A3 Beginner Modification Thread

[kevscotty]

Hello all,
I have recently purchased this 2000 1.6 A3.. The car is is great condition and a pleasure to drive but I am having some problems
and also as I am new to car ownership and audis I was hoping to get some advice from more experianced a3 drivers and modifiers

Firstly some pics..

Aesthetic Issues:
1. Front drivers side light is condensation filled - Is this easy to fix? best replacement lights to get?
2. Seats are in good condition but would eventually like some customised seats.. where would be a good place to start with this?
3. The alloys are in pretty bad condition.. would consider doing them myself but would this be hard as they have a reflective finish? alternatively what action would yous advise?

Mechanical Problems:
1. Wooing noise - happens when on long drives and sounds like its coming from the front drivers side wheel, the noise stops when the brakes are applied..wheel bearing? other issue?
2. Reving when no accelerator applied - has happened a few times since i got it, always when stopped (at lights etc) revs rise and drop and sometimes car cuts out whens revs drop to 0..
3. Oil light is on even though oil level is high


Any advice much appreciated :]

 

[kevscotty]

anyone?

 

[Smokey_clark]

Hi and welcome,

Condensation in the light is simply take it off, dry it out, re-seal and reinstall. Is this indicator or headlight side light?
Alloys i would personally spray them anthracite or something similar but if you want them back to oem i would recommend a professional reconditioner who normally charge £50 ish a wheel.
The "wooing" noise is a bit weird, to check the wheel bearing jack up that side of the car and see if there is any play in the wheel.
I take it the revving issue is on idle? if so it shouldn't be too hard to diagnose/fix but I am not sure myself, someone will be along soon to help out there.
Not sure what triggers the oil light though, is it just level? in which case make sure you are not over the limit and if it is still on it is probably a faulty oil level sensor? Have you scanned for any faults at all?

 

[kevscotty]

Thanks for the reply,
Nope havent checked for error codes what program is recommended?
Have had the wheel off and had a look bit im a bit of a novice so dont really know what I am looking for , will try some WD40 to see if it helps..
Oil light has now gone of so may be an electrical fault?

Also to add: I have just taken off the door card from the passenger side and it appears that the wire from the mechanism has snapped..

I also found the above component lying at the bottom of the inside..
Could someone please tell me what I am looking at or how I would go about fixing this? simply a matter of ordering a new wire?

Cheers,
Kev

 

[kevscotty]

Just a quick update this this thread, got the a3 a few weeks ago and have been trying to fix a few bits and pieces but at a complete novice its been a bit of a at times..some great info kicking about this site though so cheers everyone


first thing mechanical in any way i tried was taking out the drivers side headlight that was condensation filled, took the unit out, dryed it out with a hairdryer and filled with silicone anywhere that it looked like water could penetrate..

Then buffed the housing up using some rubbing compound..

Next I attempted to respray the bumper and a stone chip on the bonnet, at this stage i was using colour coded paint from halfords (£15)for the colour code y7w that i got from audi, colour match was pretty good but trying to spray outdoors in the wind was a bit of a nightmare..

Stone chip on bonnet -

Damaged bumper -

After -

This is where the fun really started after a tried to lacquer outdoors in the wind and made a right mess of a job that was going along
pretty well,

-firstly, oversprayed the lacquer
-then went at the yet to harden lacquer with a buffer machine that had been used
previously on a black car with black polish on it and needless to say made a right mess..

No pictures of this stage as i was too horrified

- Next let the mess dry and set about wet and dry sanding the bumper in the dark and made a bad situation a little bit better but still looked like a bit of a disaster.

I was finally coaxed inside out of the rain and couldnt stop thinking about the car being left in the sorry state it was in; so set about
devising a plan on how to remedy the situation..

Next day got the bumper off and moved operations to the garage which i wish i had done from the start..

sanded the whole bumper down and primed it and resprayed with audi metallic silver from halfords that i had originally purchased (£8), [turned out to be exactly the same colour as the supposed colour coded one they sold me

Lacquered using 1 can of clear lacquer from halfords:

Finally then fitted back on, not too sure about the colour match or the sheen off it now, may have a go at doing it againat some stage soon.. but would like your opinions?

Few questions off the back off this and would be grateful for answers..

Anyone else have the colour code Y7W and used halfords paints?
How much to get paint from the dealers and do they do spray cans?
how can I get the same sheen off the bumper that the rest of the car has? more lacquer?

Next on the to do list is respraying the alloys as they are pretty ******

 

[Foxmeister]

Good stuff at giving it a go yourself, things arent as daunting once you get in about them and its sometimes the best way to learn these things, in at the deep end!

As for the paint on bumper, cant really see it that good, need bigger pics? It doesnt look a great match thou, i find Halfrauds paint is good for small jobs etc but wouldnt trust it to paint panels etc of bodywork.

As for the finish, you'll have a very hard time being novice and using spray cans to achieve pro looking results. There is tips n tricks that will look better thou, like building up coats rather than trying to get a glass look finish on one coat with runs etc. Also, paint needs to be "flatted" back to get a better level before applying the clear coat.

Try Googling or speaking to painters and then try on an old panel a few times before re-doing the bumper again.

 

[kevscotty]

Cheers Fox :thumbsup:,
It has definately been a steep learning curve and think next time I
try it, I will be alot more confident and hopefully capable ..

not sure how to make the pictures bigger but a couple of bigger pics
can be seen in my garage -

kevscotty's Garage :: Silvio..

Any advice/ criticism much appreciated

 

[jasona3turbo]

fair play to you mate for giving it ago your self and i agree with the previous comment about halfords paint

 

[brow.ger]

how about to paint your wheels in a really crazy color?