Recently purchased 2000 a4 Quattro 1.8T 5 spd - Help me with $1K upgrades

[Mad Cow]

For the caliper just spray the handbrake mechanism down with a good penetrant lube and pry it with a wrench or something until it moves freely. Mine was completely jammed and I fixed it that way.

[courtsidepe]

For the caliper just spray the handbrake mechanism down with a good penetrant lube and pry it with a wrench or something until it moves freely. Mine was completely jammed and I fixed it that way.

Ill have to remove my wheel right? (Need to buy jack stands, any suggestions?)

[courtsidepe]

So my car has never really ran past the half way mark on my temp gauge, on my way home today though it started climbing past the notch after half.

How concerned should I be?

Any quick response appreciated. I don't want to make my 20 minute commute to town if this is the sign of a serious problem.

[Angrypanda]

Thermostat could be stuck closed.

Or water pump isn't working. I think they got rid of the plastic impellers by 2000, but I could be wrong. Basically, the impeller strips off the bolt/axle that turns it, and thus, your water doesn't move...

Or your fan isn't working.


Solution:

Pop the hood, make sure your primary (belt) fan is running. After that run the engine for a couple more minutes, watching temp. Hoses into and out of the heater core should be warm (up by the battery, going under the windshield with that weird corrugated cover). If they are hot then the water pump is working. If your rad hoses are cold, then it's the thermostat.

If your rad hoses are also hot, then it might just be the sensor...


Welcome to your new Audi...
And have fun!

[courtsidepe]

Thermostat could be stuck closed.

Or water pump isn't working. I think they got rid of the plastic impellers by 2000, but I could be wrong. Basically, the impeller strips off the bolt/axle that turns it, and thus, your water doesn't move...

Or your fan isn't working.


Solution:

Pop the hood, make sure your primary (belt) fan is running. After that run the engine for a couple more minutes, watching temp. Hoses into and out of the heater core should be warm (up by the battery, going under the windshield with that weird corrugated cover). If they are hot then the water pump is working. If your rad hoses are cold, then it's the thermostat.

If your rad hoses are also hot, then it might just be the sensor...


Welcome to your new Audi...
And have fun!

Thanks for the response.

Primary belts and fan are working. Tubes going into heater core are warm/hot, so I guess water pump is working. Rad hoses were also warm/hot. So I guess it's just a sensor issue, which makes sense because I've hardly ever seen it move past the middle notch between the first and middle sections of the gauge.

Should I replace this sensor? My oil temp one has never been at the halfway mark either, should I have them both replaced?

Thanks again for the response. I can drive to work in my car today because of it

[Angrypanda]

Oil sensor is on a different scale. Halfway for water is 90*, halfway for oil is 120*. They should normally both be at ~90* when running and up to temp.

I'd still poke around some more and watch carefully when driving. I'm still suspicious of the mechanical faults. 20 minute drive at highway speed may be okay, but if you're going through town, watch that gauge.

[courtsidepe]

I drove 20 minutes to town today and it did get one notch past 90 on temp gauge. Car sat for 9 hours then drove home. The actual temp warning came up on my LCD so I pulled in luckily to my parents place and left the car there for the night.

My stock heat shield is going back on tomorrow. I think the engine sucking in hot air is the likely cause.

My blinktech one should be here in a few days, obviously the car can't handle going heat shield free.

I'll update tomorrow after I get get a short drive in with the stock heat shield rigged up in place with the cone intake mod.

[Angrypanda]

how are your fluid levels?

[Audiquattro337]

i think he said 190k km so its barely pushing 100k miles.

Everything else you said for upgrades i agree with. First thing i did to my b5 was replace all the front suspension components cause those go quick. I found a brand new koni yellow kit for cheap, then i jumped into getting my car as far away from 150hp as i could. Happy tuning!

oh i misread that haha, whoops :p

[Audiquattro337]

I drove 20 minutes to town today and it did get one notch past 90 on temp gauge. Car sat for 9 hours then drove home. The actual temp warning came up on my LCD so I pulled in luckily to my parents place and left the car there for the night.

My stock heat shield is going back on tomorrow. I think the engine sucking in hot air is the likely cause.

My blinktech one should be here in a few days, obviously the car can't handle going heat shield free.

I'll update tomorrow after I get get a short drive in with the stock heat shield rigged up in place with the cone intake mod.

Sucking in hot air wont affect your temp, at all. Though it will pull timing because of the higher IATs.

First thing i would do, and i HIGHLY advise this, because throwing parts at a car isn't easy on the wallet, and usually doesn't get you very far. Plus who wants to play the guessing game. Is go to Barnes and noble's website, order the Bentley repair manual, its on sale, and its hard cover, it will have all the proper repair procedures, torque specs, and most importantly, manufacturer specific diagnostic procedures for stuff like, sensors. Not everything can be tested unforchantly, a thermostat being one of those parts, its not unusual for them to start wigging out and doing weird things. like opening and functioning fine one second then closing up or opening up a bit the next, causing your temp to go up and down whatever the thermostat decides. My thermostat decides it prefers to be just under operating temp, and other days its dead center. >.< I would start by replacing the thermostat, its fairly cheap, and easy to replace. Even if its NOT the problem, consider it preventive maintenance. I always advise to go OEM, the engineers picked a company to make a part for a reason.

I would also check for small leaks, even the slightest leak will cause the system to loose its ability to pressurize, the boiling point of a liquid is increased when under pressure. Thats why 50/50 coolant and water mix doesn't boil.


Also, does it seem to only start overheating when you are stopped? or does it overheat all the time weather going down the freeway or sitting and idling.

[courtsidepe]

Sucking in hot air wont affect your temp, at all. Though it will pull timing because of the higher IATs.

First thing i would do, and i HIGHLY advise this, because throwing parts at a car isn't easy on the wallet, and usually doesn't get you very far. Plus who wants to play the guessing game. Is go to Barnes and noble's website, order the Bentley repair manual, its on sale, and its hard cover, it will have all the proper repair procedures, torque specs, and most importantly, manufacturer specific diagnostic procedures for stuff like, sensors. Not everything can be tested unforchantly, a thermostat being one of those parts, its not unusual for them to start wigging out and doing weird things. like opening and functioning fine one second then closing up or opening up a bit the next, causing your temp to go up and down whatever the thermostat decides. My thermostat decides it prefers to be just under operating temp, and other days its dead center. >.< I would start by replacing the thermostat, its fairly cheap, and easy to replace. Even if its NOT the problem, consider it preventive maintenance. I always advise to go OEM, the engineers picked a company to make a part for a reason.

I would also check for small leaks, even the slightest leak will cause the system to loose its ability to pressurize, the boiling point of a liquid is increased when under pressure. Thats why 50/50 coolant and water mix doesn't boil.


Also, does it seem to only start overheating when you are stopped? or does it overheat all the time weather going down the freeway or sitting and idling.

Another update.

I put the stock heat shield back on. Drove about 15 minutes on the highway at about 85 km/h, at 15 minutes or so it started to slowly climb over the halfway point of 90. Then had to drive around town for about 7 minutes or so. The temp was rising, and I pulled into a local radiator shop.

They suggested the same, replace the thermostat and go from there. I wasn't there for more then 5 minutes, because they couldn't see me today, I'm planning on going in Monday.

BUT, once i got in the car, i started it, drove another 7 minutes back to my store, and the temp gauge was calmly sitting at the halfway mark of 90. The only thing that makes me still believe it could be something other than a sensor is that there is a bit of oil residue around the oil cap. Which wasn't there before it started heating up. So im guessing thermostat could be a likely culprit.

Anyways, car will sit in town here until Monday, i don't want to risk driving it around anymore at this stage. I'd try to tackle the thermostat myself, but i don't have jack stands yet, and haven't dealt with draining any fluids from a car before. They quoted me around $100 to do it at the radiator shop.

Any insights appreciated, thanks for the help guys.

[Audiquattro337]

Another update.

I put the stock heat shield back on. Drove about 15 minutes on the highway at about 85 km/h, at 15 minutes or so it started to slowly climb over the halfway point of 90. Then had to drive around town for about 7 minutes or so. The temp was rising, and I pulled into a local radiator shop.

They suggested the same, replace the thermostat and go from there. I wasn't there for more then 5 minutes, because they couldn't see me today, I'm planning on going in Monday.

BUT, once i got in the car, i started it, drove another 7 minutes back to my store, and the temp gauge was calmly sitting at the halfway mark of 90. The only thing that makes me still believe it could be something other than a sensor is that there is a bit of oil residue around the oil cap. Which wasn't there before it started heating up. So im guessing thermostat could be a likely culprit.

Anyways, car will sit in town here until Monday, i don't want to risk driving it around anymore at this stage. I'd try to tackle the thermostat myself, but i don't have jack stands yet, and haven't dealt with draining any fluids from a car before. They quoted me around $100 to do it at the radiator shop.

Any insights appreciated, thanks for the help guys.

good plan, overheating can cause a whole laundrey list of issues including cracking your block, blowing a head gasket, ect ect, 100 isnt too bad as long as they are using audi specific coolant and warranty the work.

[courtsidepe]

good plan, overheating can cause a whole laundrey list of issues including cracking your block, blowing a head gasket, ect ect, 100 isnt too bad as long as they are using audi specific coolant and warranty the work.

Get a call saying its done, and that its been sitting at 100 degrees, which is 10 higher than it ever has.... AND, they tell me its $198 plus tax, fock

I have a feeling this thing will show its overheating again on my way home. What should my next step be if that happens?

[Audiquattro337]

Get a call saying its done, and that its been sitting at 100 degrees, which is 10 higher than it ever has.... AND, they tell me its $198 plus tax, fock

I have a feeling this thing will show its overheating again on my way home. What should my next step be if that happens?

WTF?! Did they call you, and ask for permission to do whatever more work they did that made it the extra 100? thats absolute rape, and its also illegal...

[courtsidepe]

He gave me a quick estimate of 90 or 100. Anyways, I'll deal with that.

Drove home and the temp warning came up around the same time as it has been, about 15 minutes, 5 minutes in town and 10 minutes highway.

I popped the hood, sound like a lot of bubbling going on. I'm at a loss, not sure what to do. Goes back to rad shop to get temps checked tomorrow.

[Audiquattro337]

You dont need a radiator shop, fixing a coolant issue is so easy. at this point you could have thrown a brand new coolant system on the thing for $200... damn shops these days... its like legal rape. lol.

It sounds like you have a leak, check the coolant flang on the back of the head. Also check the coolant expansion tank for cracks or leakage. Check the cap as well, if its chipped cracked or just brittle it could cause that issue. For shts and giggles i would go spend the $6 on a new cap and see if that helps. i wouldn't be surprised if that's the issue. It doesn't have to be a huge leak, just enough to loose pressure.

[courtsidepe]

You dont need a radiator shop, fixing a coolant issue is so easy. at this point you could have thrown a brand new coolant system on the thing for $200... damn shops these days... its like legal rape. lol.

It sounds like you have a leak, check the coolant flang on the back of the head. Also check the coolant expansion tank for cracks or leakage. Check the cap as well, if its chipped cracked or just brittle it could cause that issue. For shts and giggles i would go spend the $6 on a new cap and see if that helps. i wouldn't be surprised if that's the issue. It doesn't have to be a huge leak, just enough to loose pressure.

Yeah lesson learned on shops. I'll drive my B5 Passat until I figure this out on my own. I'll get a new cap and check for small leaks.

Ps. I ordered the Bentley A4 B5 service book. 97$ on amazon. Should help me in the long run

[Audiquattro337]

Yeah lesson learned on shops. I'll drive my B5 Passat until I figure this out on my own. I'll get a new cap and check for small leaks.

Ps. I ordered the Bentley A4 B5 service book. 97$ on amazon. Should help me in the long run

Nice! thats the way to do it, you will realize these cars are honestly rather simple, (some times) once you start fixing stuff yourself, plus your wallet will thank you.

[courtsidepe]

You dont need a radiator shop, fixing a coolant issue is so easy. at this point you could have thrown a brand new coolant system on the thing for $200... damn shops these days... its like legal rape. lol.

It sounds like you have a leak, check the coolant flang on the back of the head. Also check the coolant expansion tank for cracks or leakage. Check the cap as well, if its chipped cracked or just brittle it could cause that issue. For shts and giggles i would go spend the $6 on a new cap and see if that helps. i wouldn't be surprised if that's the issue. It doesn't have to be a huge leak, just enough to loose pressure.

So I got the new cap today, put it on, also noticed coolant level was about halfway below the low line. So I added some G12.

Car raised in temp as I drove 5 minutes home. It in the driveway and left it running, went back down and sat at 90 for about 20 minutes. Got back in the car and drove it up the road less than 40 seconds and turned around, temp rose quickly and warnings came up. Got it back in the driveway and it looked and sounded like the coolant reservoir was going to explode. Loud bubbling and I thought the cap was going to come flying off.

So... Do I have a bad water pump? How can it sit for so long at 90 but get hot so fast as soon as I start to drive?

Could it be a defective thermostat that was installed? I know it's possible but how likely?

I got a feeling it's the water pump, but I know nothing. The hoses running in around the battery are hot as hell, I know someone told me check that earlier. But I thought them being hot was a sign of my water pump being okay?

What so you guys think?

[Audiquattro337]

So I got the new cap today, put it on, also noticed coolant level was about halfway below the low line. So I added some G12.

Car raised in temp as I drove 5 minutes home. It in the driveway and left it running, went back down and sat at 90 for about 20 minutes. Got back in the car and drove it up the road less than 40 seconds and turned around, temp rose quickly and warnings came up. Got it back in the driveway and it looked and sounded like the coolant reservoir was going to explode. Loud bubbling and I thought the cap was going to come flying off.

So... Do I have a bad water pump? How can it sit for so long at 90 but get hot so fast as soon as I start to drive?

Could it be a defective thermostat that was installed? I know it's possible but how likely?

I got a feeling it's the water pump, but I know nothing. The hoses running in around the battery are hot as hell, I know someone told me check that earlier. But I thought them being hot was a sign of my water pump being okay?

What so you guys think?

damn, so if you idle its fine but driving raises the temp? not a thermostat issue, definetly sounds like a water pump or clogged radiator, of your coolant is clean its more them likly the water pump :/

[courtsidepe]

Yeah that's what I thought. I'm guessing this is not a task for a new do it yourselfer.

What is a fair price to pay for water pump and timing belt? Dealership said they've done them for as little as 6-$700...

[courtsidepe]

I was asking while I picked up my G12

[courtsidepe]

http://www.ecstuning.com/Audi-B5_A4-...Timing/ES1342/

Is this what I want?

[Audiquattro337]

That isn't a bad price, and yes, that is the kit you will want. its really an easy job to be honest, if you give yourself a weekend to do it, follow the procedures to the T in the Bentley manual and ask for help when you need it, I don't see any issue with it being done by someone with little to no mechanical experience, it was one of my first "bigger" jobs.

[courtsidepe]

damn, so if you idle its fine but driving raises the temp? not a thermostat issue, definetly sounds like a water pump or clogged radiator, of your coolant is clean its more them likly the water pump :/

Just heard back from the shop, FALSE ALARM, lol, thankfully.

The belt for the water pump was worn/stretched. So it was working intermittently, and would basically stop working once the car got warm enough.

Ordered the new belt, cheap.

I double checked and went through all the invoices that came with the car. The timing belt was done at 140,000 km's. The car is now at 195,000 km's. So I'm not going to go at that yet.

My B5.5 Passat though hasn't had it done, so I'm doing the timing belt/waterpump on it next week

Having to do 1 is better than 2 though, lol, im relieved.

[courtsidepe]

Cancel that. Needed the pump done, complete kit was done... If I can put a positive look on this.. It'd be that all my major maintenance is now officially complete. Time to start having a bit of fun with this car.

[Audiquattro337]

Cancel that. Needed the pump done, complete kit was done... If I can put a positive look on this.. It'd be that all my major maintenance is now officially complete. Time to start having a bit of fun with this car.

whoever did the timing belt and pump for the po probably either lied and didnt replace the pump or replaced it with some cheap or defective part, that sucks... so its not overheating anymore?

[courtsidepe]

Last owner only did the belt. I have all invoices since new. Driving home now, sitting at 90 degrees hasn't moved with an hour of driving.

I thought belt and pump was done, but after going over the invoices again it was just the belt.

Now I need to address my sticking rear caliper, lol.

[Doctor_Vdub]

Coilovers should be first thing as long as all maintenance is up to date.

^^^^
That, needs more low!