Coondawg71

New guy to the form here. I have appreciated reading all the different threads this site has to offer and have learned a lot about what I can do with my ride which, for now, is completely stock. So thanks to all that have contributed with their knowledge and expertise!

I now have 77k miles on the vehicle and the warranty expired back at 60k. Hence my research to see what I can do myself. This is my wifes daily driver and it doesn't experience any conditions out of the ordinary (no racing)....even though my wife does think she is Tony Stewart at times. I am considering picking up an extended warranty after reading the issues this platform of vehicle is prone to experience. I am not a mechanic but after reading several of the posts that are offered on this site and a couple others, I feel more than capable of tackling the simple repairs that can be done i.e. Diverter Valve, PCV replacement, cam follower.

Audi did replace the ignition coils under recall AND Audi did replace the turbo flap back at 50k which was identified as the culprit when the car previously lost its ability to accelerate quickly.

Here is the problem: The car has lost a considerable amount of boost/responsiveness when pressing the gas for normal acceleration. The car will run and drive without any problems but I don't have the power the car normally has. I have had the engine bay cleaned very thoroughly by a mechanic and he then ran the car for a few days looking for a culprit to the issue, at the time we were thinking that the valve cover gasket was leaking badly. After running the car for a couple days after the engine cleaning, oil and what looks like the residue that would be going into a PCV catch can is most present at the front portion of the engine block. Maybe that is a sign of a leaking gasket of maybe that is just an area that can't be cleaning very well due to the crank cover???

Symptoms:

a. The car will idle nicely at 750 rpms UNTIL the crankcase cap is removed (which can be removed with a little more than normal twisting pressue), OR if the oil dipstick is removed, then during both of those conditions the car does rev to 1,250 then settles back down.

b. There is a pronounced knocking coming from the back of the engine head closest to the firewall making the engine sound more like a diesel.

c. The mechanic who did the cleaning on the vehicle does not think the vavle cover gasket is leaking and nor do I; I check the engine bay each day my wife gets home from work and no sign of that being the case.

I am thinking that I will replace the Diverter Valve, upgrade to the BSH Stage 2 PCV replacement system and then get into the High Pressure Fuel pump and hopefully not find anything scary and change out the cam follower.

Does anyone have anything they could add? I would greatly appreciate any and all responses! Thanks!

makav3li

Looks like your on track man, my first thought was DV and then with the whole crankcase cap and dipstick, i was thinking PCV valve as well. All of our cars sound like diesel so that isn't a worry. I'm guessing you don't have a CEL cause if you did I'm sure you would have posted the code that its kicking out. But your deff on the right track, change that DV which is a very common part to fail which will cause a boost leak and lack of power, and upgrade that PCV valve again. I wouldn't change the fuel pump but I would change the Cam follower if you haven't yet. Its located right under the fuel pump which follows the cam, it has been known to fail. You don't seem to have any symptoms of a cam follower but at 77k, it deff wont hurt and its pretty cheap and easy to change.

Coondawg71

Thanks for the reply! It is greatly appreciated.

g-kool

Did you check the coil packs and spark plugs? I had a similar issue. New coil packs fixed that right up.

s4master1

Looks to me that the breather assembly or as many call it PVC valve is broken, very common on these engines and makes it very hard to remove the oil cap with engine running
the noise towards the back of the engine could be the vacuum pump attached to the cylinder head, we see a good number of those failing also
hope this helps

massboykie

Hey Coond

Just went through this on mine. It was the PCV valve that had a huge tear in it. If you take the engine cover off you'll see the valve assembly on the right side of the valve cover. On the back (firewall side) of the round piece there is a little "nipple" (hie hie... I said nipple) if you listen close to it you will hear some vacuum, if you close this little hole with your finger the car will almost stall... That means you need a new PCV valve... 10 min job, 5 screws.

I had a little workaround (will post some pics later so people can perhaps do it in a bind) when ours went. I opened up the round diaphram piece. This is pretty easy, just unclip the sides and it pops off. I could clearly see the tear in the diaphram. My interim (while the new one was on order) was to cover the top of the diaphram

Clean the diaphram thoroughly. Then cover the top side of the diaphram with a thin layer of silicone sealant. This is not to seal it just to hold the Nitrile. Now take a Nitrile glove and cut the palm piece out. Put the nitrile over the wet silicone and made sure the valve diaphram will be able to travel ("move"), by pushing some of the nitrile into the edges of the diaphram. I used a second layer of nitride, but I don't think it was necessary. If it pops this first one you might have to add a second layer. Next cut the rest of the nitrile to fit the diaphram and put the whole thing together.

Mine lasted for a week without any trouble, until I got my new one and had time to put it in! That what I call "McGuyver-ed"... LOL

Cheers
Massboykie

Old Dog

Is it also very hard to remove the oil cap with the engine off? I find it pretty hard to get off to the point I carry a small set of vice-grips in the car at all times as an aid to be able to turn the oil filler cap. I guess age is catching up to the Old Dog, and maybe I should be changing my sign-on to the Old Wuss .

s4master1

is it hard to remove even after the car seats for a while.
with the engine off remove it and install again and see if the second tim is as hard

Coondawg71

First and foremost, thanks for all the feedback guys, it is appreciated.

It is only difficult to remove the oil cap while the vehicle is running. Plus, sometimes the on board computer will give the sign to "tighten gas cap", which is always on properly. But that pops up very seldomly.

Old Dog

Yes, it is hard to remove even after the car has been sitting overnight in the garage. I'll try your suggestion of removing it, re-installing, and then removing again to see what it is like. Right now my wife is at work with the car, but will try later this evening to see how things go and will report back.

UPDATE: I went out to the garage to try opening the oil filler cap about two hours after my wife parked the car in the garage. Well, lo and behold I was able to turn it by hand. Put it back and tried again without any extreme force used to open it either time.

I usually check and/or fill the oil on the weekends after washing the car; and this is after the car has been in there overnight. I can only guess that when the engine gets cold there must be a vacuum created making it difficult for me to turn it without using my vice-grips.

Unless you read something else into this, I'm ok with the results.

Thanks for taking the time to comment .


Thanks