enoch861

Hi guys! I bought my 1999 Audi A6 2.8 about 2.5 months ago and I knew it had a leak when buying.
First thing I did was take it in for a oil change. I got that done and went on to tackle the oil leak. I took it in to a shop and they told me that the left gasket was leaking so I had them replace it but nothing changed. I took it in again and they said they couldn't pin point where it was coming from. So I took it in to a shop that supposedly works on German cars and in 5 minutes the guy told me that the Cam Adjuster Seals were leaking. The dealer wants 1600 bucks for that so I'll have to do it a different time.
The problem is, the oil levels don't seem to be going down and no fluids seem to be going down although at some points in time there was a lot of liquid leaking. And one of the problems I've encountered is that all the fluids in the car are of the same color so when I look on the ground I can't figure out what liquid it is. Do you guys have any idea what it could possibly be? Since that day, about 1.5 months ago, I haven't taken it in to get checked or anything but the car has been running fine (I haven't checked if its still leaking either).

The other thing is, one Cat is out (although I'm getting faults for both bank 1 and bank 2) and is making a really loud noise during acceleration. I haven't fixed it and was wondering how much I would be hurting the car driving with it like that (other than terrible gas mileage).. Any input? I'm planning on fixing it though, just not yet.

Also my gas tank is not vacuuming. I put in a different gas cap from one of my other cars (since all new generic caps look the same) but its still not vacuuming (the one I put in did vacuum in the other car). Do you guys think theres something wrong with the vacuum system in the car?

My TipTronic also randomly quit working a couple weeks ago. I can move the shifter to the right and it will show that its in TipTronic mode (gear numbers show up) but it won't let me shift. What could be possibly wrong with it? First time I got it, it worked like magic. And then one day, it quit working.

I also need to get new Control Arms according to an inspection I got after the oil change. I also think I need new shocks since the ride is pretty harsh (the car is quiet except you can hear and feel every single bump on the road I guess part of the hearing could be solved by new tires) and I don't think its supposed to be like that also the car's front bumper is prone to hitting the bottom when coming out of some driveways and parking lots if I don't go slow enough. What brands do you guys recommend for me to buy a full set of CA's from? Something not too expensive. And also what shocks are good to get for this car?

The other big issue we found was also pretty baffling: The front bumper is somehow screwed on. I went in to get my Serpentine belt replaced but the bumper is screwed in and the the other way of taking it out would have taken an extra 200-300 in labor to do (this was during the change of the gasket). Took it to a body shop and they said it would take about 70 bucks to take it off but they wouldn't know how much extra it would cost with those screws in until the job started. So I don't know what to do on that front.

The secondary air pump is also not working. I understand its for warming up the catalytic converters so is it necessary I get it fixed? Everytime I start the car, it has this loud sound for like a minute and a half and then goes back to normal idling and as far as I know its because the secondary air pump doesn't work.

To top off the last of the problems on the car, after changing the front break discs and pads I somehow managed to screw up my power steering. I can turn just fine to the left but to the right it becomes very difficult. Every once in a while it works flawlessly but most of the time its difficult. One shop that I took it to said that I needed a new Rack and Pinion. Do you guys think he is correct in that diagnosis? I mean, if the rack was out, I would assume it wouldn't work both ways. And as far as I understand, the racks on these cars don't quit that often. Also between speeds of 60-80 I get vibration in the car. Nothing jarring but mild. Did I break something else?

Cruise control is also borked. It works sometimes for like a few minutes and then it stops. I've read that it is a common problem with the 1999 models. I'm not in a hurry to fix it, although it would be nice since I drive 100 miles at one go every now and then. How much would a new Cruise Control unit cost? I know its a simple solder job to fix it but I just wanted to know how much a new one would cost.

Is there a way to tell if the timing belt has been changed? The previous owner claimed to have changed it 10k miles ago but I just want to be safe.

Last question: My headlights don't seem to be bright enough. The problem is I can't figure out if they're HID's or not. They're bluish looking when you turn them on and they also sort of "pop" on and get brighter after a few seconds. But I also read that if the VIN number has the number 34 in the middle then it has HID and if it 24 it doesn't. Well, mine has 24 but it exhibits the behavior of HID's. Is there some other way to tell if they're HID's or not? I don't feel like taking it to the dealership and probably paying them just figure out what kind of headlights I have. I can upload a picture here or video of them turning on if it would help.

So, do you guys think I got a lemon? Everything else inside looks flawless nothing worn out or anything (apart from missing floor mats), the normal broken center cup holder (the top one is stuck open and won't stay closed), the stuck in rear cup holders, and the stuck cassette although good thing it was the one with 3.5mm jack on it (anyway to remove it?). The heated steering wheel doesn't seem to work ( I also hear its something that breaks often) either that or it heats really really slowly. It was way below KBB values and mileage is just a bit above 100k. I have to say, the car is awesome though and I'm definitely loving it! And I've found its the little things in the car that make it awesome.

On a side note, do you guys know any good navigation units that can replace the stock radio and also use the driver information display on the instrument cluster?

4Driver4

The short answer:

Spend some time in the Tech Section. Most of that stuff is addressed there.

Just Me

1. If the fluids are not going down, don't worry too much. A small amount of oil can create significant mess and odor. The exception is the transmission and diffs, which have no way to measure level - leaks there can be time bombs.

2. I don't follow the question about the catalytic converter - describe the noise. Cats fail in 3 ways 1) chemical fouling - they just dot catalyze; 2) blocks - high back pressure 3) break down and rattle -Who cares, if it still catalyzes?

3. Sounds like you have a fuel evap leak. I'm no expert, just an engineer speculating

4. TIP - so what you mean is the manual shift feature isnt working? Likely a sensor in teh shifter mechanism. Never seen it. I never use them except in autoX or on a track. Poor excuse for a manual, but does cut down on fluid-drive bog. Meh.

5. Control arms - read the miles of posts. Or take my advice - get ONLY OEM and DONT do a complete set - measure which are bad and buy them. Most kits are crap. Yes, even Bilstein/Febi. Some people say the latest Mahle HD are good. Too new to really tell. I woud not do it.

6. Shocks - likely the problem is the control arms. But if you do need shocks consider Koni Yellows or Koni FSDs for a better ride, or ST coilovers for good performance and an acceptable ride. Bilstein are technically great but many feel they are over-damped for the street on these cars.

7. SAI, rack, bumper - i have no clue

8. Vibration -tires or wheels. These cars are stupid sensitive to balance and out of round. If people say "they are good" double check - its the tires. Your worm contorl arms are not helping.

9. Timing belt - hard to tell. Look for signs of a new water pump and T-stat. Its never the belt anyway - its the water pump or idler or tensiorer -so if they wetre not done, do the entire job again - or your motor will someday soon be toast.

10. How did you screw up your PS doing brakes (not breaks, your spelling is broken)? That's odd... maybe bleed the rack?

Finally, sounds like a car that has had little to no maintenance done for ages. Always the worst deal - save $2k and spend $4k fixing it. Such a deal. Anyway, that's water under the bridge - biut i would continue to do service items like tranny service, complete TB, etc. Clearly no one spent much money on this car lately.

That said, these cars require lots of maint, btu are durable, and can feel like new 10 years and 150k miles later -- if maintained. Do so and enjoy.

Grant

jcman

If you don't know these cars and you are new to Audi ownership your best bet is to research the forum like 4Driver4 said and focus on first major problems similar to Just Me's in that order.

The best way to post with good results is one problem at a time and if you plan to keep your ride invest in vagcom.

mike101

Very usefull tool.


All I see most of the quesition vere answered. The one with headlights. It's very simple just check on lightbulb. If its D2S u got HID's if regural H7 than you don't . If you still not sure there's a cable that coming out from cover that goes under the headlight unit. It's connected to metal box ( ballast) if you missing that than you got a regural unit.

Also look at fcpgroton website. They have a good prices for timing belt kits that comes together with VC gaskets, tensioner gaskets and cam seals. The control arm kit is not expensive as well.

enoch861

1. Thanks for that suggestion, I'll go ahead get those checked out and also do a transmission flush.

2. The catalytic converter makes a sort of rattling sound when accelerating.

3. I'm thinking so. Although after I put in the new cap, the code for the fuel cap is gone (checked with a Genisys. So I'm guessing its fixed? Does the A6 de-pressurize the tank after you turn off the car? Because the other cars at home release the pressure when you open the cap. It's odd though because the code for that specific problem is gone.

4. Yeah, manual shift isn't working. And after checking with the Genisys, it does show codes for the Tip being stuck on "up" or something like that. I didn't write the codes, so I forgot them.

5. I went ahead and ordered a new control arm kit that should get delivered next week.

6. I also ordered new suspension that should also come next week along with the control arms.

8. The wheels do need replacing, especially since its snowing now. I hope the new control arms and suspension helps.

9. I guess I'll just change the timing belt when I get the cam seals changed.

10. Have no idea how I could have messed them up. All I know is after I changed them, the power steering started going wonky. Sometimes i works perfectly, sometimes it doesn't. 2 days ago I went on a parking lot to do some "drifting" and after that session, the power steering started working as smooth as butter. I don't know how to bleed it, but I guess I'll look it up and give it a try.

Yeah, maintenance is definitely something I'll be doing. What do you mean by complete TB?
Otherwise I'm loving it. After driving it in the snow, I'm gaining a new appreciation for Quattro.

enoch861

I'll definitely invest in a Vag but so far so good the Genisys avaiable at the schools auto lab is good enough for now I would assume since it does give the Audi/VAG codes not the generic "P" codes.

The headlights are HID's. During an oil flush I saw the silver ballasts on the bottom of each housing. The only problem is I don't know if I should replace them. They don't seem very bright but after riding in my friends Civic with HID's (I think since they're in projectors but could also be halogen) his looked about the same although with a yellower color temp compared to the diamond white on the Audi.

I'll definitely check them out.

The other question I had is this: The car is supposed to have a "rest feature" that uses residual heat for instance to heat the car when you turn it off, very useful for MN winters. Exactly how do you turn it on? The E320 we used to have had a clearly labeled "rest" button. On this car I can't find such a button although it seems to be a feature in this car. So how exactly do we turn it on? Or does it not actually exist on this model? (The car has the Cold and Wam Weather packages if that makes any difference but no Bose).

Ginstervrt

as for the headlights-

1: look at the back of the headlights, are both of the white angle adjusters on each headlight still there, if no, they are pointing straight down.

2: open the back of the headlight, grab ahold of the bulb, and see if the inside of the headlight moves around, if yes, there is a little ball joint on each adjuster that are prone to popping out if over adjusted, remove healights, open, and re connect.


I had the same issue when i first got my car, all of my adjusters had fallen off, and the inside of my headlights were just flopping around and pointed straight at the ground. I pulled the adjusters and screws out of a set of a4 lights i had and now they work perfectly.

enoch861

They're all there and the cutoff seems to be perfect.
I just don't know about the brightness.

Ginstervrt

then possibly time for new bulbs, and if that doesnt solve it, upgrade to 55w ballasts with relays.