Cessna2012

I bought a 1995 A6 yesterday for my niece, who just turned 16. She needs a car to get back and forth to work, but she didn't have the money to buy one. So, being her 'rich' uncle, I bought her a $500 car. The only thing really wrong with it was the left front brake hose - it ruptured, and the owner decided that because of that and a bad tire he just wanted rid of it. So I brought it home on a flat bed and changed the hose this afternoon (took 15 minutes). I've only gravity bled the brakes so far, but the pedal is fine. I took it for a drive afterward and it runs very nicely. However, it does have 226,000 miles on it and the gentleman I bought it from seems to have not taken very good care of it. By that I mean it the car and the engine compartment are fairly dirty, but it should all clean up nicely. There is only a couple of tiny rust spots on the body - one dime-sized spot on the front edge of the hood, and another half that size above the windshield right at the bend where the roof starts. I've done some painting and have all the stuff to touch this up, so once the car is properly cleaned I will fix up those spots, shoot some clear over those panels and buff out the whole car. I'm expecting it to look pretty nice.

There are some problems that I'm sure someone here could help me figure out.

1. The climate control only seems to blow through the vents on the top of the dashboard (defrost for windscreen and the two vents on each side that I think are meant to defrost the front windows). I cannot get any air to come out of the central vents. Any ideas on why this might be happening?

2. The car has leather seats that are in pretty good shape but have fine cracks in them. I'm not sure if it's 'real' leather, can anyone tell me what to use to condition them and make them more supple? I'm surprised at the shape they're in, it seems like they could be cleaned up easily and would look nice with the right product applied.

3. I'd like to change all the fluids, including the transmission and differentials. I'm a seasoned mechanic who has been working on cars, motorcycles and aircraft for over 30 years, but I don't get how this setup works. No transmission dipstick to start with, so I can't check the fluid condition from up top. Do I need anything special to get this done? This auto shifts fine, but due to the exterior condition of the car I'm guessing the fluid hasn't been changed in a long time.

4. The trim strip at the bottom of the driver's door has come away at both ends. I can see a clip that it would have attached to originally - the stip itself is not in great shape and it's clear that I can't really glue it back in place. Any suggestions on what to do with this? It's the only thing that looks really bad on the whole car and I'd love to replace or fix it before handing the car over to my niece.

5. The left outer CV boot is torn. I have no idea how long it has been that way, but driving in reverse at low speeds does not seem to produce any clunking or clicking. So I think I will just replace the boot - it appears to be quite accessible (compared to some other cars) - can anyone direct me towards the procedure for replacing it?

6. The car does seem to make a little noise when pressing the accelerator from a stop and/or shifting from park to drive or reverse. Not always, but I did notice it once or twice when I drove it. On a A6 with high mileage, what would you look for? Motor mounts? Or something else?

7. Coolant has been leaking from the hose that connects the overflow reservoir with the radiator. The guy I bought it from was just putting water in it in the summer and green antifreeze in the winter. I'm pretty sure this is supposed to take some kind of special antifreeze that is blue...should I figure the water pump will go out because of that? I'd like to fix the leak and flush the system. Not sure what the best way is to go here.

8. I'm considering replacing the timing belt and associated components because the gentleman I bought it from didn't know when it had last been replaced (to me that means he never replaced it in the 10 years he owned it). This is a V6 model and there seems to be quite a lot of space between the front of the engine and the radiator stanchion. Anyone care to advise me on how much time it takes to replace this, in comparison with other vehicles?

As you can probably tell, I know little about Audis. This seems like a neat car and I would really like to get it in good shape before handing it off. However, there are limits. I have other responsiblities and may have to leave some things alone. If you were in my shoes, what would you look for and what would you replace out of hand on this car given its age and mileage?

Thanks very much for your input.

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A6Gary

Welcome. Here are answers to some of your questions:

2. Leather. Suggest Lexol Cleaner and Lexol Conditioner at a minimum, Leatherique for a more agressive treatment.

3. To change the ATF and filter, you can check here for the procedure (level correct when the ATF just drips out of the filler hole when the ATF temperature is between 30-40 C.

7. Coolant is a special type, Pentosin is the OEM bran. The '95 uses the blue coolant, but when you do the TB maintenance, you should switch to the newer red Pentosin coolant.

8. TB Maintenace: Need to use the two special tools (crank locking pin and camshaft lacking bar) to set the timimng per OEM spec. You should change out the tensioner, idler, water pump, belt, and thermostat for this service. With the C4 platform, this is an easy DIY service. Search the forum archives (SFTAs) and/or the FQAs for details on how to do this properly.

upallnight

1. The servos that controls the flaps in the heater box could be stuck or not working. Do a search for heater box servo.

5. Even though this video is for an Audi 90 Quattro, the same procedure is used for replacing the boot on an A6. I replaced the passenger side boot last fall on my Avant.


Actually the best way to change the transmission fluid is to measure how much fluid was drained and put back excatly the same amount.

The car should be level and the trans must not be hot so don't do it after a 30 minute drive. The engine need to be running and the trans in neutral and you need a pump to pump the fluid into the trans until it starts to ooze out. If it starts oozing out before the measure amount of trans fluid has been pumped into the trans, put back in the plug and wait until the trans has cooled down. This may require the car to sit over night.

If you don't get the correct amount of fluid back into the trans, on cold morning you will hear a rattling sound from the trans that will go away after a minute with the engine running.

A6Gary

Interesting video. But the "mechanic' made several errors in replacing the CV boot:

* When removing the caliper, he allowed the unit to hang free on the brake hose - should never allow the caliper to hang off the hose; should use a wire or hook to support it from the strut towmer.

* It didn't appear that he cleaned the CV joint prior to re–assembly; the joint should be cleaned to remove the old grease before you re–install and re–apply the new grease.

* The CV joint center bolt is a single use bolt, and should always be replaced with a new bolt each time it is removed.

* He didn't use a torque wrnech to tighten all fasteners to the specified tightening torque, especially the center axle bolt that is tightened to ~190 N–m + 180 degrees.

* He mentioned at the end that you need to pump the braks to reset the caliper. True, but you may also need to removed some brake fluid from the master cylider brake reservour if it is full so you doesn't overflow and spill onto other parts/paint.

Other than these points, it was a good job.

4N 4RING

Here there are lots of FAQs and DIY for C4 models:
http://forums.quattroworld.com/a6100/threads/2.phtml#3
Also, buy Bently 3-volumes ($80 – 300) or CD version, which is difficult to re-register if it was preowned.
1. There are two motors moving the flaps; they can be cleaned. The hard part is to access them. If you go so far, I suggest taking out the whole blower box and replace the heater core.
2. Yes, leather, Lexol, see below.
3. There is a transmission kit to buy (filter, fluids). When you refill, have the car leveled, fill until overflow, plug it, turn the engine on to warm up the fluid, turn engine off and release what overflows. Temp. should be 36 – 40C, but it is difficult to measure. This worked for me, other people use VAG tool for checking temp.
4. You need new door strips; they bulge because of rust, I think they are $50 at dealer.
5. DYI, you do not have to disconnect anything from the suspension. Have break bar for 200 Nm + ¼ turn
6. ??
7. . If green stuff was, let it green. It is supposed to be orange; it is expensive and you HAVE to flush THOROUGHLY the system, because these tow coolants are incompatible (they precipitate). USE DISTILLED WATER to dilute the coolant.
8. Parts: TB, thermostat, tensioner, roller, water pump; some people suggest metal impeller. Do not need tool or to take the bumper off: rotate crankshaft until the mark on pulley aligns with the one on the cover AND the holes on the sprockets are horizontal and with the LARGE HOLES OUTSIDE (double check this statement). Make paint marks on the old TB and sprockets, just to be able to get back if you are not sure. Install the parts, tension TB (to be able to flip it 90 deg. Time: 3 – 6 h, depending on the amount of beer available.