wiper mechanism out of that?

How long a job is the thermostat replacement? Was planning on getting cambelt changed at the next service anyway (120k miles), but that's 7000 miles away. How many hours is it to do the whole thing?

[green A8]

I agree with Jim's comments.We have a 2001 2.5 TDi Avant. The brakes in particular should be very positive, they are on our car.

However I have encountered problems on our older 1.9 TDi Avant which did lead to reduced braking, and a major repair. Firstly both discs became badly scored. This resulted in squealing and grinding noises under anything but the lightest braking. When the car was being dismantled for investigation of these problems, it rapidly became apparent that there was a need for other new parts. All four calipers had corroded pistons, and all four caliper carriers had seized floating pins, out of a total of eight floating pins, only two wern't seized this had led to uneven and excessive pad wear :aargh4: And all this on a fully main agent serviced car :zx11:

I did all the repair work on the car myself (it's not too difficult) This involved replacing all four calipers with reconditioned units, and all the caliper carriers (including pins) I foolishly fitted cheap discs. An utter waste of time and money. They refused to run true and were out of spec on the Test Dial Indicator. I replaced the cheapo discs with genuine Audi parts, which ran true and perfect from the word go. Take my advice and stick to genuine Audi discs. While the car was "in dock" I changed all the flexy hoses.

That was all done about seven or eight years ago, the car has never given any problems since. It's only had the pads changed twice since the "major overhaul." I do check the brakes on a regular basis (about twice a year the car is only doing a tiny mileage), as those damn floating pins can cause aggro if they arn't greased every now and then. I also have the brake fluid renewed every two years, I know a lot of folks don't bother doing this. I think it's well worth the cost and the peace of mind. Plus it's supposed to be done according to Audi's service schedule.

Hope this helps.

Kind Regards.

Paul.

[olds_kool]

312 conversion should fit under 16's and is well worth doing, really helps with brake fade but as suggested check everything is working as it should first

thermostat, i drove mine for about 6 months without it going over 70deg didnt seem to do any harm, you can always put it in for belt service early (once youve remortgaged to cover the cost!) parts are very expensive for these engines!

almost every part of double din centre console is different to single din so you cant just change cage, but i would be very interested in doing a swap (pm sent)

[mboy]

Well the brakes are starting to get a bit better, from memory the previous owner did say the car had barely been used in last 3 months or so. I remember they looked a bit glazed and marked when I picked it up... Done a few hard stops now, got a good lungful of brake dust, and the performance seems a lot better. Took the car to have front wheels rebalanced last night, and whilst the wheels were off could see the discs and pads are actually almost new, so no worries there. Definitely still want to upgrade to 312's though at some point...

Wiper mechanism is doing my head in though, I fear if it rained right now, I'll be walking as it's next to useless! Will have to get it pulled apart asap I think...

[hibbsy21]

My brakes aren't in the best condition, some scoring on the discs an a small lip on the rears but they are still very strong, quite impressive actually! All the brake hoses were changed in 2003 according to the service history.

as for the wiper linkage, its worth a try if you are breaking the car, if it fits great, if not, its already out so you can flebay it

Swap your fuel filter for a new one, this will improve your mpg and performance slightly.

[yaman]

Well the brakes are starting to get a bit better, from memory the previous owner did say the car had barely been used in last 3 months or so. and whilst the wheels were off could see the discs and pads are actually almost new, so no worries there.

Wiper mechanism is doing my head in though, Will have to get it pulled apart asap I think...

You could take the pads out and clean the surfaces with a wire brush, at the same time check the pins as Paul suggests.

The stiff wipers will eventually burn the motor out, don't know about the
passat's compatibility.

The timing belt/water-pump/stat should take 4-5 hours

Regards
Jim

[mboy]

Brakes are definitely getting better. Don't feel over-servoed yet, like the last A4 I drove, but they're reassuring at least now, and I'm confident I can stop for junctions. It's amazing what actually gets solved on cars by actually driving them regularly!

Only 4-5 hours for cambelt and subsumed with it is reassuring, my mechanic only charges me about £25-30 an hour, not £80 an hour like most garages, so shouldn't break the bank at least.

Wiper mechanism will have to wait til the weekend I think, hoping the passat mechanism is the same though.

[hibbsy21]

Well if the pads and discs are fairly new its likely they are still bedding in. Go out to a secluded straight road at night when there is little traffic and do some moderate/hard braking from 60-0 a few times that should de-glaze them and get them bedding in properly.

[mboy]

Yeah done that, pads and discs are properly deglazed now. Still dont think the brakes are up to that much though, it's a 1600kg car with only 288mm front brakes... The 312's make a big difference on a Passat, so they'll be going on the A4 pronto...

[mboy]

Right, front brakes now feel fine, if a little under powered. Rear brakes, not so good... They're binding, or not releasing fully at least...

Got about 5 miles from work last night, smoke billowing out of one rear wheel! Pulled over and stopped for a few minutes, but the pads definitely aren't retracting fully all the time... So what's involved, and expensive to fix?

[yaman]

The piston(s) could be sticking in the caliper, or the pads are not
sliding. A good cleaning can work wonders, i use brake fluid and
lint-free cloth on the piston sides.

There are overhaul kits available with seals, or you could just replace
the calipers.

Regards
Jim

[mboy]

Rear brake calipers had got sticky, both the sliding pins and the handbrake mechanism were quite sticky, causing them to drag! Sorted now, loads of grease in there, could do with new seals though mind, but will worry about that in time...

Wiper mechanism freed off with a load of spray lube, and some grease. Not sure the wipers are as quick as they should be still, so keeping the motor and mechanism out of my broken Passat as a spare...