Paul
Posted a lot
Posts: 1,907
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Mar 17, 2024 19:49:03 GMT
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So due to the dreaded ULEZ, my wife not wanting to drive a RWD, and the unfortunate likelihood of being dinged on my commute to a less salubrious part of the capital my hand was forced into finding an appropriate vehicle. The discussion went thusly: forum.retro-rides.org/thread/226486/ulez-compliant-retroish-interestingSo a couple of weeks ago I ended up purchasing this hunk of German engineering:  It's a 2001 Audi A2 with 110k on the clock in 1.4 ULEZ-friendly flavour with a reasonable amount of service history, MOT until July and a cambelt a couple of years ago.  Audi Space Frame? Well, yes, it was an experiment in making an aluminium frame (found in this and similarly aged A8s) that bring the kerb weight in at under 1,000kg. It also made it very difficult to find a decent earthing point for me to hardwire a new USB charging point and android screen  One of the main QuIrKs AnD fEaTuReS of the car is this cool little hatch, or Serviceklappe:  Pull the hood latch and you get access to  Dipstick, oil filler and screen wash filler. Enough for 90% of drivers. Twist two hefty plugs 90 degrees and the bonnet comes straight off and, being aluminium, weighs nothing - revealing this powerhouse:  1.4 AUA engine, also used in Polos of a similar age. So of course that got a spritz of degreaser - really feeling the Bilt Hamber products recently, and their Surfex HD is a great all round product:  Much better. I've put about 600 miles on her already and have been very impressed. The cabin feels airy, light and spacious and belies both it's diminutive external dimensions and 23 years of age. Everything feels very solid and well put together - there are no squeaks and rattles that I've heard - and the cabin stays remarkably quiet at speeds of (and potentially in excess of) the King's mandated motorway limits. It keeps up with motorway traffic adequately although is never going to be a speed demon - however my commute is in rush hour so I rarely see above 65mph and a long stretch is along the A406 at a maximum of 50mph. A downside I hadn't considered is the laughably small fuel tank (which I guess is to save on carrying weight and increase efficiency) of 34 litres - not even 7.5 gallons - so I'm stopping more often. The upside is that I've averaged 48mpg in this time without even thinking about economy which I think is remarkable for a 23 year old motor. Problems? MOT indicated a few advisories around wheels, and around 50% of the time it's throwing a CEL - P0171 - indicating lean running. In traffic it hunts a bit for idle now and again, and has been known to stall out rarely. Googling it suggests the TB might need a good clean (although apparently it also needs resetting/adaption afterwards and that needs a better diagnostic machine than my £10 eBay one) - I've also ordered a MAP sensor...and a speedo sensor for the gearbox as the needle seems to stick and jerk around 50-70mph. It's quite funny actually  |
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Paul
Posted a lot
Posts: 1,907
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Mar 17, 2024 20:03:04 GMT
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Did I mention rims? I love rims...and the most common swap among A2 owners is to source a set of wheels from an A1 - similar offsets, same 16" rims, but slightly chonkier tyres. I'm no exception. Found a set about an hour from me, deal was done, wheels collected and hit with the Bilt Hamber Auto Wheel cleaner (again a big fan but it utterly stinks - even the closed bottle is gassing out the shed. Looks pretty though and much cheaper than the equivalent from Auto Finesse:  Clean up pretty well if you ask me:  Speaking of cleaning, there are definitely perks to living next door to a professional car valeter...I moaned about the rain never stopping so he came a gave a proper steam clean, foam and wax   Got to say I'm really impressed with how she came up - there are scrapes and scuffs (which I knew about - it's a commuter beater after all) so I'll get a touch up stick ordered but I'm more than happy with how it's sitting now. I'm considering lowering springs but I don't want to make the ride harsher (it's quite stiff as it is) and ruin its practicality...    |
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Paul
Posted a lot
Posts: 1,907
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Mar 17, 2024 20:03:53 GMT
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And no, I haven't dealt with any of the running problems yet |
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Mar 17, 2024 23:25:55 GMT
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i like these a lot.
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@ CRX_IN_SCOTLAND
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ChasR
RR Helper
motivation
Posts: 10,192
Club RR Member Number: 170
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A cool buy this. I remember when these came out, I quite liked them. I didn't know of many folks with them however, and the one I did know with one, has his for a while, with some audio gear (a chap called Erksine Fenty, or EF Max for those who remember his handle during the car audio days). It's good to see you are getting stuck in. Whereabouts in London are you? I ask as I go to Croydon now and again from the West Midlands, and I have access to a VCDS lead, which I'm happy to scan the car with, if you can meet up on the way. I'd be careful with aftermarket MAF sensors. IME, if they are not what the OE specified (i.e Bosch for Bosch, Hella etc.), things can be made worse ; this was the case for the: -Merc CLK CDI 270 : It was OK, but it smoked more with the cheapy MAF -Mondeo 2.5T (T5) : It always had a 'shuffle' issue, I think all of them do. My mate bought a cheapy and returned it, as it made the above, and other running bits of the car worse. So he just cleaned the old one with IPA (not the beer ). It's good to see you're having some fun with it (y). |
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Paul
Posted a lot
Posts: 1,907
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A cool buy this. I remember when these came out, I quite liked them. I didn't know of many folks with them however, and the one I did know with one, has his for a while, with some audio gear (a chap called Erksine Fenty, or EF Max for those who remember his handle during the car audio days). It's good to see you are getting stuck in. Whereabouts in London are you? I ask as I go to Croydon now and again from the West Midlands, and I have access to a VCDS lead, which I'm happy to scan the car with, if you can meet up on the way. I'd be careful with aftermarket MAF sensors. IME, if they are not what the OE specified (i.e Bosch for Bosch, Hella etc.), things can be made worse ; this was the case for the: -Merc CLK CDI 270 : It was OK, but it smoked more with the cheapy MAF -Mondeo 2.5T (T5) : It always had a 'shuffle' issue, I think all of them do. My mate bought a cheapy and returned it, as it made the above, and other running bits of the car worse. So he just cleaned the old one with IPA (not the beer ). It's good to see you're having some fun with it (y). Many thanks for the advice and the offer - unfortunately I'm North London, heading up to Essex/Hertfordshire so our paths won't cross. It would appear the 2nd tier of diagnostic machines (£60+) will all do throttle reset/adaptation so as I plan on using this a lot it may be a wise investment. Appreciate the heads up re: sensors too...will tread carefully and do one thing at a time before firing the parts cannon |
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Mar 18, 2024 10:26:16 GMT
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Awesome car. Had one for 10+ years which was LPG converted as well. Cost less to run than a bicycle @35mpg on LPG ;-)
Mine bit the bullet when the crankcase breather froze, starved the head of oil and seized the cams. So maybe clean out the breather system when you're doing the throttle body as well.
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Paul
Posted a lot
Posts: 1,907
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Mar 22, 2024 15:08:17 GMT
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Last two full tanks have got me 52mpg and 50mpg (23 year old petrol engine - amazing) respectively...AND I found out on the first clammy, muggy commute of the year that the aircon even has gas in it! Insane little beastie of a motor My fancier OBD reader arrived yesterday - it's specific to VAG motors and has the option to do the throttle body calibration built in - so this weekend I'll give the TB a good clean, reset it...might even chuck in an oil change when I'm at it. |
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Last Edit: Mar 22, 2024 15:08:40 GMT by Paul
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thebaron
Europe
Over the river, heading out of town
Posts: 1,645 
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Mar 22, 2024 16:17:34 GMT
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I had one of these 7/8 years ago that was pretty much identical (engine, wheels, interior) to yours except it was the slightly darker sliver/grey.
It was bought as a stop gap between an e39 M5 and a B7 RS4 so it was naturally unfairly judged by me in the direct period of ownership. The high clutch point was particularly unnerving.
However, I loved the engineering behind it and I would definitely have another one for a local commute in future. I regularly check for a Black or bright Orange 1.6 with leather but they have become expensive now and have a cult following here, especially the 3Ls.
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Mar 23, 2024 17:17:00 GMT
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However, I loved the engineering behind it and I would definitely have another one for a local commute in future. I regularly check for a Black or bright Orange 1.6 with leather but they have become expensive now and have a cult following here, especially the 3Ls. I don't think I've ever seen an orange one, maybe not a UK colour |
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Mar 23, 2024 22:28:47 GMT
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I think the orange & yellow ones were the Storm spec.
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Paul
Posted a lot
Posts: 1,907
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Mar 24, 2024 13:56:32 GMT
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I had one of these 7/8 years ago that was pretty much identical (engine, wheels, interior) to yours except it was the slightly darker sliver/grey. It was bought as a stop gap between an e39 M5 and a B7 RS4 so it was naturally unfairly judged by me in the direct period of ownership. The high clutch point was particularly unnerving. However, I loved the engineering behind it and I would definitely have another one for a local commute in future. I regularly check for a Black or bright Orange 1.6 with leather but they have become expensive now and have a cult following here, especially the 3Ls. Glad it's not just me and the high clutch is a thing...I was worried the clutch was on the way out but there's no sign of it slipping in any gear. Feel like a learner hitting 3k + revs trying to pull away from the lights though 🤣 |
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Paul
Posted a lot
Posts: 1,907
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Mar 24, 2024 14:05:42 GMT
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Well I'm glad I went to do an oil change when I did. It has service history that includes an oil change last July, but has been a little tappy on startup. Reminded me of my wife's old MX-5 that had a thirst for 5w30 and would get tappity when it was a little low. No oil light in the A2, but this is all that came out  That doesn't look like 3 and half litres 🤣 The sump plug was on super tight but there was a bit of a dribble along the sump itself. Odd. So I grabbed the new filter  With the handy 30mm 6 point on the end. Only seen this on Polos and Audis of a similar age...did it ever catch on? Makes changing them a doddle. Took my 30mm to the old filter and it kept just spinning in a way that made me think I didn't have a grip properly. Turns out I did...and the old filter was loose. Like properly loose - not even hand tight. I never had to break torque or anything to remove it. There's a direct route down from the filter, down the block and across the bottom of the sump - so that would explain where the oil's been going, and why there was none on the road since obviously oil wasn't pumping when the engine wasn't spinning. Never seen anything like it - especially on a car WITH service history from a garage. Made sure the new filter was on good and snug 🤣 Surprised the oil light wasn't on...but then engine sure runs a bit quieter now! |
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thebaron
Europe
Over the river, heading out of town
Posts: 1,645
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I had one of these 7/8 years ago that was pretty much identical (engine, wheels, interior) to yours except it was the slightly darker sliver/grey. It was bought as a stop gap between an e39 M5 and a B7 RS4 so it was naturally unfairly judged by me in the direct period of ownership. The high clutch point was particularly unnerving. However, I loved the engineering behind it and I would definitely have another one for a local commute in future. I regularly check for a Black or bright Orange 1.6 with leather but they have become expensive now and have a cult following here, especially the 3Ls. Glad it's not just me and the high clutch is a thing...I was worried the clutch was on the way out but there's no sign of it slipping in any gear. Feel like a learner hitting 3k + revs trying to pull away from the lights though 🤣 Definitely not just you. I had the uh oh on the test drive and went home to "think" about it. I was definitely going to pass on it as I thought the clutch was frigged as well. I checked the forums and saw it was a case of "they all do that". I'm not sure I ever really got on with the clutch but it continued to operate the same for the time I had it. One thing that is a right pain is checking the seal around the hatch. It fails and then all the water collects in the battery tray under the 1st boot floor - Genius  |
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Last Edit: Mar 25, 2024 9:45:13 GMT by thebaron
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Paul
Posted a lot
Posts: 1,907
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Mar 25, 2024 12:38:35 GMT
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One thing that is a right pain is checking the seal around the hatch. It fails and then all the water collects in the battery tray under the 1st boot floor - Genius ...it's as if you read my mind. I found out v. quickly that my battery was swimming in a good 1/4 inch of stale stinky water. I had initially put it down to overzealous pressure washing by a previous owner/seller...I guess not I'll add a boot seal to the shopping list... |
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Paul
Posted a lot
Posts: 1,907
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Mar 29, 2024 12:11:35 GMT
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Well I can't be 100% certain I've solved THE problem, but I've definitely solved A problem this morning. The dinky 1.4 throttle body lives under a big air pipe at the back of the block.  At first glance it's definitely a bit grubby.  Oh yeah that can't be good.  The gasket it lives on is a one use affair and looks pretty shot if I'm being honest. A good dose of throttle body cleaner, some old rags and a toothbrush later...  Not forgetting to replace the gasket of course...  And this is why I bought the specific computer for the car  A few seconds of click clacking from the engine bay and we're good to go. 50% of the time the money light would flash on within 30 seconds...but not so far. Also the issue was most noticeable when warmed up and dipping the clutch - the revs would plummet to 600 and then recover back to 800ish most of the time...sometimes it would cut out completely. Doesn't seem to be an issue now - the revs drop to 800-900ish more gently as they should, and no sign of possible cutting out. Will report back after a some proper miles but the signs look good 👍 |
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Last Edit: Mar 29, 2024 12:12:18 GMT by Paul
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cars like this are why I use this forum.
Uncommon thing that only proper car people would even notice on the road
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Paul
Posted a lot
Posts: 1,907
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Today in 'things that really shouldn't take long but did' I dealt with the split outer CV boot I spotted when doing the oil change. Thinking it would be quicker and cleaner (!) to swap out the whole driveshaft I ordered one up.  The offending article. Now after a little research I found that the ball joints are pressed in for these and I didn't really want to disturb that BUT it's claimed to be possible to swap it out without splitting. Which it was! Wheel off, 36mm hub nut, 6x8mm splined bolts, push up and above the gearbox into the space and remove the shaft inward.  Here's where the fun stopped. Whilst trying to wrestle the new one in the inner CV exploded into a mess of balls, cage and grease. Disappointment. What then occurred was nearly two hours- and two false starts - at teaching myself to assemble a CV joint from scratch. YouTube was helpful but I still managed to get it wrong twice and jam up the joint so it was stuck solid. Paying EXTRA care this time I crawled underneath the car, slotted the outer driveshaft into place and pushed the inner into position. Bolts went in pretty much first time, which was a bonus as it was now raining. Hard. Reassembly was the reversal of removal. If you're not an idiot it's very doable in an hour or so...I took 4 🤣🤣🤣🤣 This way was neither quicker nor cleaner. |
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Last Edit: Apr 3, 2024 13:26:25 GMT by Paul
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thebaron
Europe
Over the river, heading out of town
Posts: 1,645
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Liked for the result, not the process  |
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MiataMark
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 2,961
Club RR Member Number: 29
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I knew somebody that had a 'Ferrari yellow' one, think I prefer the silver though.
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1990 Mazda MX-52012 BMW 118i (170bhp) - white appliance 2011 Land Rover Freelander 2 TD4 2003 Land Rover Discovery II TD52007 Alfa Romeo 159 Sportwagon JTDm
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