1986 Audi 100 Avant

[Lankytim]

Its true!

They go rusty.
They break down ALL THE TIME
They fall to bits.
They make you look a tw&t infront if your mates/inlaws/wife e.t.c
When you spend loads of money on them they reward you by doing all of the above more frequently.

Still love them of course...Everyone has a limit though.

[Lankytim]

Just been for an hour long blat round Stoke and Newcastle to see if the mayo got any worse or evaporated away, thouroughly enjoyed it too! The engine feels peppy, the handling is great for such a large car and its so comfortable... Maybe I'm too used to my Volvo 940. The volvo goes like a rocket but come the twisty bits its cumbersome, pitching and wallowing. When accellerating out of a corner it lifts the inside rear wheel and spins away the torque, meanwhile ive slid off the half leather drivers seat and have ended up sitting on the handbrake. The 100 feels so light and agile in comparison!

Anyway back to "the mayo"

After the drive I checked the dipstick, no mayo, then checked the filler cap and... the mayos still there.... Not as bad as before, just a browny smear over the inside of the cap. Since changing the head ive noticed that the temperature gauge never gets over 1/3... before it always sat at 1/2. The new head still has the thermostat fitted it came with so it could be a lower temperature thermostat than the one its suppost to be, preventing the engine warming up to the correct temperature and in turn preventing condensation in the oil evaporating away....

Another thing I noticed was the breather pipe from the rocker cover had a kink in it meaning it was effectively blocked. I removed the breather and replaced it with a long piece of hose down the bottom of the engine bay so I could see if any condensation or water came out as the engine was revved.

I figured that I needed to get the engine as hot as possible to try and expel any moisture present in the oil so I disconnected the radiator fan and ran the engine for 30 mins or so. The temp gauge went up to 2/3 and the mayo on the inside of the filler cap seemed to dissapear.. so good so far!

The breather hose appaeared to be producing a white gas as the engine was revved, not excessive and the very end of the hose seemed to be damp. The dampness didnt smell or taste (yes I tasted it!) of coolant so it could just be the last of the condensation escaping from the engine. The white gas could easily have been piston blow-by rather than steam.

So after that rather protracted post I'm in slightly higher spirits as the engine oil seems to be now free of moisture although its far from conclusive. Ill just have to go on a few more long journeys and see if the problem gets any worse or goes away all together.

I'm not quite ready to throw in the towel yet!

[filmidget]

Sure it's the HG? Mayo under the cam cover? Does it run OK apart from the suspected HG?

Don't kill it!

Pleeeaaase don't kill it.

Multi-VAG owning mate has been hanging his nose over 100's for a while and I suspect would jump at a LPG one. Having said that I'd be tempted myself... Hmmm... I have an Audi 80 2.0 16v just sitting waiting to be stripped...

[Lankytim]

I'm not sure its the HG..it could be nothing!

I don't want to kill it but the audi appears to be posessed by the devil and the only way to exorcise it would be to crash the audi very hard into the boot of a bluebird.

Although if you bought it the devil thing would be your problem..... Anyway there may not be a problem with it at all now.. ill just have to wait and see.

[mrj]

i wouldn't worry about the Mayo, this is very common on these engines, especially in winter..... just enjoy it

[Lankytim]

It was last on the road in the summer and now its winter so what you say sounds like it could be right!

This thread needs more pics!!



New rimmz... cheaper than new tyres. Ebay bargain.

[xbo11ox]

That looks great man, really good. It would be a real shame for it to get mangled after all the effort you've put in and the mayo problems don't sound too serious to me. I reckon you are doing all the right things looking at the breather and the thermostat.

[dollywobbler]

Yay! It's love again! ;D

These are great barges. Now just give it a darned good thrashing and enjoy! (wonder if a grille muff would help while it's chilly?)

[Lankytim]

I think your right about the mayo thing, George Clooney.... I just get in a flap Basil Fawlty style sometimes and immediately storm over the the laptop to vent....

Ta for the compliment! I think it looks good too. Its going for a proper tune up at a local VAG expert so with the ign timing sorted and carb tweaked it will run even better...mayo permitting. After that I can reconnect the gas. I don't want a backfire though the carb and my air filter to explode, A team style!

Damn good thrashing?

[Lankytim]

Bit of a micro update,

Ive been working funny hours this week so found myself with a bit of time to spare. I got the Aldi on the drive in preparation for a damn good scrubbing. As I was in the garage getting the bucket I spotted the gas mixer for the LPG system on a shelf. This was sufficient to sidetrack me into digging out a few old induction pipes and attempt to reconnect it to the Audi's air filter housing.

After cutting off the air filter housings "snout", where the cold starting flap lives I found a rubber induction pipe from a long dead Rover 216 was an ideal, snug fit. The other end was trimmed to slide over the LPG mixer and the whole lot bolted back onto the Audi's carb.

After switching off the petrol supply and allowing the float chamber to run dry the gas was turned on and the engine ran perfectly... Great! A quick test drive however caused the car to come to a spluttering halt. After some digging about I concluded the swirl pot between the fuel pump and carb was still holding a bit of fuel which was allowed to enter the carb when going round corners... the engine doesn't like running on gas AND petrol! If the swirl pot is allowed to drain of fuel fully the engine performs very well on gas. I'm pretty chuffed that it all still works after being redundant for so long.

Next step will be sealing the air filter and LPG pipes properly as they all simply pushed together at the moment, if it isn't fixed it could lead to explosions and other such hilarity.

One thing I'm not really happy with is the air filter element is now between the LPG mixer and the carb intake, meaning the air passing though the air filter is mixed with gas. Does anyone know if this is an acceptable way of doing things? I dint want the air filter element to become some kind of hazard, ready to blow up at any time.

Pics to follow, it was too dark to take them! Either way I'm back to 44p a litre fuel.. yippee!

[jrevillug]

Way too good to break - looks nice.

I'd change the engine oil (especially since it's been sat since the summer without being used, with no cylinder head for a good part of that), and possibly again a week or two later.

Keep an eye on the oil and coolant levels and use it - especially if you can do a long-ish motorway journey or two - to reduce the risk of short-run condensation.

Just see how it goes - it's not like the HG going slowly is the end of the world. i ran my Imp with a leaking HG for a couple of years before changing it, just topping up the water from time to time.

James

[Siert]

Well from your most recent post I see only good news. And the great handling you described earlier is of course because of the downforce that the rear spoiler generates :-)

[jizzy gillespie]

every vw ive ever had has had the mayo in the filler cap thing, don't worry about it man, just glide ;D

[MiniDan]

Looking good Tim! Thats exactly how I wanted it too look.

Great news you got it sorted in the end

[MiniDan]

Looking good Tim! Thats exactly how I wanted it too look.

Great news you got it sorted in the end

[Lankytim]

Mot is up on the 16th so I thought it was time to get prepared. There were advisories last year on corroded ferrals on all four brake flex pipes so they will need doing, theres also a bit of grot in the O/S lower rear wing which will need welding. Its nothing serious and probably not even an MOT fail point but since I'm trying to get the Audi up to the status of smart daily rather than MOT borderline frag fodder id better get it sorted. Apart from that theres not alot else I can think of.... although on most old cars theres usually something unexpected that crops up and this old barge will probably be no exception.

Talking of the unexpected the exhaust started to blow badly while out on a run back from Nottingham and when I got home I found the rear box was hanging off, I had to amputate it to save it falling off and going though someones windscreen, all thats left is a rusty stump above the rear axle. The whole system was pretty well corroded so I guess it wasn't that unexpected. Ive booked the Audi in to a stainless exhaust place down in Stafford to have a new system from the down pipe back fabricated and fitted. I'm thinking of going for a single middle silencer box and not bothering with a back box. Should improve exhaust flow and have a nice burble, plus wont rot away. Any input or advice on custom exhausts much appreciated!

[Lankytim]

New shiny exhaust fitted today!

I managed to blag a night/morning shift at work so I could knock off early and get the 'zorst sorted (7Hrs 30 sat at Sainsburys Stoke Zzzzzz)

With the car up on the ramps the old exhaust was quickly removed. Apart from the year old centre silencer the rest of the system was rusty and had been blowing in several places. A two silencer system was decided on, as the original system used to have three and one would have been just too loud. Within a couple of hours a new system had been assembled and welded together. After browsing though a truely huge choice of tailpipes a nice non-flashy one was picked out and welded on.


Up and away!


Old system off and binned.


The end result looks smart and sounds good, plus has a lifetime guarantee. The workmanship looks brilliant too. The system from the downpipe back cost £200 which isnt much more than a mild steel system would have cost from a fast fit centre. If anyones interested in a bit of bling for their banger the exhaust was built by Unique exhausts in Stafford (01785 215111)*correct number now!!*



Atlast I have something I can shine up on my oxidised Audi!

While it was up in the air I had a good poke around and found no more rust, infact the floors and sills are 100% solid. Very pleasing to see on a 20+ year old car.



While the exhaust was being fitted I had time to admire a nice rover P6 that was at the garage next door, I think it had just failed its MOT.



Another Rover that was in for its test was an L reg 414 that had been parked on a farm for two years. A young lad had bought it for £100, jet washed it and bunged it in for an MOT. Amazingly it went through first time. No sticky brakes, no rust holes. Great stuff!

Next on the MOT hit list is the Audi. Its going to John Cedrics on the weekend for a bit of a fettle and its test. Wish me luck!

[croaky]

That is a good price for an exhaust, never even knew they were in Stafford and I only live down the road! (Think you got the phone number wrong though, its a digit short!) guessing number should be 01785 215111.

Anyway looks good, we now need a sound clip of the new burble!

[Lankytim]

Been having lots of fun with the Audi...


I sent it off to have a stack of work done prior to its MOT. The small amount of rust on the lower rear wing and chassis was repaired, All the brake flexis were renewed, couple of brake pipes replaced, new rear cylinders and drums (drums NLA and £50 each when tracked down!) plus some other bits and bobs..

The MOT was passed but on the way home the clutch pedal seemed to have less and less effect on the clutch. Even when pushed through the floor the clutch wasnt disengaging properly. When we got home I adjusted the clutch cable but it seemed to be stretching to excess somehow. I had a spare cable and stuck it on but with it all adjusted up the clutch pedal made a funny graunching noise and went limp.

Further investigation revealed that the end of the clutch pedal where its spined onto the lever that pulls the cable had sheared off. Turned out it was an absolute git of a job to do and new pedals are £50 plus VAT from Audi, and theres a 10 day wait minimum.







Fortunately, the local breakers have a 100 of the right age in stock, a couple of hours and £5 saw the pedal in my hands. To get it out I had to remove half the dash, the steering column and the pedal box. It really is a GIT.



Yay..


Nearly in..


After much swearing and knuckle scraping the new pedal was fitted to the Avant. The cable was set up and the pedal tested. The clutch is stuck solid and a good hard push causes the clutch lever thing on the end of the pedal to slip on its splines. It now looks like the old clutch pedal broke because the clutch had jammed and overzealous pumping on the pedal had broken it.

So basically after approx £5.6Bn worth of repair work over the months the Audi is still sat on the drive, broken. It needs a new clutch (I think) and I bloody hate doing clutches.

Ever had a car you just CANT fix?

[Lankytim]

Its been punted off down the local retro friendly garage. I hope they can fix it!