Problems :( Irratic idle issues

S3RYE

S3RYE

Interior Next!!
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Hi Guys,

Some of you might know, my car suffered with misfire problems for quite a while. Audi recently had my car and actually agreed they would change the valve springs to sort the car. When they had they car they failed to replicate the issue. (car miraculously stopped misfiring) which was very strange seeing as every time i nailed the car for the previous 18 months the car would hesitate then the engine management light would come on. I even went to the dealership myself to drive the car and make it happen. Guess what, it didn't. Its all very strange, Same kind of no error code no fault bull****.

So there was me absolutely miffed by the whole thing. Anyway the car seemed OK, so yesterday i happened to have a nice drive through some nice country lanes and decided to nail the car a bit for the first time since I've had i back. All seemed OK car pulled all the way through to 7250 with no problems. When approaching a roundabout i dropped it down a few then dipped the clutch to stop. The rev needle went sticky, then dropped to around 250 rpm... :huh: it then jumped back up to around 1200 rpm before jumping around and finally settling at around 800 rpm.

There is also another strange one, my temp gauge seems to occasionally drop below 90 deg even though the oil temp is fully up. Any ideas on that....



Any helps appreciated, unfortunately the car is now out of warranty (typically) and i need to get some kind of idea what it is prior to complaining to Audi. They did mention if the car continued to have problems they may well do something out of good will. (we shall see)

This could be the icing on the cake in terms of selling the car. I've not been able to invest an time or money into the car with all these problems. Ill go as far as saying the love is almost lost and i just want rid :bye:
 
By the way the part was only about £50 from Audi and its really easy to fit.
 
thanks alot Lucas, much appreciated! can i do this test with the oil cap with the engine cold?? or should i warm it first??
 
right just been out to try it cause im impatient and you are spot on! was a suction going on then as i pulled it out it let out a burst of air!! the idle was affected by this too. Going to call TPS now. Anyone got a part number for this valve!? i also need a new cam follower so can kill two birds with one stone!!
 
Just ask they guys at the audi garage its the air valve and gasket, all I did was I explained to them what it was and they knew what I meant. Really is a two min job took me longer to get the engine cover off then it did to fit the new part!!! Fixed the problem straight away for less than £50. Any probs pm me.
 
LucasS3 said:
Just ask they guys at the audi garage its the air valve and gasket, all I did was I explained to them what it was and they knew what I meant. Really is a two min job took me longer to get the engine cover off then it did to fit the new part!!! Fixed the problem straight away for less than £50. Any probs pm me.
Click to expand...

thanks again lucas! ive just ordered new engine breather valve, cam follower and O ring. You mention gasket, im guessing thats a gasket to sit between the new valve unit and rocker cover. If so does it come with the new unit or will i need to order that seperate?? thanks mate! so glad ive got to the bottom of this so quick.

ASN really is invaluable!
 
yes the part should come with the valve, but if not you should be able to use the old one. I think they must updated the valve at some point as it looks slightly different from the one you will take out, well mine did anyway. Tell me about it i would of taken my to audi to diagnose at a crazy cost for them to fit the part no doubt ending up with a bill of about £300, where a few questions on here and problem solved for less that £50, this place is a life saver:thumbsup:

Let me know how you get on.
 
Aww, great stuff, guys! This is one of the many things I love about this forum, people are so happy help each other out, wherever and whenever they can. So glad you found out what the problem was Rye, and that Lucas was the man in the know! Nice one! :wub: xx
 
another one of these breather valves going dicky? hmmmm, anyone spotted a recuring theme here?
 
Yea exactly what I thought, like I said above the one I put in is different from the one that came out so they have obviously changed it for a reason!!!

Is it worth putting this on the stickies?
 
lets see if fitting s3rye's breather valve fixes his problems too.... then id suggest stickying the topic.
as he has took his to the dealer to no avail, then they obviously arnt aware of the problem with these units! or their tech's are clearly incompetant as too not to spot or suspect it! i spotted it in 15 mins of looking at the 57 plate s3 we had in. its not been back since!

the valve is supposed to allow the induction system to draw combustion gasses from the crankcase, but at the same time not allow boost pressure or excessive vacuum off boost, inherient to the nature of the breather system of turbo charged car, to effect the crankcase pressure to too much extent.......
i mean there have been production turbocharged cars since the early 1970's...... audi cant get this right, despite their 30 years experience in the production car turbo technology they practically invented?
 
A lot of this , in fairness to Audi , is the ever changing and draconian EU emission laws and trying to get efficiency from strangled engines.
 
its also strange how Lucass' one went after 38k and is a 58 plate. Exactly the same year and mileage as mine!!
 
i fitted another one today, on a red 57 plate. 76k.
had two fault codes in it.
one about "fuel system lean on idle" and an "idle speed above control limits" fault too.

paid a little more attention to the oil cap thing......
before i fitted it, with it idling, you literally couldnt remove the oil cap cus of the vacuum in the crankcase. then as i managed to unseat it there was a big rush of air and the engine really struggled to tickover at all!
after fitting the valve it was easy as pie to remove the cap, just as easy as when the engines switched off. and no noticable rush of air, but it did upset the idle slightly with the cap off but nothing like as bad as before!

after fitting it it seemed to start much better (before it cranked over just slightly longer than it should have to and was noticablely lumpy for the first 2-3 seconds of running) and ticked over much happier.
 
Last edited:
murran said:
i fitted another one today, on a red 57 plate. 76k.
had two fault codes in it.
one about "fuel system lean on idle" and an "idle speed above control limits" fault too.

paid a little more attention to the oil cap thing......
before i fitted it, with it idling, you literally couldnt remove the oil cap cus of the vacuum in the crankcase. then as i managed to unseat it there was a big rush of air and the engine really struggled to tickover at all!
after fitting the valve it was easy as pie to remove the cap, just as easy as when the engines switched off. and no noticable rush of air, but it did upset the idle slightly with the cap off but nothing like as bad as before!

after fitting it it seemed to start much better (before it cranked over just slightly longer than it should have to and was noticablely lumpy for the first 2-3 seconds of running) and ticked over much happier.
Click to expand...

i'm picking mine up today at 2pm. Will i be able to fit it myself??
 
Murran will answer that question better, but it is pretty easy, I wastched my mechanic friend do mine and in fairness I could of done it, the hardest thing was getting the ****** engine cover off!!!
 
This sounds very familiar. I tend to get a bit of hunting now and then at idle and sometimes the car takes longer to turn over/start up than I think it should.

If anyone who has done this would like to make a How to/Guide (with pictures and part number(s) if possible) then that'd be hella helpful. I'm sure many people would benefit from it and appreciate it a lot.

Cheers

Paul
 
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LucasS3 said:
Murran will answer that question better, but it is pretty easy, I wastched my mechanic friend do mine and in fairness I could of done it, the hardest thing was getting the ****** engine cover off!!!
Click to expand...

dont have an engine cover so i think im gonna give it a go!! let you know later bud!


And Paul, i agree a write would be good. Maybe ill do it later if i get on ok!
 
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i seem to have same problem but i have forge catch can for a long time. thought maybe it's old intake, but after switching to itg it's still there...it's not too much but don't know where to look for the problem. could it be maf sensor?
 
just picked up the part. I can confirm its slightly different to the one on the car. The guy in Audi parts said to me they keep this particular part in stock due to them being common replacement and it has been revised. He's yet to replace a revised one "apparently". Parts were....

Valve £28.64 + vat
Gasket was £13.58 + vat

gonna have a go fitting it once the cars cooled down. Looks pretty straight forward!
 
S. said:
i seem to have same problem but i have forge catch can for a long time. thought maybe it's old intake, but after switching to itg it's still there...it's not too much but don't know where to look for the problem. could it be maf sensor?
Click to expand...

as i mentioned earlier they are a common failing part so for the money probably worth you trying out. My cars been idling poor for a while now. I thought it may have been down to needing fresh oil. That didn't work so now i'm looking at this and a new cam follower. Just need someone to fit my cam follower for me!
 
all done! was very easy, ive taken pics and will do a small write up later. All i have done is start the car and see if its any different and yes it seems far better. Going out to get some lunch shortly so will see how it is on the road and report back. So far so good! :thumbsup:
 
Great news Rye glad it was that, like you said for the money its worth giving it ago.
 
OK, so here is a basic fitting guide for the "Breather control valve unit"

You will need....

Parts
Breather control valve - Part no (06F 129 101 N) - £28.64 + vat
Gasket - Part no (06F 103 483 E) - £13.58 + vat

IMG_3540.jpg


IMG_3542.jpg


Tools
Torx socket tool T40
Flat head screwdriver or the like
Old Towel or paper

Start off with opening the bonnet :idea:

1. You will need to remove the engine cover. I don't have a picture of this as i didn't have one so that saved me some time.

2. Locate the Breather valve and unclip the two hoses connected to it. They are very simple fittings and just need a squeeze to unclip. Pretty self explanatory. It does help to have a socket set type Torx as one of the screws is quite awkward!

IMG_3543.jpg


3. Unscrew all four Torx screws and pull the unit towards you.

4. Now use your flathead to prize out the gasket. Upon inspection i couldn't see any faults or wear in the gasket but changed it anyway as i had bought one. Wasn't really needed though! Press new one in and you should have something like this.

IMG_3544.jpg


5. Now get your new unit out and simply refit it where the old one went. It self locates when you press it on which is rather helpful. It helps to put all four screws in prior to connecting the hoses as they get right in the way! I used paper towel as a safety net just in case i dropped a screw. Managed not to though!!

when your all finished will look like this...

IMG_3546.jpg


It really was easy! i think it took about 5 minutes (bare in mind i had no engine cover)


In terms of making my car better?? yes it has worked. There is still a small issue with idling but i'm putting that down to needing a new cam follower. The Car is Much better all round. Less lumpy this morning, revs dropping down a lot quicker rather than sticking and idle is spot on most of the time.

Just wanna thank everyone on this thread who has helped!! ASN :wub:
 
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Need to get this put on stickies, great write up, this should help out quite a few people :icon_thumright:
 
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good write up there! only thing id add is that the 4 torx screws are t20's
 
Doesnt suprise me that has gone, that is what the bsh pcv mod is, totally blanks it off so it doesnt fail like they always do eventually
 
S3RYE did you fix your idle problem?
 
the idle problem has gone but i now have another issue. The rev needle takes a big dip to around 500rpm then back to about 1200rpm then back to normal idle. Doesn't happen every time but it happens. Cars also misfiring again. Getting SOOOOOOOOOOOO ****** fed up! I haven't enjoyed this car for over a year now I'm losing patience..
 
Hi ryan sorry to hear this,, check carbon build up on plugs...
 
s3kel said:
Hi ryan sorry to hear this,, check carbon build up on plugs...
Click to expand...

will do this evening. Although im certain this is all to do with the valve springs. Im just irate at the moment. My car went in to West London Audi for final Warranty work in feb (before the warranty run out) the car had miraculously stopped misfiring whilst the car was with them (even though it had been doing it for two years) got the car back and guess what. it misfires. Feel so screwed over. Im going to pay the money and have an independant do the work and if it sorts the car out i give you my word, i will go out of my way to tarnish West London Audis name as much as i can. Crooks.
 
sorry to hear that. i've have same problem you have. new spark plugs, catch tank, new intake and it still happens. don't know why? also i think my fuel consumption has gone wild.
 
Sorry your still struggling Ryan but great write up.

Was hoping this would solve your issue. When mine did the lumpy idle etc one time, I had an engine management light come on, which said something about tumble flaps when I hooked up VAG COM, Sorry can't remember what it was exactly. Reset the error as I think to replace them is a ***** of a job, never seen it since.

Oh and West London Audi aren't the only dealer I'd class as crooks. I will ALWAYS now use an indy specialist, even from day 1 if I ever owned a new car.

Let us know what the indy finds out.
 
audi upgrades
S. said:
sorry to hear that. i've have same problem you have. new spark plugs, catch tank, new intake and it still happens. don't know why? also i think my fuel consumption has gone wild.
Click to expand...

yes so has mine.. Im just lost tbh. i cant even sell the car cause i feel bad for whoever buys it :(

NobberUK said:
Sorry your still struggling Ryan but great write up.

Was hoping this would solve your issue. When mine did the lumpy idle etc one time, I had an engine management light come on, which said something about tumble flaps when I hooked up VAG COM, Sorry can't remember what it was exactly. Reset the error as I think to replace them is a ***** of a job, never seen it since.

Oh and West London Audi aren't the only dealer I'd class as crooks. I will ALWAYS now use an indy specialist, even from day 1 if I ever owned a new car.

Let us know what the indy finds out.
Click to expand...

tbh thats what i need to do, i need to see what error codes its giving this time. Most likely Misire detected cyl 3.

will let you know how i get on, am starting with WL Audi tomorrow.
 
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