What have you done to your Audi A4 B7 today?

I would replace that part, as you said you don't want that to be sucked in to the engine as that will cause permanent damage to it, to the point a replacement engine will be cheaper than fixing the engine. PS doesn't have to be new you could pull it from a scappy as long as it's in goood state, clean it and put it on.

PPS that isn't to bad i've seen way worse cleaning intakes lol. The fault was coming from that one valve that was staying open...

100% new parts inc gaskets on order ,as well as a set of 6 glow plugs


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I’m now stuck between a delete and replace/repair. And while I’m here I might as well tackle the glow plugs while I’ve got better access
On the 2.0 TDi's the intake manifold is aluminimum so more robust; at least I've never heard of flaps breaking off, though I'm sure it's happened. Although I'm normally anti-delete I'd be inclined to delete on the V6 TDIs, or at the very least replace with new - as far as I know they are still available, whereas the metal ones are unobtanium now. Darkside do a delete kit as you probably know. Properly working, they do add power and torque below 2000rpm but that shouldn't be really too noticeable on these bigger diesels.

What problem have you got with the glowplugs?
 
On the 2.0 TDi's the intake manifold is aluminimum so more robust; at least I've never heard of flaps breaking off, though I'm sure it's happened. Although I'm normally anti-delete I'd be inclined to delete on the V6 TDIs, or at the very least replace with new - as far as I know they are still available, whereas the metal ones are unobtanium now. Darkside do a delete kit as you probably know. Properly working, they do add power and torque below 2000rpm but that shouldn't be really too noticeable on these bigger diesels.

What problem have you got with the glowplugs?

P161a open circuit 1&5
There might be a certain northern tuners kit on its way


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Are they ceramic? Probably? Make sure you replace with NGK ones, I believe you can get Bosch too; the former are much better. I don't need to tell you be careful taking them out, carbon build up on the ends can make them crack off inside the cylinder.
 
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Are they ceramic? Probably? Make sure you replace with NGK ones, I believe you can get Bosch too; the former are much better. I don't need to tell you be careful taking them out, carbon build up on the ends can make them crack off inside the cylinder.

I’ve already ordered Bosch weirdly they were the only ones that came up as a pack of 6 for my car


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Are they ceramic? Probably? Make sure you replace with NGK ones, I believe you can get Bosch too; the former are much better. I don't need to tell you be careful taking them out, carbon build up on the ends can make them crack off inside the cylinder.

If the ngk are really work the extra money I could return the Bosch once they arrive


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Took your recommendation
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Bosch cancelled,ngk ordered
They're very good! I'm a bit wary of Bosch stuff these days - they are the most counterfeited brand on eBay for one thing - and they're not what they used to be, when genuine neither. So, I prefer Mann oil filters for example too. Hope it goes well bud:thumbs up:
 
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They're very good! I'm a bit wary of Bosch stuff these days - they are the most counterfeited brand on eBay for one thing - and they're not what they used to be, when genuine neither. So, I prefer Mann oil filters for example too. Hope it goes well bud:thumbs up:

Nipped down to euro car parts as well so I can crack right on ,came in at 125£ ish for 6 with their ever lasting discount codes
The Bosch were eBay jobbies ,even more likely to be snide if that’s the case with Bosch nowadays


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Took bank 2 inlet apart tonight and had chance to inspect bank 1 flaps and guides
Every guide on bank 1 had broken up
Bank 2 is pretty
61cff497133d551f7192e90dfe2fc877.jpg

unscathed and in pretty good condition
Not half the carbon build up on bank 2 ,inlet included


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Took bank 2 inlet apart tonight and had chance to inspect bank 1 flaps and guides
Every guide on bank 1 had broken up
Bank 2 is pretty
61cff497133d551f7192e90dfe2fc877.jpg

unscathed and in pretty good condition
Not half the carbon build up on bank 2 ,inlet included


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The more I get into this the more I think I’ve dodged a bullet


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9ca4cfc9086b220c6d6bf7a96862e113.jpg

A bank 2 guide v the bank 1 guides
Seems my engines been snacking on plastic


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after seeing the lot... i'd go for a flap delete... that way you remove a potential engine failure due to them being sucked into the engine.
 
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I thought I'd put up the tracking read-out from the other day, if any interest. You'll notice caster is greyed out. I'm sure you'll know about it but I had to do some digging. Most every car is positve caster; slightly harder on steering but better for tracking and the absence of 'crab'. Caster is basically accounted for by the angle of the shocks and springs, on the front only, in a side profile. You'll notice mine is slightly unbalanced. I believe there is no adjustment for it on these cars - mine is probably due to the perhaps tired shocks/springs, which I will address after the next Mot, maybe summer, since they are not too bad and the new suspension and tracking have made it on point anyway. It has no affect on tyre wear neither.

IMG 0971
 
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Glow plugs done and just to reaffirm my decision to replace I tested them ,faults on 1&5 and as I’d hoped 2 out of 6 showed an extremely high resistance
d15326961021d12a832cef7602370b9b.jpg

Admit it’s a bit of a Xmas cracker meter


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it's the way it goes with glowplugs, they are a ware item that almost never get replaced when they need to because a diesel engine will start with bad ones in the mix.
 
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it's the way it goes with glowplugs, they are a ware item that almost never get replaced when they need to because a diesel engine will start with bad ones in the mix.
This is very true, but the ceramic ones are so delicate that people are wary of messing with them, in case they break off in extraction. Not sure with the CR 3.0 TDI, but the PD 2.0 TDIs, people also often mistake bad starting down to the glow plugs, when it's often more bad injector seals. In this case Jamsmoo was getting clear glow plug codes which he has shown were at fault and as noted and as you say they were not affecting starting. Touch wood I've never had issues with them on mine - in place they are pretty robust and long lasting.
 
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Yes the ceramic ones can break but this happens for that exact reason people fear removing them when they should be removed so leave them be because the engine will start, it might take a bit longer. and this right here is why they break. if you've got ceramic ones they can be pushed to 120k miles of service but it's highly adviseable to replace them earlier than that (around 80-100k) and guess what they are ceramic and people are scared to take them out.... and this is the reason why they break.

I always replace them as soon as i buy a diesel i don't even check their resistance i just assume they are past their best.
 
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jup that is what they generally look like after those miles, and you can see one of them had a problem... just look at that tip! at least you are replacing them and that is all that's needed. Not cheap with you needing 6 of them but worth doing.

PS i also think it's funny how i stopped taking pictures and just do the jobs on the car.... i know i''m slacking but I work outside in the elements, mostly without help and i can't be bothered to stop and take pictures, mostly because either my gloves are covered in engine dirt, or my hands are covered in engine grime... no way am i taking my phone out lol
 
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I like a photo printed off and put in a repair /service folder along with receipts


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yes i should really start doing that but than again I won't be selling my car off. to another person (unless i get an offer i simply can't refuse) but that won't be the case with mine. I'm actually looking for a donor a4 b7 2.0 tfsi (hopefully it's a BUL but i'll take BWE also) one with a good running engine so i can swap that into mine.... will have to be a full car so i can swap the lot over since mine has a NA 2.0 20V ALT engine.. so i will need a donor car to have all the parts needed.
 
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ordered it a new engine breather valve... it's part of the PCV valve setup... mine is not functioning at the moment.
 
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I thought I'd put up the tracking read-out from the other day, if any interest.
I think the last time I had the tracking done, it involved a couple of brackets fitted to the front wheels and they had a string between them, assume it's moved onto high tech laser alignment now?

Any particular garage people recommend for this? I'm see a vibration though the steering wheel which I suspect to be wheel balance or a flat spot on a front tyre, but just wondering how much this kind of detailed alignment costs? and who best to go to?
 
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You need a place that has a hunter alignment machine... almost every garage that does alignment as a service has one of those machines these days.
 
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I think the last time I had the tracking done, it involved a couple of brackets fitted to the front wheels and they had a string between them, assume it's moved onto high tech laser alignment now?

Any particular garage people recommend for this? I'm see a vibration though the steering wheel which I suspect to be wheel balance or a flat spot on a front tyre, but just wondering how much this kind of detailed alignment costs? and who best to go to?

I went to Guildford Tyres last year, they have a full geo set up there. They are at the end of the road at the turning by AFN Porsche.

They said the usual thing where they can't touch the rears (fair enough), but mine were near as spot on it seemed. I think it was £50 + VAT. And miles better adjustments than Merityre in Farnham did.

ATS Euromaster in Aldershot, had a quick adjustment made on the Golf and they charged me less than half price, decent guys in there I've always found. Pretty sure they have a full laser set up in there.

Just a few local options there :icon thumright:
 
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Any particular garage people recommend for this? I'm see a vibration though the steering wheel which I suspect to be wheel balance or a flat spot on a front tyre, but just wondering how much this kind of detailed alignment costs? and who best to go to?
They said the usual thing where they can't touch the rears (fair enough), but mine were near as spot on it seemed. I think it was £50 + VAT. And miles better adjustments than Merityre in Farnham did.
yes all ATS Euromasters have a full laser alignment setup afaik.
Mine was pretty pricey and took a while £120; but some places only do four wheel camber adjustment, and the cheaper price often relects that - this was both toe and camber, which is pretty important if you care about tyre wear. Even so, money well spent, the difference is transformational - she feels like she's on smooth rails now.

Yes Matt, I detailed elsewhere about how it took a while to find the exact rear eccentric bolts for these B7s - well worth doing, since front alignment can put out the rear and vice versa, they ideally both need to be done together - there was little to no uneven wear on my rears but they have never been aligned to my knowledge. My original toe bolts weren't too bad - it's the camber ones that usually sieze. Much of my research showed many believed there was no rear toe adjustment on these cars - that simply isn't true. Nonetheless they were still scratching their heads a while until I had to point out where to adjust it for them. It's been a long haul since I've had to redo it (Front wheel alignment) since the suspension work too.

I would have much preferred ATS, I got my tyres from them, but the only KwikFit I trust since I know them there (The manager has a B6), had the only Hunter setup that would fit the rears. The newer ones fit the laser units to the wheel itself, whereas the older method of clamping the tyre requires a part placed on the top of the tyre - there was not enough clearance on my S-Line with 18" Ronals. So be warned.
 
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Here you go link to my thread with part numbers for the rear eccentric bolts. Bear in mind mine is FWD, not sure if Quattros are different.
 
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finally the PCV valve arrived ( well the part that has the actual valve in it) and it took about 10 minutes to replace it... car is still smokey but that is because i need to replace the darn thermostat again, the electrical part is gone not the actual thermostat itself but you can't buy them seperate... so be it. I found the part and next week i'll get it, i don't look forward to the job as the last time I replaced it ( less than a year ago) it was a right nightmare 4 hour job basically because i didn't want to remove the intake so was struggling to get it off, the hardest part was the hard coolant pipe as it was stuck and i couldn't get it off with my hands... in the end i used a pipe and some leverage to get it out without causing any damage to the pipe. Putting it back took all of 30 minutes ( that included putting the alternator back on)
 
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finally the PCV valve arrived ( well the part that has the actual valve in it) and it took about 10 minutes to replace it...

I should really get around to changing my CCV equivalent (Diesels don't have a PCV since crankcase pressure doesn't build up in the same way; they have a closed ventilation system from the top of the rocker cover - a one way valve that takes oil fumes out to the intake; it gets gummed up and sometimes perished, so letting oil out all the time). No issues but I'm sure it'll help keep things cleaner. I notice some very slight hunting on startup. Only around 10-15 seconds then it settles to rock steady idle. It's more when the tank is low, not so much when full. She's about 2000 miles off a new service, so I'll change the fuel filter this time, as well, which I think is the reason. I may look at renewing the tandem pump, or servicing it soon too; again no issues yet but these are known to have issues eventually, so more of a piece of mind preventative. The ATP AT-205 Re-Seal Stops Leaks, I added, is quite remarkable stuff and the engine has been quieter and smoother since, and absolutely no leaks at the rocker gasket. It's not a gunge like other stop leaks but a water like thin liquid too, and you only add 6 fluid oz on these engines.
 
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yeah ATP makes good additives, stuff that actually does what it's meant to be doing.
 
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took off the thermostat, cleaned the electrical side put it back.... it works fine now don't know why it acted up, both the inside and the connector side on the thermostat were clean i did clean the connector on the cable too and somehow the lot is back to normal... weird one but at least i didn't have to replace it yet.