Hey everyone, I new and i have a few problems with my 98 A8. It's so bad..... i can make a list.

1. suspension... gone. The car is misalligned, the rear axle is shifted a little to the right, my tires are treadless.

2. The brakes... annoying. Everytime I brake, people can here me a block down.

3. There is a creaking sound coming from the front passenger's side wheel, probably a control arm or something worse, but it's almost as bad as the brakes.(This started about a week ago.)

4. The summer months are coming and there might be a problem with the air conditioner, it doesn't work, maybe just needs new coolant, but I want to be prepared for the worst.

5. The rear and passenger door doesn't lock when I press the button and a prolonged hissing noise comes from the back end of the car by the antena and rear driver's side door.

6. My key doesn't work...... need to find a cheap way to fix that. Maybe it's not programmed or something, I'm not an expert.

7. The ABS light is on all the time.

8. The brake light blinks when I drive.

9. Someone ripped off my antena.... and a couple months later.... I found it lying on the corner of my house. I have a new one somewhere, but it's gonna be a pain with the six cd changer in the way.(Maybe at the same time I can fix the hissing sound.)
------------------------------------------------
Please help me with this, I need some advoice on these topics b/c I honestly think I'm in over my head with all these broken parts. For the love of god, I swapped the engine already. It's not that I regret my car, I love this thing. It's broken, but it still drives better than any other car I have been in.I know that a ton of things is wrong with my A8, but me and this thing have been through alot, it's car I'll have till one of us stops working.

Oh, and on top of all this, some lady slammed her car into my front right side. She was parking on the right side of the street and was completerly stopping, without warning or even looking, she tries to pullinto her driveway really fast as I was driving next to her, well the only thing I could do at that point was to slam on the brakes and turn left. That lady got a ticket for an expired and suspended license..... My poor car suffered miner damage, OEM corner light was gone, bumper cracked, and also a few scratches, nothing a little buffing won't help.
------------------------------------------------
Some mods that I have put in already are:

-K&N Air Filter
-Turbonator
-Bilstien Shockers
-Clear Corners
-Stock Grill w/ chrome inserts
-Chrome Taillight outlining
-IPOD holder and integrater
-Eibach Pro-kit lowering springs
------------------------------------------------
This thing is my pride and joy so please any advise and links to help would be great. I've just had a ru of bad luck with the car, but I'm not about to get rid of it.

 

..save some for a newer model facelift version if you have money to spare. thats my thought on it.

 

The rear suspension and worn tires are a hazard. You should find out if it is a bent frame or just an alignment issue. Start there. If it's a bent frame then punt.

1. If it's just an alignment issue then get it fixed and source some new tires. 300$

2. As long as the brakes work propperly then remove the calipers and apply some caliper crease to the back of the pads on on the pad carrier. Use brake clean to clean up the brake dust before you apply the grease and use some brake clean on a rag and clean the rotors after the pads are reinstalled. Make sure you do not get any grease on the pad's friction surface. 25$ for the caliper grease and two cans of brake clean.

3. Investigate the creaking when you check and fix the brakes. Look for loose ball joint and oil leaking from the shock. I had a front end creak than drove me NUTZ!!! It turned out to by my brand new Bilstein shocks. I swaped the shocks from side to side and the problem moved. Then I installed new shocks and the noise was gone. The noise would come and go every couple of days. $200 for new shocks.

4. See if there is pressure in the system. Use a gauge or one of those refill kits that has a gauge built in. $29 Since you engine was pulled I'm not optimistic its that simple but you never know until you try.

5. Carefully listen for the hiss and remove the door panel and other items necessary and fix the vacuum leak that is causing the hiss and inoperable door locks. Do this soon to avoid burning out the vacuum pump. $50 for door clips and misc parts.

6. I have no idea how to fix you keys but consider going to the parts counter at you local Audi dealer buy a couple new batteries. They may be nice enough to help install the batteries too. 10$

7 / 8. Check your fuses. Check you fluid level. Get a member with a VAG-COM to help diagnose. Might be something simple like dirty wheel speed senors. ???$

9. Your neighbors are A**holes. Move... $$$$ :-)

10. Have some respect for the car and ditch all that chome out lining. It's not supposed to be there and looks trashy in my opinion. Maybe your neighbors are trying to tell you something The A8 is a handsome car on it own. 8$ for adhesive remover.

 

drop back and punt

 

Had the same issues with a 760 volvo....
Rebuilted the whole engine spend over 2500 in parts.... new suspension, new brakes, new exhaust system....took the car to a body shop to paint the whole car. They butchered it. Started leaking from the sunroof doors were locking or unlocking randomly, power steering was acting up air conditioner too ... one hot day hot water run into my neck from the sunroof.... was so pissed sold it on ebay for 1500. My headache is gone... with it my burns on my neck. When a car comes to a point that needs many things and it look impossible to fix you junk it or sell it... that car cost me over 10,000 and I could use that money to go on vacation or towards another car. It was a bad decision from the time my wife overheated it and I decided to rebuild the engine. Should have known better

 

Turbonator? hee, hee

 

..... damn...... that's harsh....., but thatnk you all for the input. I'll do what I can with my car and try to salvage the life it has left. I'm kinda mad because the engine has about 45,000 miles on it, it's middle-aged, but time has worn away everything else. Maybe I'll just buy a junked a8 and take parts from there. Thank you all again and I'll start the problem solving A.S.A.P. It's all advice I most certainly will use as I tend to my car's wounds. And for all the a8 lovers out there, I'm gonna find that lady who slammed into me.....

 

Have you ever changed the front control arms on your baby? Sounds like you are due.

What brake pads are you running? The pads I got from Blau parts were howling... screeching... awful. I swapped in Pagid pads and the problem is GONE. Regardless, this car has a tendency toward brake squeal.

You've got a vacuum leak in your central locking system.

You obviously need to do a mind meld with VAG Com so the brake system will talk to you. But removing the front wheels and checking the pads night not be a bad idea...are the wear indicator wires still connected...are the pads shot??

Its a 10 year old top of the line uberluxo sedan, expect maintenance or pony up for a new one under warranty.