Executive Audi 80: Back In Business

[Lacquer Peel]

I like that an Audi 80 is just as good if not better at its job as a new BMW.

How are you getting on with the driving position, suspension and comfort?

[garethj]

For regular commuting I'd expect this Audio to be a lot more reliable than a Rover with 170k on the clock.

 

A good local mechanic and not throwing the car away if it needs £300 of work will probably see it lasting another 10 years with depreciation that Lexus would kill for

[Grundig]

Shagged CV joints normally click click rather than clunk, so I'm thinking worn drop links, easier to fix too - - just a guess though 

[Skizzer]

I like that an Audi 80 is just as good if not better at its job as a new BMW.

How are you getting on with the driving position, suspension and comfort?

 

It's good on local stuff but I haven't done any long distances since the 300-mile collection, as I've been working at home rather than away on a client project. On the collection the seat was mostly good though my knee ached a bit by the end, as it does in the BMW. (That might be more to do with my slightly dodgy knee.). Tomorrow's Chollydoddley trip will be a good test of comfort - will report back.

 

Shagged CV joints normally click click rather than clunk, so I'm thinking worn drop links, easier to fix too - - just a guess though

 

Hmm, interesting. Executive soundproofing means the sound is hard to place and quite muffled, so could be a click or a clunk.

[twosmoke300]

I much prefer the early ( grille stays put ) 80 over the later ( up with the bonnet) ones . A cleaner simpler design IMO . Would love a 90 in met gold with brown interior tho

[Grundig]

 

It's good on local stuff but I haven't done any long distances since the 300-mile collection, as I've been working at home rather than away on a client project. On the collection the seat was mostly good though my knee ached a bit by the end, as it does in the BMW. (That might be more to do with my slightly dodgy knee.). Tomorrow's Chollydoddley trip will be a good test of comfort - will report back.

 

Hmm, interesting. Executive soundproofing means the sound is hard to place and quite muffled, so could be a click or a clunk.

 

Lower wishbone bushes worth a look at - they clunk - another thing on vag stuff ( exec or lowly spec) is worn door hinges, these can clunk as you drive along

[Skizzer]

This has been doing sterling duty as the motorway hack of choice, with an enjoyable outing to Hampshire for work last week.

 

However, it's developed an interesting* smell of petrol since I last filled it up.  A look under the bonnet shows fuel escaping from somewhere around the fuel distributor/airflow sensor - not very clear in this photo but there's a general dampness here, and actual drips below here on the chassis rail and bumper/undertray:

 

 

It looks like it might be seeping out from this gasket...

 

Fuel system leak by Skizzer, on Flickr

 

...but I'll give the area a clean up and see what I can observe while it's running.  Might transfer my fire extinguisher out of the Rover first, though.

 

[Skizzer]

Oh, and the consensus view is that the rumblings/thumpings are most likely a wheel bearing.  I've got the parts and will most likely do the job next week - but fixing the fuel leak comes first, unsurprisingly.

[Skizzer]

 

Tell you what, if I take it to bits and can't put it back together again, which may well happen, I'll definitely give you first refusal.

[Minimad5]

I am biased though

This your car ?

I see you're either a local or have visited the area.

Autoshite BBQ needed (when weather picks up)

[binhoker668]

Big thanks to Vantman for thorough prepping of car, station pickup and generally being a really nice bloke. As he said - deal was done!

 

image.jpg

 

I'm now 60 miles down the road and this car is flipping excellent.

I propose this shot for the calendar!!  It's a cracker!

[Junkman]

It looks like it might be seeping out from this gasket...

 

Fuel system leak by Skizzer, on Flickr

 

 

 

Maybe a retightenage of those bolts is the order?

[Christine]

The eggsecutive fix is a new gaskit.. you'll distort the casting

[Junkman]

you'll distort the casting

 

I thought German stuff is so good and doesn't break?

[twosmoke300]

Don't ! Don't believe the hype ^^^😄

 

Copyright Public Enemy

[Skizzer]

An overdue update on this - fuel leak now fixed.

 

I traced it to the electro-hydraulic actuator (EHA) valve, a fuel pressure gizmo that bolts on to the side of the fuel distributor - the black thing I'm unbolting in this photo:

Bosch KE-Jetronic EHA valve leak by Skizzer, on Flickr

 

It had sprung some sort of leak inside, and even under no pressure you can see the fuel seeping out of the upper join between the brassware and the plastic case:

 

Bosch KE-Jetronic EHA valve leak by Skizzer, on Flickr

 

(Just noticed that I'm wearing gloves to hold a screwdriver but take them off to handle the thing that's got petrol pissing out of it.  Health and safety genius, me.)

 

The plastic shell is moulded around the innards so there's no option to take it apart and put it back together again.  Various attempts to find one from a cheap source failed, so I eventually splurged out about 120% of what I paid for the ENTIRE EFFING CAR on a new one from Bosch.  Anyway, old one off, new one on (with two new o-rings, supplied) and we now have a leak-free fuel system and a happy Executive Audi 80.

 

I celebrated by sticking a new '2.0 E' badge on the back, since its Einspritzung is once more vereinigt.  

[Skizzer]

Also, I popped by to see Vantman the other day to collect a NOS rear bumper for this that was cluttering up his shed.  There's nothing much wrong with the bumper that's on the car, but they're made of unobtainium and we all know you can never have too many spare parts.

 

It was a good enough excuse to drop by for a cup of tea and a chinwag, anyway.  Big added bonus was looking through a stack of photos of old trucks and hearing the stories behind them, which was great - but that's Vantman's story really which hopefully he'll share on here when he gets around to it.  

 

It was a grand afternoon out, thanks!

[Skizzer]

The sun came out for a bit today for the first time in weeks, so I gave the Audi a wash and took it out for a bit of a spin, accompanied by Mrs S and Keith The Dog.  We went for a walk along the cliffs at Pennard:

 

Audi 80 B3 2.0E by Skizzer, on Flickr

 

The wipers had stopped self-parking, as we discovered when that cloud in the background arrived bringing epic rain from TwoSmoke's neck of the woods, but they sorted themselves out by the time we got home.  Got to love a self-healing car.

 

Pleased with my new badging.  None of your poodlefaking 1.8S nonsense here - if one has the key to the executive washroom, one drives a 2.0E, you know. 

 

Audi 80 B3 2.0E by Skizzer, on Flickr

[carlo]

Great thread, just caught up with it.  A time when Audis were a bit left-field, not flippin' everywhere like today.  

[holbeck]

Still like that ALOT

[320touring]

E is for Extremely Executives!

[Christine]

Is that a mis- flicked bogey on the corner of the boot ?

[Skizzer]

Is that a mis- flicked bogey on the corner of the boot ?

 

More than likely.

[mercrocker]

Like these Audis.....There, I've said that sentence on a public forum.

[Lacquer Peel]

They are really classy-looking cars and well made, but I can't get over how uncomfortable they are. Your results may vary.

[HillmanImp]

E is for Extremely Executives!

 

E is actually for einspritz which is German for injection.

[twosmoke300]

Ja

[320touring]

E is actually for einspritz which is German for injection.

l kent that-just being witty*

[Lacquer Peel]

2.0 Ennui.

[sdkrc]

On 22/08/2015 at 19:36, mhrallye said:

Hi, bit of a lurker here - been registered for nearly 5 years but not posted anything since I started! Just want to say audi 80's are excellent cars from a period in history when they built cars to last - unlike the modern ones which seem to be mostly driven by complete tossers!

My own car is a 80 turbo diesel se model which i've owned for nearly 5 years now and seems to be unkillable - not bad for a car which only cost £200......!

 

Anyway a pic from a few years ago - if I can remember how to do it that is......

 

The car WAS in really good condition until the start of this year when this happened......

 

Just to show how much the bootlid was bent.....

 

The car was parked up in it's usual spot across the road from my work when something ran into the back of it then buggered off! one of our mechanics out on test noticed it - needless to say i've never found out what actually did the damage - possibly a large van or truck as the impact moved the car 20 feet down the road - to be fair there was a light dusting of snow that day.

Anyway later on we got the car into the workshop and using another car (and a large tow strap!) we managed to pull out some of the damage and once I managed to find some new tail lamps off ebay the car was back on the road - still using it today!

Saw this absolute cracker today. Rear end looks like I'd done the bodywork repairs. Small world that it was posted on here 8 yrs ago