Joeydub7

audinutt

You can NOT lower it with vagcom, that's on d3's (models with air suspension) you can do coilovers or do something like this...

quattroworld.com Forums: I love my first born like most people do, but I can't take this......................

silverd2

Gotta love it, coming from a Jetta. I like Jettas ... have owned few, but the D2 Audi is a whole different and unique animal among all other VWs, Porsches and Audis...only thing close is maybe a Phaeton, but about a thousand pounds heavier.

A bit of free advice: Learn the car inside and out BEFORE you start making decisions or putting money into it. You will find something(s) that need attention much more than an appearance item, like fenderwell gap...

...THEN, have at it with whatever you wanna do

Cheers

audinutt

True, I still haven't addressed the fender gap but have addressed brakes, and spent WAY too much on revamping the audio system to a proper audiophile setup.
Also, budget for a transmission overhaul, it's not IF it happens, but rather WHEN it WILL happen.

-Richard

Joeydub7

I am excited about this new endeavor of a vehicle Ha. What are some of the things I should look at. I have no lights on the Dash the brake pad sensor comes on every now and again and goes away so i will most likely be doing a break overhaul here soon. The roof liner seems to be stained like some water has got on it before so I am going to be checking the sun roof drain to see if it is clogged. Other than that the car seems to be in good running condition car fax stated the last maintenence was done about 15k miles ago and everything under the hood looks good. What are some things that are commonly known gremlins with these cars.

Thank you.

icrashcars

I came from the MK4 world as well (still have mine).

The D2 A8 is indeed a completely different animal. (as Sam said)

First thing you need to do is determine what was done on the last maintenance.

Items to plan for if they have not been done recently:
timing belt
oil cooler
control arms (this will be a must if you are lowering it)
Rear Cam seals (check for oil leaks)
Trans will most likely go soon if it hasnt been replaced yet. (almost predictable over 130k)

on lowering...
I used the ST kit from KW. I have had it for approx 30k miles and it still rides nice. However, lowering a D2 burns through suspension parts (control arms, wheel bearings, axles)

They are great cars, but very high maintenance once you start modding them.

Joeydub7

I called Audi today to get a breakdown on what the previous owner did...it seemed like he kept up with maintenance pretty well. Oil cooler was replaced
For sure... Transmission we replaced at 30k to an upgraded OEM from the dealer and various other miscalaneous stuff... I do have to check on timing belt though and control arms...

Road King

One could argue they're high maintenance even when not modded ;-)

silverd2

Hmmm...the thing about the trans doesn't make any sense...at only 30K miles? ...no such animal as an "upgraded" OEM from the dealer...pretty much the same trans in 01-03 ...nothing else fits. Probably dealer BS.

If they changed the oil cooler (why?), it was most likely a typical dealer rip-off...the common problem is for a $20 plastic coolant tube to crack and leak slowly...some dealers charge as much a $1000 to do this job, that others here (myself) do in the driveway. If they REALLY replaced the cooler, it was probably just a way to rob a clueless owner who was told the oil cooler itself breached (not likely).

About the headliner stains: Sunroof drains for sure, BUT there are 4 of them...the two up front rarely clog and are easy to check. The rears however, cannot be accessed from the top..only in the trunk. The easy one is behind the front corner of your battery...blue hose that plugs into a black fitting...the black fitting is almost always the problem...ream it out with a dowel or whatever fits, to clear debris out. The other is in a similar position on the left side of the trunk, but requires a little disassembly to access.

Yes, D2's can be high maintenance, but in my opinion, only if you look at in terms of money spent at a dealer... As a home mechanic, I have only spent a few hundred dollars total for anything other than normal maintenance and wear items...this over an almost 11 yr period as my only daily driver. At the dealer, this would have been many $K's due to their outrageous labor charges, misdiagnosis, replacing undamaged parts and their insistence on only replacing (rather than repairing) major parts that are easily repairable.

Cheers

Joeydub7

I physically seen the oil cooler owner did that himself... As for the trans I'm not sure on the dealer history it says it was replaced which puts about 100k miles on it. I need to check lower control arms and timing belt though