Michael Owens

Hi so first thing I want sorry for my English I’m using my phone. So my uncle has a 2004 Audi A8 4.2L Quattro and one day his. Battery died when it died he left at. My grandma in here driveway . It been sitting there for some years and I really get it back running and never no problems beside battery. So what something’s you guys think I might have to worry about sense it been sitting there for a long time and how should I go about this and I’m talking mechanical wise and computer wise.

summitradio

Two words... Water intrusion. Check for wet carpeting if you do have wetness you may have problems as some of the modules are on the floor. These cars have a habit of having the roof drains plug up and back water into the interior.

Then its the typical rubber seals drying out on the engine. Rubber belts, including the timing belt, may have perished. Antifreeze and oil will need changing. You will have codes due to the bad battery even when you change it that will need clearing.

Mice love Audi Wiring.....

That's the list. you may have more issues. Good Luck

Jack88

As long as nothing seems off, it should be okay. Just check out all of the normal things you may need for normal maintenance. Keep in mind, the 4.2 V8 has a timing belt and that requires periodic maintenance, every 6 years or 75k miles, but it can be pushed longer a bit. Check if you can the last time it was done, usually there is a sticker under the hood or your Grandma may have had records. If there is none, it's possible it is original, and having sat for so long can be bad for the belt. Check by the air filter, squirrels like to stash things in there. Perhaps changing the fuel filter would be a good idea, the tank could have had some corrosion or sediment built up that the filter has now got lodged in it, as can happen when a car sits a long time

dvs_dave

How long is “a long time”? Weeks, Months, Years? This info will determine what you need to be checking before trying to bring it back to life.

jlbell

Just out of curiosity, as Jack 88 suggested, has anyone ever had extreme difficulty with the air filter box on 4.2 D3s? I recently sold my D3 but still have nightmares about how long it would take to properly reseat everything related to the air box once it was removed to change the filter.

91quattro

Agree with everything said above. Not sure how many years it's been sitting, or how many miles or km is has, but realize this is a 15-year-old car. If you would like to keep it for more than a year or two, I would

1. Change the oil and filter immediately
2. Identify anything you think is not working correctly
3. Find a trusted independent Audi mechanic, tell them everything you found in #2 and have them do a complete inspection of the car and give you a report.
4. Be prepared to spend $3,000 a year, or more, to keep it reasonably well maintained, if you do some of the maintenance work yourself.
5. Decide if you really want to keep it or not