just bought an a4 BT need some help

[slideitsidewayz]

Alright. well i just bought a 1998 a4 1.8tqm with 136k miles with a garrett stage 3 turbo with full apr cat back exhaust. the car has been very well maintained up until a few years ago when the guy just let the car sit in his driveway for 3 years. just got the car home. i bought it cheap as a project car and i knew about these problems before hand so i dont want anyone bitching at me saying that i didnt know what i got myself into or anything like that.

So i bought the car from a guy who hasnt driven it in 3 years, the car has just been sitting in his driveway...thats it. So the first thing that is wrong has to do with the the start up, as soon as you start it the car seems like it wants to die and until it warms up, the car does die. But after the car warms up it idles perfectly. Once you rev the engine or put it in gear the rpm's rise and fall and seems like the car is gonna die and stalls out. Now the check engine light is on so im thinking it might be some kind of sensor or something like that.

I probably left somethings out so if i remember or something else comes up ill add to this. But can anyone give me some advice or tell me whats wrong please? thanks guys!

BTW; is anyone is parting out a black a4 1.8t i need a rear driver side passenger door and the front passenger side fender. If you have either send me a price i need the parts asap! thanks again!

[audiness]

did you change the oil or fuel after it sat that long or did you just start it up?

if a car sits that long, the fuel turns to gum. You also need to squirt some oil into the cylinders before starting because they would be bone dry.

[B5A4Kevin]

possible bad fuel, tune, or vacuum leak(s). any hissing at idle from engine bay?

[kovalevandrew]

If i were you. I'd give it a good desludging. I'd change coolant as well. While you're at it, check all the accessory belts etc. Change plugs too.

I had a similar problem with my car a few years back. I went out of country for work for almost 18 months. When i came back, stupid me started the car up and half way down the road, check engine light came on, barely got it home.

Drained the oil, fuel and coolant. Filled the sucker up with diesel and let it sit overnight. Filled up coolant with G12, new fuel filter. Drained the motor the next day, filled up with normal oil. Ran it for a while at idle. Once it had warmed up nicely, drained it again, replaced oil with Mobil 1 and another new filter. Problem solved.

[savetheclutch]

dude where in nj did you buy the car? was it hit on the driver side?

[njm23]

^^ sure sounds familiar doesnt it? u no..

[savetheclutch]

hahaha yeah thats what I was getting at...

[Euro-Tuner]

vag-com is your best friend

[ThirdStrike]

you probably have vacuum leaks

[boostedup]

my car was doing that SAME thing awhile back. ended up being a bad MAF, i cleaned it and it lasted me a little bit, but eventually had to get a new one.........

[kovalevandrew]

you probably have vacuum leaks

Yip, more than likely, remove the pcv crap, you won't be sorry you did. I know i'm not.

[slideitsidewayz]

dude where in nj did you buy the car? was it hit on the driver side?

i didnt get the car in jersey i bought if off some guy on the island. yes it was hit on the rear driver side...why do i have a feeling you know the car lol?

[biketsai]

bad maf can do it.

[aytheory]

a person with stg 3 and has been letting it sit for 3 years suggests there is some reoccurring problem. A bounce idle is a handful of things but you just have to start with basic maintenance that didn't happened

new coolant, oil, use vag com to see what is going on at idle, figure out what ecu it has - have a checklist and start checking it off

[Toyotatech]

Sounds like a maf sensor. You could unplug the maf when it's cold and see how it starts then, it will force the car into open loop and should run rich.

[slideitsidewayz]

thanks guys. im gonna get the basics done tomorrow and check out the maf and im gonna pick up a scanner to run the codes as well. ill update my progress tomorrow night and tell you guys whats up. thanks for all the help tho!

[JoBuNY]

sounds like you bought this car

http://www.audizine.com/forum/showthread.php?t=243977

I think that's what njm & andre getting at, and same thing I thought as soon as I read your first few lines

[slideitsidewayz]

Nah i didnt buy that car.

Anyway heres an up date:

i changed the gas, oil, air filter, i checked the MAF and it seems clean (idk how else to really check it or what to look for , if you guys could tell me that would be helpful), i found a vacuum leak and fixed it (the boost guage showed a difference after fixing the leak), i checked the throttle body and connections to see if anything was loose or dirty and i cleaned it up, i think thats about all i did so far...i havent had the chance to run the codes or take it to someone..just got the car 2 days ago.

After doing all this the car ran better. Here is what is happening still; the check engine light is still on, i think the cold start sensor might be bad because when i start the car it tends to bog out and did right away, after the car warms up it idles between 750-1000 rpm, once i rev the engine between 1000-2000rpm the car runs like shit and dies down to around 500rpm then it catches and goes back to about 750rpm and idles...if it does not catch it dids after releaseing the gas. But once i rev the engine past 2000rpm the car runs and sounds amazing...its only between 1000-2000rpm where the problem lies...also it takes a few times to start before the engine catches and idles safely...sometimes i need to give it gas and start it in order to keep the engine running. It seems like the problem is with the idle and between 1000-2000rpm.

The car is not a full stage 3 tho. the car only has a t28 turbo, full apr exhaust, and stage 3 clutch. its running a stock ecu and injectors, which i plan on changing after i get the car running and some more cash. The car has 136k on it and the turbo and exhaust have been on the car since around 105k and the owner said it ran fine so i dont think not having a stage 3 ecu or injectors could be the problem after running the car without it for about 30,000 miles. But im not sure, thats why im asking you guys for help. im new to audi and a turbo charged car in the 1st place so i appolozie for being a noob to this.

I've checked the entire car tho and i know i really need to run the codes cuz right now this is a complete guess and check project. The car is running alot better since ive done these few little things tho. what i think is wrong is some kind of sensor problem, it might be the cold start, maf, or o2 sensor but i really have no clue right now.

I really appreciate all of your guys help and i hope you guys can give me a little bit more advice from all this info i gave you guys.

Thanks for the help once again and i wish you all a Happy and Safe Thanksgiving!

[njm23]

well... the CEL- are you running a testpipe? If I was you I would get a VAG-COM asap owning a stage 3 car, u need it. Also, the fact that the guy was running a t28 on stock ecu and injectors for 20k+ miles, is interesting to say the least. Your running a larger maf? Your idle issue probably is because of the tune, or non-existence of one. Honestly, I wouldn't even attempt to get the car "running right" until you get a tune for it. Stock injectors and stock tune made for a ko3 on a larger turbo is very bad news, your AFR has gotta be all messed up.

[slideitsidewayz]

well... the CEL- are you running a testpipe? If I was you I would get a VAG-COM asap owning a stage 3 car, u need it. Also, the fact that the guy was running a t28 on stock ecu and injectors for 20k+ miles, is interesting to say the least. Your running a larger maf? Your idle issue probably is because of the tune, or non-existence of one. Honestly, I wouldn't even attempt to get the car "running right" until you get a tune for it. Stock injectors and stock tune made for a ko3 on a larger turbo is very bad news, your AFR has gotta be all messed up.

yeah, there is a test pipe after the turbo and it has a sensor on it. No i am not running a larger maf...the air intake and everything is stock. car just has a t28, full exhaust, and clutch. its surprising to me that he was running it so well with this set up on a stock ecu. i just have a question tho; when i buy larger injectors (thinking of getting 440cc) do i need to get a specific chip or would any chip do? if i had vag com would i be able to tuning a chip to run the injectors and car well? im new to all of this so im sorry for asking a stupid question. i know that mika sold software with injectors but i am just curious about getting 440cc and getting lets say a giac and tuning that to run the car...can i do that?

i bought this car dirt cheap and as a project car so im not worried about dumping money into it. so if i got a larger maf, injectors and a stage 3 chip...after i get the car running i should be safe right? if not let me know, i need all the help i can get and i appreciate every piece of advise you guys give me.

[njm23]

Alright, well for starters. Decide who you want for tuning. Different tuners/company's use different size injectors and MAF's. I would suggest contacting eurodyne(chris tapp) to see if he has a tune for t28 and what size injectors/FPR and MAF he uses with the tune. THEN go ahead and buy what you need for his setup. The tune will run about 700 probably. The testpipe is most likely giving you a cel, there may be other codes as well but u won't know until u get it scanned. You cant tune your car from a vag-com, can only see what is going on with it. And me personally, I would not drive the car on a stock ecu and stock injectors with all that, you have no way of knowing what your AFR is and im sure it is all out of wack. From the sounds of things the car is all there, you just need to get a tune and injectors/intake setup. THEN see how the car runs, if its rough then you know you have a problem, everything may solve itself though by running the right setup.

[slideitsidewayz]

alright well i just checked out the ecu and injectors....on the bottom of the ecu it had a sticker for Susquehanna Auto in NY...they do fuel injection, tune ups, exhaust, and everything else...so i dont really know why their sticker is on the ecu...i highly doubt they gave it a stage 3 tune up. Also i looked at the fuel injectors and i think theyre stock...i just looked at them so i cant tell you much about them...theyre black lol...then maf is stock as well. so the best thing i would think to do would be to get a new ecu and injectors...maybe even find a used mika set cheap like they sold off the atp site. If anyone has any other suggestions let me know. thanks again guys!

[onemoremile]

Bet the cylinder walls were rusty and the rings took a beating.

[pipe7284]

^^^^i was about to tell him the same thing. you should have lubbed it up before trying to start it!!!
If that is your problem, then you are S.O.L and tear the engine apart for a new bore, and rings.