Project Domes shonky autos - Car that lived by the sea in Scotland in rust shocker*

[dome]

Well if you do decide to keep it and work your way through its foibles, there is a cheap/free way of sorting the headgasket without resorting to k-seal or steel seal. It's not guaranteed to work but worth a try.

 

Never seen it done on a three cylinder pd, but a 1.4 is essentially a 1.9 with a cylinder lopped off, so can't see why it wouldn't work. Deffo worth trying before resorting to taking the head off.

Go on, I'm all ears!

 

I'll certainly try and work through its foibles, whether I keep it or not is another matter...

 

Sent from my Moto G (5) Plus using Tapatalk

[gm]

those lower wishbones are only two months old

[Zelandeth]

I still like this thing far more than I've any reason to with it being an Audi...

 

Going to have to try one at some point...

[dollywobbler]

Regarding the steering, just a thought, but was it as windy up there as it was down here today? A drive in the 2CV on a windy day reminds me that modern cars generally don't get blown all over the road like that. Could slab-sided Audis suffer the same?

[SiC]

Those A2 being so light and quite tall do get blown around a bit. I remember distinctly my mate battling his girlfriend's A2 in a rather nasty storm when we were travelling down the M5 together. That gained a misfire in its 1.6 FullyShitInside which turned out to be a burnt valve issue. No one would touch it and ended up getting punted around the auctions by his g/f car dealer mate.

 

So could well be normal, especially if you're used to the stability of an A4 estate.

[SiC]

I released the pressure in Forfar and cracked on.

To be fair, I have to release the pressure quite often on collections. Quite normal.

[dome]

There was no real wind to speak of on the way down-there was 3-4 mm of play in the front bush though which translated to a good bit more when hauling on the wheel.

 

As GM says i was new a couple of months ago so I'll pull it apart to see if i can work what's happened-the whole bush moves even though the bolt is tight-it feels like the centre of the bush is maybe knackered/missing

[bigfella2]

This is gonna bore the shit out of most of you but here goes.

 

Also what am describing is relevant to the four pot tdi's but can't see a reason it won't work.

 

The problem with the of engines is that the headboard aren't quite man enough for the job, so they relax/stretch a little over time and high mileage causing head lift and symptoms of hgf. So there are three options

 

A. Try re torqueing the head bolts, because if they have stretched, they won't be longer torqued down to the factory spec.

 

B. Have heard of one guy just tightening the headbolts by 90 degrees. Don't like this idea, because you tightening a bolt that may be at the correct tightness and it would worry me that you going to snap the bolt or strip threads.

 

C. This is the method that cured a previous car with hgf symptoms, sold to a family member and still going strong, and also done to my own car to prevent head lift.

 

The standard head bolts are 10.5 tensile strength, and are a little under spec for the job. So replacing the headbolts with pd150 head bolts that are rated at 12.5 tensile strength.

 

It is possible to replace each head bolt one at a time, there is a specific order to do this. And torque to factory values.

I know it sounds a bodge but lots of folk have done this to prevent head lift on high power cars, and it was recommended to me to try on my car before resorting to changing the head gasket, as the bolts are sub £30 and will be even cheaper for you as you won't have as many.

[dome]

This is gonna bore the shit out of most of you but here goes.

 

Also what am describing is relevant to the four pot tdi's but can't see a reason it won't work.

 

The problem with the of engines is that the headboard aren't quite man enough for the job, so they relax/stretch a little over time and high mileage causing head lift and symptoms of hgf. So there are three options

 

A. Try re torqueing the head bolts, because if they have stretched, they won't be longer torqued down to the factory spec.

 

B. Have heard of one guy just tightening the headbolts by 90 degrees. Don't like this idea, because you tightening a bolt that may be at the correct tightness and it would worry me that you going to snap the bolt or strip threads.

 

C. This is the method that cured a previous car with hgf symptoms, sold to a family member and still going strong, and also done to my own car to prevent head lift.

 

The standard head bolts are 10.5 tensile strength, and are a little under spec for the job. So replacing the headbolts with pd150 head bolts that are rated at 12.5 tensile strength.

 

It is possible to replace each head bolt one at a time, there is a specific order to do this. And torque to factory values.

I know it sounds a bodge but lots of folk have done this to prevent head lift on high power cars, and it was recommended to me to try on my car before resorting to changing the head gasket, as the bolts are sub £30 and will be even cheaper for you as you won't have as many.

This is exactly the kind of of post that makes this place awesome

 

I had read of this online but it's good to hear it from someone who's actually done it!

 

I'd not retorque the existing head bolts but buying and fitting new ones sounds like it's worth a shot.

[bigfella2]

Yeah I would go straight to option c first. Then if it doesn't work there's only one other option.....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Drop a pd130/150 in it!!!!

[Tickman]

That sounds like a sensible and not costly thing to try.

[SiC]

This is gonna bore the shit out of most of you but here goes.

 

 

Not at all! Fascinating read that I wouldn't had even realised was a thing.

[yes oui si]

Yeah I would go straight to option c first. Then if it doesn't work there's only one other option.....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Drop a pd130/150 in it!!!!

I can imagine the wee aluminium beastie would fly with a worked over four pot in it...

[Supernaut]

This is gonna bore the shit out of most of you but here goes.

 

Also what am describing is relevant to the four pot tdi's but can't see a reason it won't work.

 

The problem with the of engines is that the headboard aren't quite man enough for the job, so they relax/stretch a little over time and high mileage causing head lift and symptoms of hgf. So there are three options

 

A. Try re torqueing the head bolts, because if they have stretched, they won't be longer torqued down to the factory spec.

 

B. Have heard of one guy just tightening the headbolts by 90 degrees. Don't like this idea, because you tightening a bolt that may be at the correct tightness and it would worry me that you going to snap the bolt or strip threads.

 

C. This is the method that cured a previous car with hgf symptoms, sold to a family member and still going strong, and also done to my own car to prevent head lift.

 

The standard head bolts are 10.5 tensile strength, and are a little under spec for the job. So replacing the headbolts with pd150 head bolts that are rated at 12.5 tensile strength.

 

It is possible to replace each head bolt one at a time, there is a specific order to do this. And torque to factory values.

I know it sounds a bodge but lots of folk have done this to prevent head lift on high power cars, and it was recommended to me to try on my car before resorting to changing the head gasket, as the bolts are sub £30 and will be even cheaper for you as you won't have as many.

Bit late, though! I think Tayne may have appreciated this advice before he roffled it!

[Tayne]

Yeah, I would have given that a shot.

[dome]

If the pd150 bolts are reusable on my engine it's even more of a no brainer as I'd be replacing them anyway when doing the gasket.

[bigfella2]

Yeah, I would have given that a shot.

Tayne/supernaut come on guys, it's not like I did it on purpose. I was replying in the thread trying to get to the bottom of the problem. I think in all that thread I got one, direct reply to my question, and that was a one word answer, which doesn't really help.

 

Then you say you will give it a run and see what happens, then your next reply us hgf is definitely gone it getting scrapped by end of week. Followed by the fastest ever roffle in history!! I was willing to help you with it but didn't really have the opportunity.

Am a bit gutted that you might feel I have done this on purpose.

[Isaac Hunt]

I had a Mastro 1.6 with the s Series engine once. It pissed oil out of the HG by the cambelt. One day I cracked the torque wrench on it and a few pounds more then specified. Ran across all Head Bolts and the leak stopped.

 

I also re-used some stretch bolts on a K Series, but must admit to being fully clenched as I tightened each.

 

Sometimes these things just have to be tried.

[Tayne]

Tayne/supernaut come on guys, it's not like I did it on purpose. I was replying in the thread trying to get to the bottom of the problem. I think in all that thread I got one, direct reply to my question, and that was a one word answer, which doesn't really help.

 

Then you say you will give it a run and see what happens, then your next reply us hgf is definitely gone it getting scrapped by end of week. Followed by the fastest ever roffle in history!! I was willing to help you with it but didn't really have the opportunity.

Am a bit gutted that you might feel I have done this on purpose.

 

 

 

I didn't actually think you had held back on purpose, I merely wanted to say that I would have taken a punt on £30 worth of head bolts.

I had assumed that you hadn't seen my original thread and were new to the story of this car.

 

However, having now gone back and read through the thread I don't agree with your view that you didn't have the opportunity to present this information.

You posted four times in 11 days (first and last posts mentioning the head gasket) and asked one direct question which I answered after 1 hour (wrongly as at the time i couldn't see through the manky old expansion bottle) and you responded after 1 hour.

Your use of the phrase "fingers crossed for you fella" did not lead me to believe that you were at all annoyed with that one word answer.

When we established the correct answer to your question you again pointed to the head gasket.

 

I can't see what new information dome brought to the table (other than his love of butteries) which would lead you to mention the head bolts after less than 48 hours.

Perhaps it was the three line answer he gave to an open question rather than my one word answer to a closed question...

 

However the car is no longer mine so this is somewhat irrelevant.

Hopefully the word count in this post is sufficient for you not to feel "a bit gutted".

[Fraz]

[bigfella2]

On the 11th Nov you anounced it had been officially diagnosed as hgf by your mechanic until then no one was absolutely sure, by close of play on the 11th nearly all the tickets for the roffle had gone. So within a couple of hours from that initial post the roffle had started and nearly sold out by end of play on the 11th.

Not going to go on about fixes till it's confirmed, and no reason to hold anything back from you, never met you, sure your a lovely bloke.

[Tayne]

Not going to go on about fixes till it's confirmed, 

 

 

 

Well there's advice to live by.

 

None of this cheering people up shit, pointing out that it might not be too bad, that even if it is there's always a way round, a cure, a fix.

 

No, just go straight in within your own HGF experience and keep saying HGF, after all who wants a glimmer of hope these days.

 

Have you considered becoming a hospital visitor?

[djoptix]

Well if you do decide to keep it and work your way through its foibles, there is a cheap/free way of sorting the headgasket without resorting to k-seal or steel seal. It's not guaranteed to work but worth a try.

 

Never seen it done on a three cylinder pd, but a 1.4 is essentially a 1.9 with a cylinder lopped off, so can't see why it wouldn't work. Deffo worth trying before resorting to taking the head off.

 

I am disappointed that this solution didn't start with "find a 4 cylinder pd130 engine and cut through the block between cylinders 3 and 4".

[djoptix]

Tell you what though... this does explain why Tayne's local shit garage were keen to buy it.

 

1. "ooh yeah, it's totally fucking fucked mate, HGF all the way. We'll give you £100 for it to save you the hassle of dealing with pikey scrap merchants"

2. Torque up head bolts

3. Sell immediately for giant profit

[Fraz]

We'll give you £100 for it to save you the hassle of dealing with pikey scrap merchants" /quote]

 

Ah... they’ve met Dome too?

[Tayne]

 

3. Sell immediately for giant profit

 

 

 

"Giant" may be a stretch...

[They_all_do_that_sir]

It may still be actual HGF though chaps, let's see how Dome gets on.

 

If it's the same 3 cylinder PD lump in my two Roomsters I find it quite a nice engine to pedal along. The 3 cylinder does make a nice noise (in my head anyway) and it's quite a willing wee thing.

 

Maybe not so much in the tightly packaged Aldi but in the Skoda there's nearly enough space to climb in beside the engine so most jobs are fairly easy access wise.

 

Sent from my TA-1012 using Tapatalk

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

I doubt whoever paid 40-50 quid for a working Audi A2 gives a shit.

[dome]

After a bit of googling it looks like the head bolts on my engine are the same as the PD150-the 75bhp engine I have runs a massive compression ratio which may explain this.

 

It may still be worth a punt though, especially if i can get to the headbolts without removing too much. I think I'll get the coolant gauge working and fix the front suspension first though-it feels pretty horrible.

 

I drove it to work this morning where it will be living temporarily-mainly through lack of space but I may get the chance to work on it during lunchbreaks too.

 

Brimmed the tank and it worked out at 64mpg for the (admittedly slow) run back from Aberdeen. Not bad! 

[Exiled_Tat_Gatherer]

I am disappointed that this solution didn't start with "find a 4 cylinder pd130 engine and cut through the block between cylinders 3 and 4".

 

Me too - as soon as I saw the fix option spoken of I was thinking chopping through with a sawzall styleee………  now awaiting gripping bolt action instead thouhg - next ROFFLE this is mine!