Audi A4 1.9 TDI 2004 - Anyone have experience of problems / give me some tips??

[stacky]

Hey all,

Hope a few peeps can help me.

My folks back in Ireland have asked me to pick up an A4 1.9 TDI for them. They are particularly interested in a really nice S-line they spotted which I looked at yesterday.

The car is near immaculate and I can only fault it on one thing.....

There are only 3 stamps in the service history. Its got 78K and by my reckoning it should have at least 7 stamps (if fully senthetic was used) or 15 stamps if semi was used for the oil changes.

Ive not much experience with Diesels but the oil was really black so it defo needs changing asap.
The oil cap had some "gunk" on it as shown in the below photo. Now its not quite like mayo....so head gasket should be fine, but never the less it simply shouldnt be like that! I suspect its just some moisture in the oil and the age of the oil.





So this is my dilemma..... my folks really want it...but i dont want to buy them a dud. The car is mint and the service history and oil condition really lets it down, but its the gunk on the oil cap that has alarm bells ringing in my head.

Is this standard on diesels? Or is it really alarming???

Also....are those audi TDI engines bullet proof (particularly big ends) or if a few oil changes are skipped are they weak as and detrimental?

Cheers,
Jon

[mohawk]

i cant vouch for the Audi engines so prob wont help with my comment but my MG ZT Diesel is bullet proof (BMW Made unit) never had problems with it. i'd put that mayo down to condensation which this time of year would be common. i've had that before on the ZT but put it down to the time of year etc.

what year is it? oil turns black quite quickly probably wouldnt look into that side of things. everyone services a car once they buy it right?

[jimbobD]

audi/vw are bullet proof matey - had one in work earlier that had 246k on the clock!

if it all runs fine with no misfires or dodgy engine noises - my instict would say go for it if its the right price

[Anthony@SFS]

Had a 2001 2.5TDi still going when it went at 224K

[stacky]

cool...cheers for the replies guys.

I looked into the service history aspect and was shocked to find that Audi do "long life services" meaning that the scheduled oil change is every 20K - Fully synthetic. So it has actually been scheduled accordingly.

As for the mayo.... i agree, its probably just a tin bit of moisture.

I have just bought the car anyways!

[jackm]

Good buy!
I have the 1.9tdi, they put long life oil in it, costs alot more but is needed for these engines. Wouldnt worry too much about that tbh.

[Hosky]

i see these engines day in and day out, and it could be down to short journeys...

[Owen]

Moisture and its could have been sat for a while if its trade and only moved 5 yards at a time. Long journey and it will probably clear up.

Could I be cheeky and ask what you paid please mate, looking into these for the Mrs!

O

[Fordy]

should be serviced every 20k/2 years if its on longlife
so 3 stamps means its probably due a 80k service which is just oil n filter, pollen filter, fuel filter
And its possibly due a cambelt change if its not been done at 75k also best to change the water pump n thermostat at the same time

but the engines are bullet proof when serviced correctly with proper parts n oil

[stacky]

Cheers lads.

I need to do an oil change on it today before driving it back to Ireland. Can anyone tell me what oil it takes?

@Owen.... i will pm ya mate

@fordy, ya i will be buying a water pump and timing belt kit for it today and then doing th job over xmas in Ireland.

[superkev11]

from what ive seen the engines are pretty tough and injectors seem reliable. friend has one and its not treated to well but has easy covered 200k plus and that with out doing the cambelt for i think 100k! did warn him about it! i recently changed a belt and water pump on an A4 and they have a plastic water pump so that can cause problems and they like killing cv joints.

[superkev11]

Cheers lads.

I need to do an oil change on it today before driving it back to Ireland. Can anyone tell me what oil it takes?

@Owen.... i will pm ya mate

@fordy, ya i will be buying a water pump and timing belt kit for it today and then doing th job over xmas in Ireland.

double check but should be 5w40 pd fully synethic