Mikiemike

This is my first Audi purchase, a 2003 Allroad 2.7T. I have only had it for a week and am doing some repairs and periodical maintenance; so naturally I have some questions. It has 144XXX miles, the Trans was replaced perhaps 20K miles ago. Other than this there are no service records.

The wheels (two piece oem) are in pretty rough shape; so they are off for powder coating ( Prismaticpowders.com Kingsport grey). When I removed them, I found that the front outer CV boots were torn, received the new ones in the mail yesterday, and they can go on while the wheels are out. Is there anything else I should look at in that area while I have it apart? It does look like the Ball joints for the upper control arms are in good condition.

The air suspension seems to work, the vehicle moves up and down to the selected ride height, however it dips in the front when I apply the brakes, and sags in the rear upon acceleration. is this normal?

I have questions regarding the turbos as well. The power seems a bit under whelming. when the engine is cold I can slightly hear one of the turbos at low rpm, and the acceleration is stronger than when warm. when it does warm up, the power seems a bit diminished. What should I look at to ensure that they are operating properly? What can I test; are there rebuild kits for the turbos? For anybody familiar, I also have a '12 C250 1.8T; this is what I am used to, and it out performs My Allroad hands down. I would like to fix that.

I do not know when the last time the plugs were changed, or timing belt was done etc. so I have my work cut out for me. I would like to get some advice on what I should look at first. I can only spend so much per month on the Allroad, so it will be a mid term project.

Any advice and experiences are greatly appreciated.

Torsti Tenhunen

Well, Allroad is a very complex car and especially the engine and air suspension are tricky sometimes. So at first, I strongly advice you to get RossTech VCDS cable and software to read all potential fault codes and find possible causes easier.

It also helps to analyse that power loss with warm engine. For example, the lambda sensors are service parts that should be checked first. Then of course boost leaks, N75 valve, EGT's and MAF.

Of course, if you have standard turbos K03 with standard intercoolers, they loose power in higher revs and warm weather compared to e.g. K04 and larger ICs. But check your codes first.

While wheels off, check brake pads and clean the surfaces between air bag rubber and spring body. And if you can, at front, check the control arms' inner rubbers and outer ball joints, they are usually finished by 150k miles. Do NOT buy non-OEM parts here. OEM manufacturers TRW, Febi or Lemförder will last, others don't.

However, the OEM Sachs shocks are quite durable and if you tune your rear shock load valve, they will serve you with firmer ride for long.

So, get VCDS, read Allroad forums specially for suspension and also A6 C5 and S4 B5 forums for the engine.

Mikiemike

Mikiemike

Thank you for the detailed response.

I replaced the torn outer CV boots this weekend, and checked the control arm bushings (upper and lower) while I was in there. They look good as do the ball joints. While I was at it, I replaced the spark plugs and the air filter. While I was cleaning the MAF, I noticed that there was some oil in the intake, along with some grime. As I cleaned that I noticed that there was a line which was disconnected from the intake. This line comes up from between the firewall and the engine where it connects to a plastic elbow, which is then connected to a funnel shaped canister, attached to the intake. This looks like a breather line of some sort. What is this line? I can only imagine what was sucked into this, and that it directly attributed to the lack luster performance I mentioned in the original post.

Is it possible to order just the cup holder dress trim, and can you also order replacement buttons for the A/C control?

here's pics of the CV boot finished product.

John535is

Sounds like a vacuum hose. The 'funnel' shaped canister is probably the PCV but a little hard from the description. An open vacuum line would definitely reduce the acceleration response you described.
If you don't have a service manual or a parts catelog, there is a free one on vagcat.com which has reasonably accurate parts diagrams and has part numbers which makes it easier when posting questions.
Some oil in the intake is not unusual, not a concern unless it is dripping out, then I would be looking at the PCV valve which again points to the vacuum line issue.

Mikiemike

this is the closest diagram that I could find which appears to identify the canister I was mentioning. It would be #4 on this Diagram. there is the tube which comes off of the Y pipe (upper right of Y pipe in this diagram) Still not sure if this is correct as it does not give an actual Physical representation of the canister. looking at this diagram may clue someone in as to what I am talking about, and can give the accurate nomenclature.

I blew into it while I had it off, and there was no restriction in either direction.