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I know several former dealer mechanics from both VW and Audi. Perhaps in Canada conditions are a little different but they more or less moved on for similar reasons – management being the big one.
In any case they were all scooped up pretty quick. A couple ended up at shops that primarily work on German cars and didn’t have the strain to preform or volume a dealer had. The other techs ended up at high performance shops that primarily work on German platforms and their skills, knowledge and attention to detail were highly valued. Almost no service oriented work outside of their own cars, more cool stuff and building, tuning and in some case salary vs flat rate.
I’ve also delt with a couple of former VW dealer techs that started their own shop. In their area there was no German specialist. They also get to work on a wider range of stuff including a lot of air cooled restorations. VW-Audi owners will always take their car to techs that know the vehicle inside and out. Worked well for them.
Something to consider? Hope it all works out for you, loosing sleep because of your job is no good.
I know several former dealer mechanics from both VW and Audi. Perhaps in Canada conditions are a little different but they more or less moved on for similar reasons – management being the big one.
In any case they were all scooped up pretty quick. A couple ended up at shops that primarily work on German cars and didn’t have the strain to preform or volume a dealer had. The other techs ended up at high performance shops that primarily work on German platforms and their skills, knowledge and attention to detail were highly valued. Almost no service oriented work outside of their own cars, more cool stuff and building, tuning and in some case salary vs flat rate.
I’ve also delt with a couple of former VW dealer techs that started their own shop. In their area there was no German specialist. They also get to work on a wider range of stuff including a lot of air cooled restorations. VW-Audi owners will always take their car to techs that know the vehicle inside and out. Worked well for them.
Something to consider? Hope it all works out for you, loosing sleep because of your job is no good.
Granted I realize that this post is over a year old now but thought I would chime in being an Audi-VW guy myself.
Like Eric said going after the things you know need doing first is the first priority. You need those things to operate the vehicle safely.
As far as the engine goes they have rev limiters for a reason, If you really roasted something you would know about it by now wether by the check engine light or the more advance driver information display Audis have.
Allthough engines all work in the same matter and same principal, outside of a rotary of course, Its well adviceable with an Audi to take it to either the dealer or a shop that specializes in European cars. Audi-VW does things their own way a lot of the times, usually for the better, sometimes a pain in the ass, but its allways for the reason of their engineers believe its better that way. The last thing you want to do with a car with that kind of price tag is take it to Joe’s domestic garage to let some one un familiar with that engine fiddle with it.
Yes an Audi dealer will have a higher price, same with a European car shop- both usually around $90-$110 an hour depending on the type of work but it will get addressed correctly. You also have to factor in that the average Audi owner wont sweat at those rates.
One thing can be said for Audi-VW diesel engines, they are tough things to kill.
Granted I realize that this post is over a year old now but thought I would chime in being an Audi-VW guy myself.
Like Eric said going after the things you know need doing first is the first priority. You need those things to operate the vehicle safely.
As far as the engine goes they have rev limiters for a reason, If you really roasted something you would know about it by now wether by the check engine light or the more advance driver information display Audis have.
Allthough engines all work in the same matter and same principal, outside of a rotary of course, Its well adviceable with an Audi to take it to either the dealer or a shop that specializes in European cars. Audi-VW does things their own way a lot of the times, usually for the better, sometimes a pain in the ass, but its allways for the reason of their engineers believe its better that way. The last thing you want to do with a car with that kind of price tag is take it to Joe’s domestic garage to let some one un familiar with that engine fiddle with it.
Yes an Audi dealer will have a higher price, same with a European car shop- both usually around $90-$110 an hour depending on the type of work but it will get addressed correctly. You also have to factor in that the average Audi owner wont sweat at those rates.
One thing can be said for Audi-VW diesel engines, they are tough things to kill.
Like Eric said, Crank position sensor, and neutral safety switch are common ones. Not just on Saabs either. The other Swedish brand that’s still in business has issues with the same thing. Come to think of it there are a few VW engines pro to CPS failures too.
As for the scanner and price, Everyone has their limits on fundage. You don’t need to buy a top level scanner for home jobs. You can buy OBD2 cables that come with soft wear for your lap top. And cheap. I’ve got 2 programs on my computer for scanning with and they do about 75& of what a pro shop scanner. Pull code, clear code and real time data. All you really need.
I do recommend one thing for when you get the issue solved. Even some later Saabs had a STUPID safety feature that you had to put the car in reverse to get the key out, manual gear box obviously. If yours has this pull the switch out and just connect the wires together. I do like however in Saabs where the keys are down by the hand brake. I like that.
Like Eric said, Crank position sensor, and neutral safety switch are common ones. Not just on Saabs either. The other Swedish brand that’s still in business has issues with the same thing. Come to think of it there are a few VW engines pro to CPS failures too.
As for the scanner and price, Everyone has their limits on fundage. You don’t need to buy a top level scanner for home jobs. You can buy OBD2 cables that come with soft wear for your lap top. And cheap. I’ve got 2 programs on my computer for scanning with and they do about 75& of what a pro shop scanner. Pull code, clear code and real time data. All you really need.
I do recommend one thing for when you get the issue solved. Even some later Saabs had a STUPID safety feature that you had to put the car in reverse to get the key out, manual gear box obviously. If yours has this pull the switch out and just connect the wires together. I do like however in Saabs where the keys are down by the hand brake. I like that.
banana: Bentley Publishing banana:
I have a few Bentleys on my shelf and a few more on my lap top. Worth their weight in Platinum. In a nut shell they explain and show how every single part of your car works, and process in trouble shooting.
Don’t by any other service manual if you own a German car, hands down. The only good use for a Haynes or Chilton book is to put your coffee cup on, or use between the jack and oil pan when changing engine mounts!
banana: Bentley Publishing banana:
I have a few Bentleys on my shelf and a few more on my lap top. Worth their weight in Platinum. In a nut shell they explain and show how every single part of your car works, and process in trouble shooting.
Don’t by any other service manual if you own a German car, hands down. The only good use for a Haynes or Chilton book is to put your coffee cup on, or use between the jack and oil pan when changing engine mounts!
Is your Snap On scanner able to read VAG-COM? VW/Audi use their own soft wear for data, codes and other adjustments you can make through the computer. The cheapest route is a Ross Tech cable plugged into your lap top or I pad or whatever. They come with the soft wear on a CD.
You can also buy a blue tooth thing that plugs into the DLC and then you can scan and read on whatever hand held Blue Toothy device you want provided you can download the soft wear onto it. That’s how I do it.
PS, Even on a 2001 with VAG COM scanner there is a lot of things not related to the engine at all you can change via the computer. Its crazy.
Is your Snap On scanner able to read VAG-COM? VW/Audi use their own soft wear for data, codes and other adjustments you can make through the computer. The cheapest route is a Ross Tech cable plugged into your lap top or I pad or whatever. They come with the soft wear on a CD.
You can also buy a blue tooth thing that plugs into the DLC and then you can scan and read on whatever hand held Blue Toothy device you want provided you can download the soft wear onto it. That’s how I do it.
PS, Even on a 2001 with VAG COM scanner there is a lot of things not related to the engine at all you can change via the computer. Its crazy.
I just went through this with my own car. Completely different make, and several year older but same issue. Crank, started somewhat, chugged for a few seconds then died.
When you start it cold if you hold your foot on the accelerator for a few bit does it even out and then after 10-12 seconds its able to idle on its own? Any black smoked in the exhaust?
If it will start with your foot holding the rpm up higher like that change the ECT with a genuine factory one. Its old enough that its within the time frame it needs changing. A lot of the time I end up replacing the ECT with any ignition tune up.
I just went through this with my own car. Completely different make, and several year older but same issue. Crank, started somewhat, chugged for a few seconds then died.
When you start it cold if you hold your foot on the accelerator for a few bit does it even out and then after 10-12 seconds its able to idle on its own? Any black smoked in the exhaust?
If it will start with your foot holding the rpm up higher like that change the ECT with a genuine factory one. Its old enough that its within the time frame it needs changing. A lot of the time I end up replacing the ECT with any ignition tune up.
While you’re at it just install some new plugs. Fords, like all domestics don’t require a very fancy plug. And unlike all imports you can pretty much use any plug that fits. They’ll be cheap as nails. Avoid Auto lite plugs. They’re just crap all round, I wouldn’t even put one in my lawn mower!
I would also inspect the ignition system also as well as run some injector cleaner through it. Using the higher octane fuel will help prevent the knock but you want to find the reason it did. Alot of cars will knock accross all cylinders if the timing is off, or the parts are worn enough. Carbon build up will cause a knock for sure, but it takes a fair amount of it. If there is a considerable amount of carbon build up no cleaner will remove it. You basically have to pull the head and scrub things clean with a scotch brite pad. Burning oil will absolutely cause carbon build up. Your engine isn’t a high compression engine so I wouldn’t consider the build up from using low grade fuel.
Now that you found the location of the oil leak I would:
Concentrated fuel system cleaner / Valve cleaner in half tank of high octane.
Change plugs
Top up oil
Go for a 2 hour drive on the highway keeping the revs up. IE if you have an O/D switch turn it off. This will give you lots of fuel spray that will clean off the valves and help clean the combustion chamber.Run the rest of the fuel through and then fill up with your normal stuff to check for improvement.
I’m a big fan of the Valve Cleaner from Liqimoly. Up here VW/Audi dealers use all sorts of Liqimoly stuff that’s re bottled in VAG bottles. Works really good if used for maintenance. Its all TUV rated witch means more if your a european car guy. But like I said, if its really built up nothing else will remove it other than hard labour.
On the topic of Sea Foam I’ve never personally run it in any of my cars. But have been around a few while its being used. One car was the same as what I drive, known for deposits if you use a poor grade fuel. It certainly does smoke quite a bit. It did a nice job of cleaning up intakes and valves but as far as removing carbon deposits when the heads were pulled there was no change from before when we used a scope to look thru the spark plug hole. I’ve seen the same results from simply using distilled water, only instead of pouring it thru a carburetor its fed in thru a vacuum line.
Hope you get your truck solid again!
While you’re at it just install some new plugs. Fords, like all domestics don’t require a very fancy plug. And unlike all imports you can pretty much use any plug that fits. They’ll be cheap as nails. Avoid Auto lite plugs. They’re just crap all round, I wouldn’t even put one in my lawn mower!
I would also inspect the ignition system also as well as run some injector cleaner through it. Using the higher octane fuel will help prevent the knock but you want to find the reason it did. Alot of cars will knock accross all cylinders if the timing is off, or the parts are worn enough. Carbon build up will cause a knock for sure, but it takes a fair amount of it. If there is a considerable amount of carbon build up no cleaner will remove it. You basically have to pull the head and scrub things clean with a scotch brite pad. Burning oil will absolutely cause carbon build up. Your engine isn’t a high compression engine so I wouldn’t consider the build up from using low grade fuel.
Now that you found the location of the oil leak I would:
Concentrated fuel system cleaner / Valve cleaner in half tank of high octane.
Change plugs
Top up oil
Go for a 2 hour drive on the highway keeping the revs up. IE if you have an O/D switch turn it off. This will give you lots of fuel spray that will clean off the valves and help clean the combustion chamber.Run the rest of the fuel through and then fill up with your normal stuff to check for improvement.
I’m a big fan of the Valve Cleaner from Liqimoly. Up here VW/Audi dealers use all sorts of Liqimoly stuff that’s re bottled in VAG bottles. Works really good if used for maintenance. Its all TUV rated witch means more if your a european car guy. But like I said, if its really built up nothing else will remove it other than hard labour.
On the topic of Sea Foam I’ve never personally run it in any of my cars. But have been around a few while its being used. One car was the same as what I drive, known for deposits if you use a poor grade fuel. It certainly does smoke quite a bit. It did a nice job of cleaning up intakes and valves but as far as removing carbon deposits when the heads were pulled there was no change from before when we used a scope to look thru the spark plug hole. I’ve seen the same results from simply using distilled water, only instead of pouring it thru a carburetor its fed in thru a vacuum line.
Hope you get your truck solid again!
I’ve seen this in other vehicles. Non of them automatics mind you. It sounds like you trust your mechanic witch is nice to hear since most people these days don’t have “a guy” they keep business with but it sounds like a second opinion might be in order. A low idle like that is usually quick to solve, in fact it takes less time than to type all this out.
With the oil pressure light I would say its the low idle. While its ideling low if you raise it does the light go away? If this is the case I would definatly say its the lack of volume being pumped up from the pan. The cap will say what oil to use. Failing that the manual in the glove box will either give you a specific oil type, or a range based on climate.
In any case, what I did was first check the idle controllers function. In some cases its easy to back probe the electrical socket leaving it attached and read normal milliamp values at operating temp with the AC off and no rad fan running. Get the idle to drop and go look. If the numbers are almost zero or are zero I would immediately go investigate the throttle. Some cars use a separate switch to tell the ECU its at idle position, some cars use one throttle sensor. Look up online the resistance range closed and wide open for the TPS and plug your multimeter into its connector, swing the TPS across the range and more importantly see what it says at closed. If its out of adjustment the ECU may not read that the throttle is closed and wont switch to the IAC. Most cars if at temp will idle without the IAC running but they will idle very low.
Most vehicles when you shift to gear from P the idle will drop. It could be caused by bad info from the throttle position sensor, or it could also be caused by a worn/dirty IAC, sticking. One good test I learnt for a dirty/sticky IAC is to wack it with a hammer handle a few times while the idle is not where it should be. If it changes you know where the issue is.