hey guys i jacked up my car earlier to change the front left wheel to the spare to see if it wud solve my problem of the car pulling to the left. after finding out it may no difference i put the original wheel back on and had another look around the car. All of a sudden i saw a leak coming from the rear around the back wheel! it seems the leak is coming from an arm that comes from the wheel and joins to the body. (looks like some arm from the suspension) anyway 1 of the bush from this arm is cracked and there's only half of it left. i've had a neighbour who's reasonably good with these sorts of things and he's told me that there is no fluid that's held in this area. although it's almost directly below the fuel tank it does not smell like petrol at all! once the fluid dries on ur fingers it's kind of sticky and it was a brown sort of colour.oh and after taking the car for a drive and parking it back up the leak seems to start again... Any ideas of wat this leak could be or where it's coming from would be very much appreciated!
leak :-/
- Thread starter mebrown001
- Start date
Is it brake fluid?
Unbalanced brakes would obviously make the car pull under braking. Does it pull generally or only when the brakes are applied? Does it pull to the same side as you found the leak?
That is the only liquid/fluid that could possibly be in that area unless it's a shock absorber...
Unbalanced brakes would obviously make the car pull under braking. Does it pull generally or only when the brakes are applied? Does it pull to the same side as you found the leak?
That is the only liquid/fluid that could possibly be in that area unless it's a shock absorber...
i've got as far under the car as i could to see where the fluid was coming from and the only area its in is where it's dripping from. i really wouldnt be able to tell u if it's brake fluid or not. after jacking up this rear end and lowering it back down, as soon as the wheel rested on the floor i saw a few more drops come from where ever its coming from. so ur idea of the shock could be more than likely correct?
When i mentioned it pulling, it pulls to the left and it's not the camber and it's not wen ur braking. braking or not does not affect how it steers. i've had the tracking done and all pressures r correct. to compensate for the pull to the left i have to turn the steering wheel slightly to the right. thanks for ur opinion.
When i mentioned it pulling, it pulls to the left and it's not the camber and it's not wen ur braking. braking or not does not affect how it steers. i've had the tracking done and all pressures r correct. to compensate for the pull to the left i have to turn the steering wheel slightly to the right. thanks for ur opinion.
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i've had no rain for a while to be honest. the fluid does feel oily but has no smell and i thought that brake fluid had a bit of a smell to it? as i sed the bush on this arm appears to be knackered and there's only half of it left. VaulterTim very sorry but i forgot to mention that this leak is coming from the REAR RIGHT and i can only think that it would be called an arm because its one of 2 arms that come from the wheel each joined to the car chassis. I posted on another audi forum (please forgive me) and got a reply from somebody saying that audis have liquid joints to help reduce vibration.... ??? thanks again guys.
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Nope, not on A3/S3 or any other model as far as im aware.
Whip a wheel off and follow the brakes lines from the caliper back to the underside of the car and check that there are no leaks. Have someone press the brakes pedal while you are looking as it may only happen under pressure. If there are no leaks from fluid lines, and its defo not petrol, forget about it!
With regard to the bush though, get this sorted ASAP.
Rich
i've had no rain for a while to be honest. the fluid does feel oily but has no smell and i thought that brake fluid had a bit of a smell to it? as i sed the bush on this arm appears to be knackered and there's only half of it left. VaulterTim very sorry but i forgot to mention that this leak is coming from the REAR RIGHT and i can only think that it would be called an arm because its one of 2 arms that come from the wheel each joined to the car chassis. I posted on another audi forum (please forgive me) and got a reply from somebody saying that audis have liquid joints to help reduce vibration.... ??? thanks again guys.
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Nope, not on A3/S3 or any other model as far as im aware.
Whip a wheel off and follow the brakes lines from the caliper back to the underside of the car and check that there are no leaks. Have someone press the brakes pedal while you are looking as it may only happen under pressure. If there are no leaks from fluid lines, and its defo not petrol, forget about it!
With regard to the bush though, get this sorted ASAP.
Rich
hey cheers mate. it's going to audi tomorrow for the re alignment thingy that costs a F***** fortune but if it needs to be done then it needs to be done. hopefully they will sort out the seal while its there. i've only had this car 1 week and its got 3 months warranty which says it covers bushes and seals. i'm just hoping the garage will pay audi for the parts and labour .... (VERY UNLIKELY)
P.S are there any other audi enthusiasts in worcester area? cheers.
P.S are there any other audi enthusiasts in worcester area? cheers.
as far as i know these arms are part of the rear axel. They are arms that come from the wheel and join to the chassis. if i can find out the proper names i will let u know. :-/
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as far as i know these arms are part of the rear axel. They are arms that come from the wheel and join to the chassis. if i can find out the proper names i will let u know. :-/
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Ok. they are the rear arms, not the axle. Driveshafts are sometimes are referred to as axles, but what you are talking about is either rear wishbones or rear arms (same thing basically)
Rich
as far as i know these arms are part of the rear axel. They are arms that come from the wheel and join to the chassis. if i can find out the proper names i will let u know. :-/
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Ok. they are the rear arms, not the axle. Driveshafts are sometimes are referred to as axles, but what you are talking about is either rear wishbones or rear arms (same thing basically)
Rich
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No ur right it won't cover the work thats done by another garage so i took it back to where i bought it from. the guy gave me the usual chit chat and sed i've gotta wait for the boss to come back and see wat he says. so sure enough he did and a couple of phone calls later i spoke to him again and he told me that he'd rang audi to see exactly wat they thought the problem was. so they told him and now he's told me he's going to be speaking to one of the LIsters in worcester bosses tomorrow to put some "emphasis" on them as he always says. This is because the previous owner had all work carried out by audi and the place i got it from think that audi should have spotted this problem the last time it was in to them bla bla..... so i guess that if they r trying to get audi to cover some or all of the cost that they are accepting they are going to have to sort it for me...... wat u reckon? cheers guys!
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He reckons THEY should have spotted it!? What about him!? He bought and then sold you the ****** car!
It should have had a full service and a full inspection before he sold it. That sort of thing would have been flagged up straight away in any decent inspection if they'd bothered to have one done...
The thing is, the previous owner may well have sold it just BECAUSE it had problems... Maybe he'd taken it to Audi, had the problem diagnosed and thought 'sod it, I can't afford that' and then sold it on.
If you ask me the guy you bought it from has had his trousers pulled down when buying that car because he hasn't spotted the problems with it and now he doesn't have a leg to stand on. Either way, it looks like you'll be getting the car fixed one way or another.
But whatever you do, don't be fobbed off with excuses and definately don't put your hand in your own pocket.
Hope it all goes ok...
Cheers /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/beerchug.gif
Tim
No ur right it won't cover the work thats done by another garage so i took it back to where i bought it from. the guy gave me the usual chit chat and sed i've gotta wait for the boss to come back and see wat he says. so sure enough he did and a couple of phone calls later i spoke to him again and he told me that he'd rang audi to see exactly wat they thought the problem was. so they told him and now he's told me he's going to be speaking to one of the LIsters in worcester bosses tomorrow to put some "emphasis" on them as he always says. This is because the previous owner had all work carried out by audi and the place i got it from think that audi should have spotted this problem the last time it was in to them bla bla..... so i guess that if they r trying to get audi to cover some or all of the cost that they are accepting they are going to have to sort it for me...... wat u reckon? cheers guys!
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He reckons THEY should have spotted it!? What about him!? He bought and then sold you the ****** car!
It should have had a full service and a full inspection before he sold it. That sort of thing would have been flagged up straight away in any decent inspection if they'd bothered to have one done...
The thing is, the previous owner may well have sold it just BECAUSE it had problems... Maybe he'd taken it to Audi, had the problem diagnosed and thought 'sod it, I can't afford that' and then sold it on.
If you ask me the guy you bought it from has had his trousers pulled down when buying that car because he hasn't spotted the problems with it and now he doesn't have a leg to stand on. Either way, it looks like you'll be getting the car fixed one way or another.
But whatever you do, don't be fobbed off with excuses and definately don't put your hand in your own pocket.
Hope it all goes ok...
Cheers /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/beerchug.gif
Tim
and thats exactly wat i'll be doing guys! sorry but i might have been a bit vauge with how i told u i bought it and who from. It's come from a car sales garage in worcester which is very ruputable. the garage was selling this car on behalf of one of the bosses friends. also had the aircon serviced today and the condesor has gone so i've been quoted £350 to have it replaced etc. called the garage and told them and they werent to happy about that cus i sed i want them to pay. i think the boss wants me to give the car back and they give me back my money. haha.....
No offence intended here... but it's starting to sound like you bought a right lemon! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif
And selling it for the bosses friend seems like an excellent reason not to have it inspected before-hand, it would have cost him too much wouldn't it...
They're losing that reputation of theirs as fast as they sold you the car. Why do people do these things!? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif
To$$ers!
And selling it for the bosses friend seems like an excellent reason not to have it inspected before-hand, it would have cost him too much wouldn't it...
They're losing that reputation of theirs as fast as they sold you the car. Why do people do these things!? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif
To$$ers!
haha yeh no offence taken. i really don't think the car is that bad too be honest. The rear axel crap or wateva it turns out to be i personally think is unlucky cus it's down to wear and tear...... as is the air con. my dad's been buying his own cars for company use second hand for years and 9 times outa 10 the air con never works because ppl don't want to spend loads on having it sorted... anyway. next thing to get is a chip. but which 1 do i get? and this may sound stupid, but is it in any way going to increase engine wear, increase maintanence costs and running costs? cheers mate.
Your best bet would be to do a search on here for 'remap' or similar... you'll find hundreds, if not thousands, of posts about engine remaps, chips, tuning etc. etc. etc.
The list is (very!) long...
Cheers
Tim
The list is (very!) long...
Cheers
Tim
ok cheers 4 the input guys. i will get it checked out after its been resprayed, had the condesor replaced and had the rear axel suspending arms replaced. fortunatly the garage i got it from are paying for all of this to be done! i'e looked at all the posts abot chips, toooo many to choose from. my local motorsport garage do 1 for £500 but i'm not sure wat its called, they say it comes with a 2 year warranty and its the only chip u can get with 1. after Re map it will give me 205BHP. thanks again.
