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A4 2002 1.9TDI - Audi - privateinvestor

2002 Audi A4 1.9TDI....100 BHP... 227k and still going strong............regular 5w/30 oil (Quantum) changes using oil to VW 504/507....every 8k miles....looking to take it to 300K. On average 600-650 miles on a full tank on Shell fuel.

Question 1

Car needs a new clutch, though still working, pedal is hard and bites at the top. Question does this car have a DMF, if so should it be replaced as well? Prices for clutches vary a lot. I assume LUK is the original though Valeo and Sachs are all listed. Prices vary between 80 throught o 240. LUK seem to have many variants on offer, any difference in qulaity between lower priced LUK and higher.

Question 2

How often should the complette timing belt and water pump kit be replaced. Last done at 175k. I think Audi say it should be done every 70k.

Any replies most appreciated.

Thankyou

A4 2002 1.9TDI - Audi - 659FBE

Congratulations on maintaining the best small diesel engine made and getting true value from it. It's a pity the later engines generally never make it to this mileage.

A DMF is fitted and I would strongly recommend keeping it when the cluch is replaced. I would use an OE clutch and flywheel. TPS sell the parts at almost reasonable prices. Ensure the vac pipes are not damaged/disconnected as the engine is lowered at the flywheel end.

I would agree that 70k miles is a reasonable change interval for the timing belt system. Ensure that all components driven by the belt are renewed including the water pump, and consider fitting a pattern pump with a metal impeller. Check very carefully indeed the stud which fixes the tensioner and observe judgement when tightening the (new) nut.

Check the aux belt drive(s) very carefully including the sprag clutch in the alternator pulley. Consider renewing belts, tensioner(s) and pulley. Your engine may have either one or two aux belts. A new thermostat would be advised unless it has been recently changed. Use an OE part, otherwise the cover may not fit properly.

659.

Edited by 659FBE on 19/02/2013 at 18:35

A4 2002 1.9TDI - Audi - privateinvestor

Thanks I think I will become a member of TPS and get the stuff from them, I think they do a combined clutch DMF kitt which should ease the pain.....

A4 2002 1.9TDI - Audi - Roly93

Well done sir !

Proof of Audi quality.

The VaG bashers on this forum must have turned selectively blind on this post !

A4 2002 1.9TDI - Audi - A3 A4

My A4 Avant (52 plate) also with the 1.9TDi 100bhp engine, seems like a babe in comparison with just 66k on the clock.

Can I ask what, if any problems you have experianced in those 227k miles, as I aim to keep mine for as long as possible.

A4 2002 1.9TDI - Audi - privateinvestor

I bought from a friend at 212k, he in turn bought at 137k.

From 137k he has had it serviced at 8k intervals all filters + oil (castrol). At 175 he had a few engine monts chnaged and the cam belt. The car wasused as a taxi so a lot oif mixed runs (city, town, motorway). Its critical to service on time and to correct specification. Oil changes should be at say 8k if used in town and no more than 10k if used out of town.

It will soon need a new clutch and dmf............

I think though on more recent Audis relaibaility and durability has dropped,...

A4 2002 1.9TDI - Audi - 659FBE

My view is that current legislation has now rendered the diesel engine inappropriate as a prime mover for private transport.

Your 1.9PD engine is from the "golden era" of the diesel - high injection pressures with pre-injection and multi shot delivery made possible either by the use of the Bosch unit injector with EDC16 control, or by a common rail system, each giving superb efficiency with manageable technology.

It all went wrong when DPFs became almost obligatory to meet Euro IV together with electrically operated actuators with closed loop control fitted directly to the engine, needed to give "position on demand" operation. These typically control boost, EGR and throttle flaps - all of which tend to fail very expensively on later engines.

Your 1.9PD simply has vacuum capsules to move the required controls (without the complication of self-ingesting throttle flaps) which are both rugged and comparatively cheap to replace.

I don't think it's entirely fair to knock VAG/Audi for their latest offerings. The complexity of any diesel engine specified to meet current regulations is such that its reliability is liable to be seriously compromised.

I think we've been here before with gas boilers - I'll stick to my 1.9PD and cast iron Potterton thanks. The Eurocrats have shot themselves in the foot as more modern offerings increase rather than reduce overall pollution. As usual, the consumer suffers.

659.

Edited by 659FBE on 16/03/2013 at 15:04

A4 2002 1.9TDI - Audi - privateinvestor

Thanks is a solution on the way to getting around this level of complexity. I still think that long life servicing is dangerous, and may be as per your post Toyota Hybrid is a better way of going about thinks. Are manufacturers looking at replacing DPF's any time soon? How good a design is the HOnda diesal?

A4 2002 1.9TDI - Audi - unthrottled

It all went wrong when DPFs became almost obligatory to meet Euro IV together with electrically operated actuators with closed loop control fitted directly to the engine

There's clearly no discernible benefit to the driver or passengers with DPF, but that doesn't mean they are useless. The PM reduction is hard to ignore.

Part of thre reason for the discrepency between the efficiency of petrol and diesel engines lies with the fact that petrols are hobbled with 3WCC requiring stoichiometric mixtures. Again, a large reduction in trace pollutants takes precedence over a (relatively) small reduction in efficiency. Why should diesel be treated differently?

My view is that current legislation has now rendered the diesel engine inappropriate as a prime mover for private transport.

Over-egging the pudding. I also prefer simple engine architecture.However, to say that modern diesels aren't up to the job is unfair. A modern spark Ignition engines is a veritable Heath-Robinson affair, replete with a clumsy valvetrain and dubious direct injection fuel system-often augmented with a port injectors to make up for the shortcomings oif direct injection.

A4 2002 1.9TDI - Audi - A3 A4

Up thread 70k is quoted as a reasonable period for a cam belt change, mileage aside what timescale would be reasonable, it would take me probably 8 years to reach that mileage!

Interested as I have the same vehicle,

Thanks in advance!

A4 2002 1.9TDI - Audi - RobJP

I would suggest every 4 or 5 years. As was stated in the other posts, all the rollers tensioners and the water pump at the same time.