So long 😞 Forum LCBL Star '05 Audi A8 D3 3.0TDi

[Split_Pin]

I gave up on threads a while ago but I have wanted one of these cars since they were brand new, plus I think things might get interesting*. So here goes.

So far I count myself as the EIGHTH AS member who has owned this, including the chap who posted it for sale in behalf of the then owner. I think that's pretty great. I hope when I die I return as a car that goes around the country bringing joy to a whole range of different owners.

So far we've had 

Jon.k

Northernmonkey

Robson3022

Paulplom

Kiltox

83C

Schaefft 

Yours truly. 

The first didn't technically own it, he simply posted it for sale on behalf of the owner who had originally wanted to scrap it because of a pulley on the engine which had come adrift. So kudos to John.k for saving what certainly feels like a car which had plenty of life left.

In short (because it is documented elsewhere) it was owned by Westley Richards gunsmiths manufacturer in the West Midlands. It was a personal car to the directly and then used to chauffeur some very wealthy (like Arab Royalty wealthy) to and from the premises. 

After Jon.k's arm was bitten off by NorthernMonkey, it passed through varioous members' hands and gave generally good service along the way.

I promised myself I'd own it one day.

[Bren]

Very nice.

The forum crack pipe.

[DirtyDaily]

Bookmarked for when you want shut of it and will let it go for peanut (tongue in cheek of course! Kind of)

Love these A8s as a self confessed Audi fan boi. Need to get one, one day.

[Split_Pin]

So then this happened on 17th March:

I'd been thinking of moving one of my cars on for a while and the TT, with its thirst (unsuitable as a week-day runaround for my wife) and tiny back seat (unsuitable for me as a family car for weekends), it ended up sat in my garage not being used. We had a year out of it so it was time to go on. Plus the value of it was more or less the same as the A8 so it was the perfect candidate to be sold on.

The fact that the A8 was in Newcastle sealed the deal for me as its a cheap and easy place to get to from Central Scotland, plus I like it there.

 

[Split_Pin]

2 minutes ago, DirtyDaily said:

Bookmarked for when you want shut of it and will let it go for peanut (tongue in cheek of course! Kind of)

Love these A8s as a self confessed Audi fan boi. Need to get one, one day.

Much like Schaefft had, there's already a list of people who've said they want a go next! I'll add you 😅

[Split_Pin]

I was able to collect and pay for the car quickly which was great as there was a queue of eager participants!

I chose the Megabus again from Edinburgh which is £8.99, only stops once and is pretty quiet and comfortable, getting you right into the Toon in a few hours. I had a few hours to kill in town which was fine as it was a lovely day. I then got a service bus out to Schaefft's bit. This was handy as he lives right at the start of the A69 which is the road I wanted to use.

[Split_Pin]

I knew I had got the right street:

First impressions were that it was unexpectedley tidy:

 

[Sunny Jim]

Thanks for starting a thread - I do enjoy reading what you're up to with your cars.

[Split_Pin]

What does it drive like? Well, the closest frame of reference I have are a couple of LS400s I had a shot of in the distant past.

It's reassuringly large and the air suspension just floats over bumps. You really are cosseted. Steering is actually quite weighty. The double glazing doesn't completely subdue the noise of passing traffic but there is no wind noise at all. The noise from the budget tyres is quite intrusive though but given the cost of even a mid range tyre in this 20 inch size, I can live with it.

The 3.0 TDi has a modest output of around 215 bhp but theres lots of torque. It's not that quiet but it is smooth and makes a nice sound. Finally, I own a car with more than 4 cylinders.  Furthermore, the car structure, subframes and suspension components are made entirely from aluminium so it weight just over 1.6 tons, about the same as my Rover 75. Progress is stately rather than fast but it does feel very special, rather than just another large car.

The seats are spectacular and this Sport (pre S-Line) model gives not only the usual fore and aft of the base and tilting backrest but there is lumbar adjustment, upper and lower back , headrest, seat belt and steering column. All electric and the entire range of adjustments can be stored in a 4 position memory. 6 stage heated of course as well.

 

[Kiltox]

There isn’t any random little keys in the boot of this is there? 

[Split_Pin]

31 minutes ago, Kiltox said:

There isn’t any random little keys in the boot of this is there? 

Nothing obvious but I can check more thoroughly tomorrow.

[Split_Pin]

Easiest oil change in the world on this one.

32mm socket for the filter.

The sump plug is a huge Allen headed affair, something like 20mm so little worry of rounding it off.

Coolant looks very clean so I'll leave that for now.

PAS fluid is on the minimum but no leaks. I can very faintly hear the pump when turning so hopefully a top up will help. I had to order the correct mineral stuff from Amazon today as I only have the red stuff and you shouldn't mix them.

[montytom]

Perfect colour and the interior being cream is always a delight to see. I hope this serves you well

[Split_Pin]

A car like this can cost huge money if you try and make it perfect but I am just trying to keep things tidy enough.

Jobs to do:

- one of the suspension arms OSF has a very occasional clonk. Individually they are around £45-50 each so unless you are hugely unlucky and they all need changing, this shouldn't be too costly. It can wait until the MOT in July.

- treat the seats with Gliptone Liquid leather

- wax the outside

- try and do something about the cable tie repair on the front bumper.

- get a decent code reader.

...and drive and enjoy

[Dyslexic Viking]

2 hours ago, Split_Pin said:

I really like tan interiors and wood. And I'm not an Audi person but I have to admit that interior is nice.

[Schaefft]

I was momentarily confused as I thought this thread was in the for sale section.😂 Nice to see the next chapter documented now. Believe it or not but the engine actually has 20hp more than you think! With this being such a common engine you could relatively easily get much more out of it for relatively little risk but I didn't feel like it really needed it. Don't forget to apply the headlight sealer I provided, unless you wanna have another go at polishing the headlights a little further. It will help keeping them nice for the next 12 months after which you just apply it again.

[Split_Pin]

Ah yes I forgot to add I applied the sealer you gave me the first time I washed it a few days after I brought it home, the lights look fantastic. I had also used a renovation kit on my Rover 75 headlights but the spray on UV protector was very poor and the lights still looked cloudy. I had enough in that little sachet you gave me to apply a coat to its lights too and they look 10x better. 

So the Sonax headlight restorer kit is highly recommended (the Holts one I bought was rubbish).

[NorthernMonkey]

I still miss this one. Should have kept it really as it did everything I needed of a car.

[Split_Pin]

Anyone who is looking to understand more about how the A8 or indeed a Phaeton works might find these self-study pages useful.

http://www.volkspage.net/technik/ssp/index3_eng.php

The A8 download is 96 pages but it's actually an easy read with plenty of colour pictures and diagrams. I'm on about page 60 now I think.

[Fraz]

2 hours ago, Split_Pin said:

 

So the Sonax headlight restorer kit is highly recommended (the Holts one I bought was rubbish).

I tried the holts headlight kit on the Passat and want over the moon with the finish. 
 

Was it the sonax polish, or sealer you used that made such a difference? 

[Split_Pin]

Schaefft used the polish side of the kit I believe but hadn't got around to sealing the lights so gave me a sachet of the sealant away with me. I then sealed them a few days later after I washed the car.

[Bren]

I use this. A tenner from ebay. It is very good.

[SiC]

I use this

Works well and is quick. 5 to 10mins tops.

(Bottom right is condensation inside the lamp)

[Split_Pin]

That came up great!

[SiC]

Same process on the Merc and TT

 

[Split_Pin]

Great job on the TT, I wish I could have got mine looking as good!

[SiC]

I've used all sorts of kits before. While they all work, I've never found any that work as quick as the above. My DA instead of the grinder works well but that grinder has better speed control than my cheap DA. Just means it flings it around less. (If you look at the bonnets, it still flings it pretty good though 😂)

[Split_Pin]

I joined the A8 Facebook group and posted up a few pictures of this and I've had a few random messages dropping into my Requests folder. One was from someone whose name was in Cyrillic but asked in English would I swap for a BMW 730D. I'd actually like one of those one day but not just now and certainly not in a swap with some random. 

Another message said: "Hallo, verkaufen Sie den Audi und wie viel?", which Google translate says "Hello can you see your Audi and how old it is".

🤷‍♂️

Anyway, I got my 'Central Hydraulic Fluid' delivered.

It's definitely the right stuff for the car (CHF11) but it's green whereas the stuff in the reservoir looks more like the colour of clean engine oil. Maybe it needs changed so I'll periodically syphon the reservoir dry and replace with fresh over a period of time. Its certainly nice and quiet now.

[RoverFolkUs]

8 minutes ago, Split_Pin said:

Anyway, I got my 'Central Hydraulic Fluid' delivered.

It's definitely the right stuff for the car (CF11) but it's green whereas the stuff in the reservoir looks more like the colour of clean engine oil. Maybe it needs changed so I'll periodically syphon the reservoir dry and replace with fresh over a period of time. Its certainly nice and quiet now.

CHF does discolour to a sort of yellow/brown, or it could be that someone has run it on/mixed with prestone in the past. A flush wouldn't be a bad idea. Up to you but you could get a lot more of the manky fluid out at once if you wanted to by removing the return line and quickly capping the reservoir off, directing the return line into a waste bucket and then keep pouring it in while someone steers it from lock to lock (front jacked up, engine off) 

Once you've got enough fresh through the system, then quickly reconnect the return to the reservoir, top up to level, start engine and then bleed as you normally would

[Schaefft]

10 hours ago, SiC said:

Same process on the Merc and TT

 

The tricky part isn't polishing the headlight. Keeping it to stay this clear is. Without proper protection it will not stay like this for all that long. The A8 is the perfect example, I'm not the first one who had a go at it.