Driving for a few days...please read

**sethlamb** · 10-28-2010 06:57 PM

So i have been driving this 1998 a4 2.8 quattro for a few days now and have some questions about this car. I have been posting random questions over the past few days....i figure i should just lay it all out. First....when im slowing down and have my foot on the break like going from 40 to 20 mph and then hitting the gas to speed back up i hear a thump and feel it in the front end of the car. I cant tell if its a motor mount or maybe the u joints may be going. Any ideas? The check engine light came on this morning and now the car runs kinda sluggish....does that retard the timing to protect the motor? When i drive around the town not on a highway, am i supposed to drive the car in 4th gear....or just regular d mode. The passenger door speaker vibrates....i guess its blown. Sometimes the trans shifts a lot and at wierd shift points....if i have the car in d mode the car stays in 4th gear for a while before shifting to 5th. I have a good warranty so im gonna get the car looked over well on saturday. just costs 100 bucks to have it looked at. also, the car takes a while to warm up....i might drive the car for 20 mins and the temp gauge doesnt do past qtr way. should i have the shop do a trans fluid change and rear diff? i dont know if its ever been done? the car has 108 on the clock. im pretty sure the t belt was done at 75k. What gives??

**euroazfck** · 10-28-2010 07:01 PM

That's an Audi 4 ya,got 2 love and hate em

**skaper** · 10-28-2010 07:04 PM

I have the same model and year. Its sounds like your motor mounts, mine feels the same way. I just took it in for inspection and they said I needed new mounts.

**sethlamb** · 10-28-2010 07:12 PM

Oh....i forgot....when i rotate the wheel all the way and start to drive i get a shuttering feeling from the front end..........

**bigblue** · 10-28-2010 07:16 PM

Originally Posted by sethlamb

Oh....i forgot....when i rotate the wheel all the way and start to drive i get a shuttering feeling from the front end..........

That sounds like your control arms! mine do that too and its an 05 so don't feel so bad.

**seanj130** · 10-28-2010 07:25 PM

Cut that into smaller paragraphs. much easier on the eyes. I wish i had a good warranty that is awesome. But check out them mounts. always a good place to start

**EErie B6** · 10-28-2010 07:25 PM

Originally Posted by sethlamb

Oh....i forgot....when i rotate the wheel all the way and start to drive i get a shuttering feeling from the front end..........

Originally Posted by bigblue

That sounds like your control arms! mine do that too and its an 05 so don't feel so bad.

could also be the quattro binding a bit... it tends to load up a little when making turns all the way to the lock, all of mine do it.

**EErie B6** · 10-28-2010 07:49 PM

Originally Posted by sethlamb

So i have been driving this 1998 a4 2.8 quattro for a few days now and have some questions about this car. I have been posting random questions over the past few days....i figure i should just lay it all out.

First....when im slowing down and have my foot on the break like going from 40 to 20 mph and then hitting the gas to speed back up i hear a thump and feel it in the front end of the car. I cant tell if its a motor mount or maybe the u joints may be going. Any ideas?
sounds like motor mounts

The check engine light came on this morning and now the car runs kinda sluggish....does that retard the timing to protect the motor?
shouldnt. you probably have a miss. if your light is on or was recently then a code has been stored, locate a member near you with a vag-com and scan it. or go to Autozone or Advanced Auto and have them do it with their generic scanner. thats your best bet or you can chase a problem forever.

When i drive around the town not on a highway, am i supposed to drive the car in 4th gear....or just regular d mode.
regular d mode is fine for all normal driving. use "4" for towing/hauling

The passenger door speaker vibrates....i guess its blown.
go to Best Buy and buy some middle of the road door speakers and have em installed, you will be much happier... or just fade the radio to the back.

Sometimes the trans shifts a lot and at wierd shift points....if i have the car in d mode the car stays in 4th gear for a while before shifting to 5th.
you should definitely vag-com the car and check all the systems over, you will then know for sure what you've got on your hands. also... the car will adjust to your driving style over time (to some degree) you can disconnect the battery for 30mins. to possibly speed this up... make sure you vag-com it first as some codes will be lost when you disconnect the battery.

I have a good warranty so im gonna get the car looked over well on saturday. just costs 100 bucks to have it looked at. also, the car takes a while to warm up....i might drive the car for 20 mins and the temp gauge doesnt do past qtr way.
sounds like your thermostat might be stuck open. the needle should ride straight up and down and it should take less than 5 mins of normal driving to get it there

should i have the shop do a trans fluid change and rear diff? i dont know if its ever been done? the car has 108 on the clock.
if its never been done, then id definitely do it (both tranny fluid & filter)... but, be aware you will have to do it twice. when the first batch of fresh fluid goes in, its going to loosen up deposits... those are going to get caught in and likely clog up the tranny filter... if left this way, you will likely burn up the tranny. so both fluid & filter need to be done again about 200miles later... yes, 200miles, or about a tank of gas at most. ...if you choose not to do it at all then you are on borrowed time cause the tranny will slowly die.

im pretty sure the t belt was done at 75k. What gives??
id try and find out for sure, im not sure about the 2.8, but i know on the 1.8t you can pop a plastic cover off and see the belt... if it looks excessively worn, or has an Audi/VW logo & part number then it has likely never been done, unless the dealer did it. most of the time shops use after market belts like gates or continental ***if you feel it needs done then find out of theres other stuff that should be addressed at the same time (for the 1.8t, theres the water pump and a few other pulleys and things that need replaced as well)

Best of luck.

**sethlamb** · 10-29-2010 05:43 AM

Its kind of ironic paying for an audi over a honda accord. The accord never needs servicing. Runs for 200k miles and never has a problem. The audi is in the shop once a month for something stupid........but man nothin gets looked at like an audi. 12 years old....people still think its fresh. Audi def new what was up when they built the car 12 years ago. They just didnt think people would wanna drive them that long. So they sacrificed reliability for performance. Still a cool car and i love it. Def better than any honda. Lol.

**EErie B6** · 10-29-2010 08:24 AM

any car needs basic maintenance. Even Honda needs spark plugs, timing belt, motor mounts, & wheel bearings from time to time. (lets not forget the CV-axle issues that plagued them for a while... and still might for all i know) and everything no matter who made it needs regular fluid changes if you expect it to stay healthy.

I think the difference is not so much maintenance, but ones level of expectation of the vehicle.
With a Honda, you expect it to "run" and thats about it. sure the dash might bounce up and down off your knees at a stop light and theres this slight worn bearing grinding noise coming from the rear end while you drive down the road... but it runs, and got you there and thats all you expected in the first place.
With an Audi, you expect it to get you there as well, and you expect it to do it in more style, while being quieter & more comfortable. ...this is where the extra service work comes in. yea the Honda used to pull to the left, but who cares it made it to point "B" when the Audi does it, you think "hey, its not supposed to do that, it needs fixed". That noisy wheel bearing in the back... "its messing up my quiet ride, i gotta fix that too". ...you get the picture.

You can drive an Audi into the ground (especially the non-turbo cars) just like you can a Honda but it seems harder to do because you have higher expectations for the vehicle and your (not you specifically, but people in general) perception of what is "ok" is different for either car.

When you buy a used car you are kind of "stuck behind the 8 Ball"... service is usually due, and the price of things can add up quickly and its often the reason the previous owner was selling it. Lets face it, if your car was 100% running great, and you expected no issues from it in the near future, why sell it? it can be a bit costly in the beginning, but once your service is caught up, its done, and there is nothing more to do for a while but drive it. That said, we bought our B5 with 90k on it. we immediately spent about $1700 on it getting the service caught up and little issues fixed. now it has 105k on it and i would have no worries about jumping in it and driving to California tomorrow. just let me change the oil, and ill be on my way. The car is very reliable.

just my .02