Eco Alan

gills

A2OC Donor
I’ve decided to start the story of my A2 - nicknamed Alan. It’s not really a project car, but my quest to improve its economy and the fact it’s getting under my skin (most of you will know that feeling towards your A2s!) means I am gently tinkering with it. Despite only being bought as cheap transport, it’s turning into a bit of a project by accident.

A bit of background: I bought Alan at the start of the year, having decided to give up using a motorbike for commuting. The cold, wet autumn had got to me and I was increasingly aware that as I got older I didn’t bounce as well, so as/when I came off, it was likely to be more serious! I needed a car that was economical (the bike did 90mpg), was reliable, cheap to run and didn’t cost more to buy than what I could sell the bike for (around £1500). Having had a few VWs and Skodas as family cars over the years, I appreciate the VAG design and build quality, which makes them easier and more pleasant to work on. As a result I was leaning towards something VAG, rather than an Aygo/C1/107, which seemed the most obvious option.

I was aware of the diesel A2 as an interesting and economical option, so had been keeping my eyes open to see if there were any for sale. As luck (or fate?) would have it, an ‘02 TDI (75) came up locally as a private sale. I went to see it and couldn’t believe my luck. Despite having done 150k miles, it was in very good condition, had only had 2 owners, had a full (mostly dealer) service history and seemed a very genuine car. The chap selling it had been given a company car with a new job and couldn't justify keeping the A2 as well (in addition to his existing collection of Landies and a T25!) Needless to say, I didn’t need to think too much about it!

Despite being a little nervous of buying such a high mileage car, I was really pleased with it. After a good wash, it looked great and there didn’t seem to have too many issues that needed attention.

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It's an '02 TDI 75 SE with:
  • Climate control
  • DIS
  • Cruise control
  • Multifunction steering wheel
  • Rear speakers
  • Winter pack (heated mirrors/washers)
  • False floor boot
  • Original Audi carpet mats
 
My to do list initially looked like this:
  • Windscreen wiper needed replacement
  • Sluggish starting - suspected tired battery
  • Gearchange stiff and notchy
  • Boot struts weak (not fully opening the boot lid)
  • Rattle in boot lid
  • Rear drums rusty
I replaced the wiper blade with a new Bosch one - which was a quick win.

I was very fortunate to have been given a new Varta battery by a friend a few months previously, who had bought it and found he didn’t need it. It turned out to be exactly the right size for A2, so I popped it in and the car then started much better. A great result!

After a bit of reading on here, I adjusted the gearchange cables, hoping this would sort the gearchange out. It improved it a bit, but reverse was still hard to engage when the car was warm. Bit of a mixed result, but I decided I could live with it for the time being.

A set of struts off ebay got the boot opening all the way up, although they don’t have a soft stop at the end of their travel, which feels a bit crude. Maybe not such an ebay bargain - especially as they started leaking oil after a month and I had to get a replacement set sent out!

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By this stage, I had been running the car for around a month and was not finding it quite as economical as I’d hoped. I got 58mpg from the first couple of tankfuls, which seemed to tally pretty closely with the DIS average consumption readout. Part of the problem is my normal commute isn’t great for economy - around 18 miles on A & B roads and 1200ft of climbing each way, with around 12 junctions, but it’s a route that avoids the worst of the traffic and is a lovely run on a nice day.

I decided that much as I liked the look of the 6 spoke 16” alloys, 15” wheels would benefit the economy. A set of standard 15” alloys came up not too far away on Gumtree for £100, so I thought I’d give them a go. I was amazed at how much lighter they were than the 16” wheels and this seemed to benefit the economy by around 5% - my mpg was now into the low 60s.

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They're not the tidiest wheels (the n/s ones are best!) and could do with a refurb at some stage, but they have grown on me as I've got used to them on the car.

I also managed 72mpg on the DIS after a 45 mile round trip to Buxton (not a flat route, but mostly 50mph limits), which proved good economy was possible.

IMG_20200208_163505519-01.jpeg
 
My to do list initially looked like this:
  • Windscreen wiper needed replacement
  • Sluggish starting - suspected tired battery
  • Gearchange stiff and notchy
  • Boot struts weak (not fully opening the boot lid)
  • Rattle in boot lid
  • Rear drums rusty
I replaced the wiper blade with a new Bosch one - which was a quick win.

I was very fortunate to have been given a new Varta battery by a friend a few months previously, who had bought it and found he didn’t need it. It turned out to be exactly the right size for A2, so I popped it in and the car then started much better. A great result!

After a bit of reading on here, I adjusted the gearchange cables, hoping this would sort the gearchange out. It improved it a bit, but reverse was still hard to engage when the car was warm. Bit of a mixed result, but I decided I could live with it for the time being.

A set of struts off ebay got the boot opening all the way up, although they don’t have a soft stop at the end of their travel, which feels a bit crude. Maybe not such an ebay bargain - especially as they started leaking oil after a month and I had to get a replacement set sent out!

View attachment 64888

By this stage, I had been running the car for around a month and was not finding it quite as economical as I’d hoped. I got 58mpg from the first couple of tankfuls, which seemed to tally pretty closely with the DIS average consumption readout. Part of the problem is my normal commute isn’t great for economy - around 18 miles on A & B roads and 1200ft of climbing each way, with around 12 junctions, but it’s a route that avoids the worst of the traffic and is a lovely run on a nice day.

I decided that much as I liked the look of the 6 spoke 16” alloys, 15” wheels would benefit the economy. A set of standard 15” alloys came up not too far away on Gumtree for £100, so I thought I’d give them a go. I was amazed at how much lighter they were than the 16” wheels and this seemed to benefit the economy by around 5% - my mpg was now into the low 60s.

View attachment 64891

They're not the tidiest wheels (the n/s ones are best!) and could do with a refurb at some stage, but they have grown on me as I've got used to them on the car.

I also managed 72mpg on the DIS after a 45 mile round trip to Buxton (not a flat route, but mostly 50mph limits), which proved good economy was possible.

View attachment 64890

Looks a lovely A2 and some nice options

Enjoy
Paul


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Whilst I was swapping the the wheels over, I took the opportunity to do some maintenance on the rear drums, which were rather rusty. I wire brushed the rear drums and treated them with Vactan to stop them getting any worse.

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Next up I decided to investigate fitting a water heater. Having a Leaf as our family car, I’ve got spoilt by having a pre-heated car and instant heat when you set out. The idea of being able to warm up the engine coolant, reducing engine wear & fuel consumption, as well as having instant heat for around 10p of electricity a morning, was very attractive. The downside is that very few others in the UK think pre-heaters are worth it, so I ended up having to source one from Finland - the marvels of the internet! The heater fits between the oil cooler and the block with a small extra hose, but there’s not a lot of space to get in to fit it, so I ended up with some rather raw knuckles! I fitted the connector beside the o/s fog lamp mount, where there was plenty of space to fit the wiring in.

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I also changed the gearbox oil whilst I had the undertray off, to see if it improved the shift quality. It has a bit and is only the second time it has been changed (according to the service records). The other thing I did, whilst I could get to it, was to change the air filter. The old one had apparently been “inspected” less than a year ago, but I don’t think anyone had been near it for some time!

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Ooh that block heater sounds interesting - And definitely something I would do. Have you got a link / more info?

The heater I fitted was a Defa kit, consisting of a 550W heater with fitting kit (inc extra hose and bracket) and the cabling kit. The only other firm producing an A2 specific kit is Calix. The heater is fitted between the oil cooler and block, using an extra Z shaped hose. A bracket secures the heater to the bellhousing. This is a photo looking down from above:

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This is the parts page from their website:
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I bought these 2:
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and these are the fitting diagrams:
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Ooh that block heater sounds interesting - And definitely something I would do. Have you got a link / more info?

Ditto!!

EDIT: beat me to it ?

How's it work? Do you run it on a timer? Go out and turn it on in the morning? I assume there's a motor in the unit?

For me, this is a bit of a game changer on the Devon car as my 'commute' such as it is is only four miles. If I could preheat at each end of the day, it'd more than pay for the electricity with all of the other benefits.
 
Oh yes: your gear selection: I find the change on my TDi very heavy compared to the petrol, despite, like you, changing the oil.

Initially the change was also well out of adjustment. As with the petrol car, I tried adjusting using the official 5mm pin method. Also like the petrol car, I found it left the lever in a slightly unpleasant position. Therefore in the end I manually tweaked the adjustment from the engine bay end after establishing which cable did what. If you had a helper (I didn't as the dog was busy) it wold be much easier.

In my case on the TDi fifth didn't feel right, felt as though the gear lever surround was stopping the lever going over enough. After adjustment, that element is spot on.

I'm now going to have a look at the tower bearing to see if there's any friction there but frankly it doesn't feel that 'friction'y' (?), just as though you're shifting a lot of stuff in the actual box.
 
Oh yes: your gear selection: I find the change on my TDi very heavy compared to the petrol, despite, like you, changing the oil.

Initially the change was also well out of adjustment. As with the petrol car, I tried adjusting using the official 5mm pin method. Also like the petrol car, I found it left the lever in a slightly unpleasant position. Therefore in the end I manually tweaked the adjustment from the engine bay end after establishing which cable did what. If you had a helper (I didn't as the dog was busy) it wold be much easier.

In my case on the TDi fifth didn't feel right, felt as though the gear lever surround was stopping the lever going over enough. After adjustment, that element is spot on.

I'm now going to have a look at the tower bearing to see if there's any friction there but frankly it doesn't feel that 'friction'y' (?), just as though you're shifting a lot of stuff in the actual box.

That's really interesting to know, thank you. I might have another play under the bonnet at some stage. The gear change is certainly better than it was - I don't know if the cables have stretched into place a bit, although I still occasionally split the synchro on a change because it hasn't slipped into gear fully.

Sometimes I wonder what the change would be like on a later 'box, which apparently have improved synchromesh, like an MZN....
 
That's really interesting to know, thank you. I might have another play under the bonnet at some stage. The gear change is certainly better than it was - I don't know if the cables have stretched into place a bit, although I still occasionally split the synchro on a change because it hasn't slipped into gear fully.

Sometimes I wonder what the change would be like on a later 'box, which apparently have improved synchromesh, like an MZN....

I find I double de-clutch both ways on mine, which is no hardship other than the throttle pedal is slightly off for a decent heel and toe. Having grown up in some pretty terrible used / classic cars, I've always enjoyed a bit of footwork. Even then, this box is noticeably heavier to use than the petrol's.

@depronman certainly says his more modern box has a completely different quality of change: much faster and lighter.
 
I find I double de-clutch both ways on mine, which is no hardship other than the throttle pedal is slightly off for a decent heel and toe. Having grown up in some pretty terrible used / classic cars, I've always enjoyed a bit of footwork. Even then, this box is noticeably heavier to use than the petrol's.

@depronman certainly says his more modern box has a completely different quality of change: much faster and lighter.

Yes the jdd gearbox is much nicer still not a nice as the petrol but very close

Paul


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
@gills

Very interesting re: block heater. May I ask for the contact details and pricing, if you don’t mind? I looked at the links provided and can see it was probably a hassle just getting a price! So would like to investigate following in your footsteps.

To me a block heater is a no-brainer if you have easy / convenient power access to where the car is parked.
 
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