A2 which need much help- water drain leak, coolant hose leak, EGR, misfires etc..

R

Roberts

New Member
Hello to all A2 owners!

Long story short - bought my mom Audi A2 one year ago and since then I have to look after this car much often than I would ever wanted. I like to get things done right and cure this car whatever "illness" it might have. There are several parts which I can't identify by online catalog so help would be appreciated!
It's Left Hand Drive 1.4i (AUA)

1. Water is pouring inside engine compartment (when raining or washing the car) and I have located source of this water leak, but can not fin'd part # that would cure this problem! It might be some kind of rubber grommet for this hole, but online parts diagram shows nothing... Can someone post photo of what you have there?
IMG_1975.jpg InkedIMG_1979_LI.jpg

2. Upper coolant hose is leaking. I could try cure this with better clamp, but I want to change the hose so I would forget about his problem for some time. According to Audi catalog diagram there are at least few part numbers for upper hose. How can I know which one of them is the one I need for my AUA? 8Z0 121 101 P / 8Z0 121 107 L / 8Z0 121 101 K / 8Z0 121 101 Q
InkedIMG_1779_LI.jpg IMG_1980.JPG

3. EGR - insufficient flow. Throttle body is cleaned, steel pipe going from EGR valve to throttle body is clean. Bought brand new Pierburg EGR valve, performed adaption via VAG-com and problem still persists! I am now thinking of removing aluminum flange between cylinder head and EGR to see if it's not restricting flow there... Any other ideas or suggestions?

4. Famous cylinder 1 and cylinder 2 misfires. New ignition coil, new spark plug wires, and spark plugs., got different used fuel injectors, new cam and crank position sensors, new coolant temperature sensor. Problem still persists! Most of the time check engine light comes up when car IDLE's. When it starts blinking, it's hard to drive the car. Sometimes engine light just lights and driving is fine.
This winter we had problem with frozen crankcase ventilation which led to oil all over the engine compartment and one of the camshafts stalling. We polished camshaft seat places from stuck aluminum and resurfaced cam seat journals. Well... car is driving and probably oil pressure suffers little from this damage, but car does drive. Now reading all the misfire problems people are having due to worn cam journals, I am thinking maybe I will have to find different cam and cam cover.
 
1)

bonnet Audi A2 (A2) 2003 year Audi EUROPA 823010

bonnet Audi A2 (A2) 2003 year Audi EUROPA 823010 spare parts
audi.7zap.com audi.7zap.com

The pipe you are looking for isn't pictured on this diagram but the materials to replace are. Part 36 is pipe for left hand drive that you need to cut to length. There are three underbonnet drain pipes, two towards the front (left and right) that have a plastic water catcher at the top. For the one under the scuttle you are looking for, you need just a piece of the appropriate pipe, cut to length - it feeds down the back of the engine to somewhere around the subframe and is then mounted onto the underside of the drain hole - maybe requiring a cable tie to secure it. See also following thread - note that even on LHD cars the drain hole is on what would be your passenger side of the car.

Rainwater Conduit.

Can someone confirm whether or not I have a rainwater pipe missing. There seems to be a hole at the bottom of the windscreen where the rain runs through & dumps onto the engine. That can't be right surely?
www.a2oc.net

2)

Coolant pipe - part 9?

coolant pump; coolant hoses and pipes; reservoir Audi A2 (A2) 2003 year Audi EUROPA 121030

coolant pump<br/>coolant hoses and pipes<br/>reservoir Audi A2 (A2) 2003 year Audi EUROPA 121030 spare parts
audi.7zap.com audi.7zap.com

To work out which pipe you need there are a few hints. Firstly, build number. Different parts are specified for cars built before and after a certain build number (column 2, "Title"). Secondly, over on the right hand side of the table are option codes (PR-9AA, PR-9AK etc.) - if you look those up (http://igorweb.org/equidec.aspx) those may correspond to some detail of your car that we don't know about but which indicate which version you may require. These should also be printed on your car's build sticker so maybe you can look at this (in your battery compartment or somewhere in your car's manual specific to your car) to see if this detail is present as this will also guide probable part required.

3)

I am surprised that a Pierburg EGR didn't fix it - potentiometer and flow faults on ours were all fixed by using a cheap Amazon EGR replacement - I didn't even have to cancel the error numbers ; just fitted a new EGR, put it all back together and the EGR messages had gone. Glad I didn't buy a Pierburg now because they're obviously no good :) .

4) I'm sure that @audifan may have some thoughts as he knows a hell of a lot more about these than I do - I'm not sure what to suggest about the stuck cam because that sounds terminal. You've replaced the various sparkplug / lead / parts I have on mine. The next step for me is a set of new injectors - is there any possibility that the used injectors 1&2 you fitted are no better than the originals? Could you try the original injector from cylinder 3 or 4 in cylinder 1 or 2 to see if this makes a difference (perhaps send the injectors for cleaning / refurbishment first?). Otherwise, the engine light situation says to me that your AUA has aspirations of grandeur- it thinks it's a BAD - and in this case I have no further ideas. Best of luck!
 
Hi,

Your point 1,

I have just checked both my RHD FSI's [that should not matter] and you have nothing missing, no blanking arrangement present for your rectangular hole and therefore nothing needed. My passenger side picture.

51757


The fact you have water pouring out of this hole suggests it is getting there via some other failed water seal elsewhere or a fracture (split/crack).

I am not familiar with the panels at the base of the windscreen so all I can suggest is you strip down and inspect.

Andy

[Before anyone asks the cabling just to the left of my coolant bottle is a temporary arrangement.]
 
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Woow, thank you guys for fast response and help! Not only special car, but also responsive and helpful community :)

@Robin_Cox

1) Rainwater drain is in it's place and looks like doing it's job good. I washed today my mom's car and removed bonnet to see where the moisture enters engine compartment. And it seems I was wrong just as @Andrew wrote. Seems like main water seal (8Z0 823 737 B) is not sealing good enough, so I ordered new one from Audi today! There was no moisture inside the hole which I previously posted photo. Obviously water was not coming from it at all...

2) Yeah, coolant pipe which is part #9 in diagram. I will have to look up this code and see which build do I have. Thanks for the tip, was not aware of this at all!

3) I don't think Pierburg EGR is the problem. Something is wrong with the system, either channel to cylinder head is clogged or maybe vacuum leak?! IDK, but I will continue with EGR to head channel check.

@philward, that's creative drain you have! ?

@Andrew, thanks for looking! You are right, it seems like main water seal is leaking. I ordered it and as soon as it arrives will let know progress.

@audifan, well engine is noisy (ticking sound) and it was when we bought the car! When we had problem with cam freeze, I didn't inspect followers nor lifters, just have all parts good wash. We had so much expenses at that time on the car, I wanted to replace only what's necessary to run the car. Also there is no good way to tell if hydraulic lifters are bad... I pressed them all with fingers and there was no obvious difference between them. As for followers, you think there might be a wear on them causing valves to open less and resulting in misfires?
 
Could be a combination of lazy lifters, worn followers or even valve and or piston damage. Have a compression test done to help diagnose valve and piston damage. Assuming it is not electrical, good plugs, leads, coils, timing ok?
 
audifan said:
Could be a combination of lazy lifters, worn followers or even valve and or piston damage. Have a compression test done to help diagnose valve and piston damage. Assuming it is not electrical, good plugs, leads, coils, timing ok?
Click to expand...

Timing belt along with pump, tensioner pulley was changed at cam cover/camshaft fix. First thing we did was to check compression after rebuild to check if any valve was bent when cam freezed and it was good and the same at all cylinders. At first we couldn't start the car and checked timing at least 3 times- it's spot on! Bad spark wire was reason for startup problem - car electrics was going crazy. At first we changed cam, crank, temperature sensors and then realized it's bad spark plug. After two weeks, I had to replace throttle body too...

Before cam freeze I had to erase 1st cylinder misfire fault twice (in 3 months). Now there is 1st and 2nd cylinder misfires in 2 days. Sometimes it shows random/multiple cylinder misfire detected.

Now when it's been raining quite hard for 2 days, cylinder misfires starts right after startup- check engine light flashes. Car is almost undrivable until all error codes are cleared- then you can drive car for some time.

I am running out of ideas.. I can change lifters, followers, cam, cam cover, but it's possible it won't solve anything. Maybe it's electrical issue, because in wet problems appear much more often!?
 
Does sound to be electrical is worse when wet. Is the engine getting wet from the scuttle drains? How good are the engine bay earth points especially the notorious one below the headlight? Are the HT leads shorting out or arcing? Is the ECU getting wet? Is the alternator good? Battery condition and age? Battery leads? Main earth lead? Faulty sensor or electrical wiring? Lots of questions and lots to check. May be worth fitting a logger to capture exactly what faults occur and when.
 
Or it could be both, maybe...
* Engine is getting really wet!!! Intake manifold bend on runners is flooded when it's heavy rain or car is washed. I have ordered now new main seal from AUDI.
* I checked notorious main earth point on gearbox side and it was all good, more cleaning never hurt so I cleaned up more. On the side behind headlight could not reach it from engine bay side, I guess I have to remove front inner fender to reach earth bolt from wheel side, right?
* HT leads are new from Bosch, they one of them was arcing at the time of cam freeze accident, so all leads were changed!
* ECU is dry! Just checked everything there and all dry there, no signs of moisture.
* I assume alternator is good! No problems with charging or whatsoever.
* Battery is also brand new from Bosch! I have read before, that Audi electrics tend to go crazy if battery is going out. So it was one of the things what I also replaced when we could not start a car after cam freeze fix. Battery leads are good and greased with dielectric grease for good contact.
* Could be some sensor, but if ECU is not reporting it with any codes, it's hard to tell.. Most of the sensors have been replaced already.

Is ELM328 scanner capable of logging some useful information? I don't think have access to any other logger.

My 2 cents are something going on with valve lifters or followers and it could be that knock sensor shuts down some injectors in that time. But that's just me being philosophic after many replaced parts ?

Engine is pretty noisy and shaky while idling. It's close to diesel noise! ?
 
Stop the water covering the engine first. Make sure the induction system is water tight and not sucking in the water. Do you have a small camera you car mount in the engine bay to see where the water is coming in? You could mount the camera and a light, refit the bonnet the hose the car. Check the movie to see exactly where the leak starts from. With the engine getting so wet electrical insulation will be compromised. The electrics on the A2 were never the best to start with. Even though the sensors may be working the wiring may be faulty due to age and corrosion. Have a full scan done with VCDS and print it off. Clear any fault codes, switch off and do another complete VCDS scan to highlight what is still reporting a fault. Remember not every fault shows up on a scan. Also do a scan with the engine running to check for fueling and ignition problems. Lazy or worn / damaged valve lifters, follower or valve still a possibility but a few full VCDS scans will help further diagnosis.
 
Roberts said:
1. Water is pouring inside engine compartment (when raining or washing the car) and I have located source of this water leak, but can not fin'd part # that would cure this problem! It might be some kind of rubber grommet for this hole, but online parts diagram shows nothing... Can someone post photo of what you have there?
Click to expand...
Sorry to revive this thread, but did you manage to stop the water leakage?

I'm facing the same problem :(.
 
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