Preventive Maintenance A6

[GFP]

Hello - Having recently acquired a 2006 Audi 2.7 V6 tdi saloon ad whilst awaiting fault rectification at the dealers (latest = egr problem) I am keen to undertake preventive maintenance as far as feasible and thought the forum members would have some suggestions in this respect.

The first thing I did was to take off all the wheels, to make sure they came off OK and clean/grease the nuts as required. Also, on the front discs to chip off the build up of corrosion that occurs around the edge of the disc with the idea of avoiding premature 'corrosion creep' and flaking on the disc (requiring a new disc). Whilst in that area I wire brush any rusty bits, especially the callipers, treat with rust cure, and spray with silver wheel paint, clean the wheels/hubs and respray inside the wheels where corrosion, again, may be about to creep to the front, with silver (wheel) paint and finally pay particular attention to the nut recesses, masking them off and repairing any flaked off paint in there. On the A6 there are some struts that are badly rusted, so they have been treated and painted with Hammerite too.

Maybe everyone does that, I don't know but any 'early' engine checks to do would be welcome. I see somewhere that the EGR valve should be checked every 10,000 miles, so that's the sort of thing. Thanks

[shabazmo]

Seems like a lot of work with very little gain. I would stick to body work protection only. The part to give attention would be the wing lip where mud can store and lead to eventual corrosion, otherwise, all the parts you mention are likely to last a very long time. Regarding discs, I have not come accross discs failling due to corrosion creep. Wear is the biggest problem and when that happens, you need to replace the discs.
Regarding mechanical. Spec 507.00 oil changed every 10K miles.
Best of luck

[GFP]

The thing about the discs and corrosion creep, that probably happened to me because I go some weeks sometimes between trips, more regular use would stop that, so not a particularly useful idea from me there and in normal circumstances I concur with what you say. But regarding the 'around the brakes wheels and callipers exercise, that was just a warm day outside and no big deal and smartened things up considerably. But the small 'struts' I treated were corroded to an alarming degree, so definitely worth checking (unusual find on an Audi I admit).

What stimulated the 'preventive maintenance' idea was my recent breakdown and erratic running at lower revs. The car just failed to start, quite randomly, no warning, Two weeks later and the dealers (not Audi) have sorted out the erratic running (replaced EGR Valve) and thinking that was the cause of the no start had arranged for me to pick the car up. Whilst on my way I got a call, they were just going to have the car valeted for return and guess what - failed to start! Maybe the RAC man was right with air in system or fuel pump (whichever one) not up to the mark. The thing is when I need to use the car, I need it to work and so, if, say I knew the MTBF of the various key sensors, I would change the things in good time (or run checks on them if they are prone to 'fading away'. Not knowing if the car's going to start on tomorrow's 5AM start, disturbs my wife, she wants a reliable starter!!

I quite like the excitement of the gamble but I have failed to sell that idea.

I am looking at getting a code reader, would the sort of thing one sees on E-Bay for about £36.00 be adequate? Wouldn't mind some words of wisdom on that.

[shabazmo]

The best for your Audi is VCDS. See http://www.ross-tech.com/