2002 Audi A3 TDI Quattro (PD130) - Snow edition.
Discussion
Where do I start. I'd obviously not had enough punishment from my TT Trials & Tribulations or the Cheapest Mk4 Golf V6 4Motion in all the land (probably). So what better thing to do than buy another Mk4 Golf Platform 4 wheel drive s
tbox? 
This one's a little different. Well. No it isn't. It's still the same, trusty, 25 year old platform we've all come to love to hate, or hate to love?
I bought it, on a whim, at 10.30am on new years day. I awoke at 9.45am, still slightly drunk and lasted an entire 45 mins without buying another shed. Go me. However - I do have a plan for this one. Those familiar with my threads (probably 3 of you), myself and a few mates (namely Superchickenn on PH) usually venture on some form of road trip or another each year. Last year we did the NC500 during the Lockdown intermission, the year before the Swiss Alps, the Ring before that etc. etc. You'll be pleased to know we're planning another, slightly different and slightly special trip, for 2022 (assuming we're not all evading the Zombie apocalypse, in which case, the car will still come in handy!). This time, we're heading for some snow; specifically, Norwegian snow. We're planning to head as far North as possible within the timeframe we have (about 10 days). But, more on that later - onto the the clunky, metal bits!
It's a 2002 Audi A3 (8L) TDI Quattro Sport. In 3 door form, sporting the ever-living PD130 ASZ engine. I maintain that when Dinosaurs re-evolve to roam the earth long past human existence, they'll be dropping their eggs off to nursey in a car driven by a PD130.
I paid £250 for it. It has no MOT, 25% of available air in the tyres, a black eye and it's ear is hanging off. Oh, and 147% of the front end it held on by zip ties. But, beauty is in the eye of the beholder and beyond the superficial battle scars, it has potential. It's a Quattro, using the popular Haldex system seen on Audi TTs and Audi S3s. It's a PD130 so will gently sip away it fuel. The perfect car for a trip where temps can reach as low as -25 celcius.
These are the pics the seller sent me 5 mins after I'd decided I wanted to buy it.
Pretty, isn't she?
I got it home, had a quick gander and found the following things wrong with it:
I chucked it on the drive and set about giving it a clean first.
If this is already TL;DR, here're some links to our YouTube channel so you can have moving images massage your eyeballs instead of my incoherent ramblings:
Boot was nice and clean
Free Cider? Pity I bloody hate the stuff!
Pretty grim!
I'd used a little set of brushes that can be used on a drill and it came up really well. This is without attacking it with a wetvac yet. I'd also removed the front seats and the rear bench for easy access.
I between waiting for my drill to charge, I set about deleting the EGR valve. After owning many many PD130 engines over the years, this is a must-do mod. They get so clogged up with sludgy carbon, they can somtimes reduce the intake size by about 80%. Luckily, mine wasn't too bad, but still managed to scrape some gunk out of the inlet! Ideally, the inlet should come off and be soaked in solvent to be cleaned properly.
EGR Valve (which is also the Anti Shudder Valve) coming off, pretty gunky but by far not the worst I've seen.
Inlet pretty gunked up
Standard boost hose being used, I just cut the metal collar that incorporated the standard "tab" type fitting, which are as useful as an ashtray on a motorbike.
New EGR delete kit ready to go on
EGR outlet on top of manifold ready to receive its new blanking plate
All fitted and shiny. This is a fiddly job, but by no means difficult. It helps if you have hands like E.T. or Slenderman
My plan was then to get the rest of the interior cleaned; plastics, trim, removable trim pieces etc. Alas, darned COVID had other ideas as it decided it was going to turn me into a 96 year old man who'd smoked 60 woodbines a day for 100 years. It hit me hard. Thankfully out the other side now but struggling with fatigue so taking it slow.
Despite COVID, I did managed to make some changes. Namely leaving the rear windows open during Storm Christoff which resulted in a natural foot spa being installed in the drivers footwell. FFS.
So it was out with the space heater and dehumidifier to try and dry it up. A few hours later and the, now frozen, foot spa had all but disappeared leaving just a small damp patch in its place. Which'll hopefully dry up with more heat and the dehumidifier.
So, I have a few plans for it so it'll be a decent, snow-going road trip vessel. But I'm gonna concentrate on the basis for now:
Thanks guys, stay tuned
tbox? This one's a little different. Well. No it isn't. It's still the same, trusty, 25 year old platform we've all come to love to hate, or hate to love?
I bought it, on a whim, at 10.30am on new years day. I awoke at 9.45am, still slightly drunk and lasted an entire 45 mins without buying another shed. Go me. However - I do have a plan for this one. Those familiar with my threads (probably 3 of you), myself and a few mates (namely Superchickenn on PH) usually venture on some form of road trip or another each year. Last year we did the NC500 during the Lockdown intermission, the year before the Swiss Alps, the Ring before that etc. etc. You'll be pleased to know we're planning another, slightly different and slightly special trip, for 2022 (assuming we're not all evading the Zombie apocalypse, in which case, the car will still come in handy!). This time, we're heading for some snow; specifically, Norwegian snow. We're planning to head as far North as possible within the timeframe we have (about 10 days). But, more on that later - onto the the clunky, metal bits!
It's a 2002 Audi A3 (8L) TDI Quattro Sport. In 3 door form, sporting the ever-living PD130 ASZ engine. I maintain that when Dinosaurs re-evolve to roam the earth long past human existence, they'll be dropping their eggs off to nursey in a car driven by a PD130.
I paid £250 for it. It has no MOT, 25% of available air in the tyres, a black eye and it's ear is hanging off. Oh, and 147% of the front end it held on by zip ties. But, beauty is in the eye of the beholder and beyond the superficial battle scars, it has potential. It's a Quattro, using the popular Haldex system seen on Audi TTs and Audi S3s. It's a PD130 so will gently sip away it fuel. The perfect car for a trip where temps can reach as low as -25 celcius.
These are the pics the seller sent me 5 mins after I'd decided I wanted to buy it.
Pretty, isn't she?
I got it home, had a quick gander and found the following things wrong with it:
- Bumber is smashed in
- Wing is smashed in
- Rear bumper, slightly less so, smasshed in
- Drivers side door card is hanging off
- Drivers side window doesn't work (but makes delicious crunchy noises)
- There was no battery
- The inside was filthier than an excommunicated nun from the Welsh valleys after a flagon of Strongbow
- There was damp and mould on the dashboard
- The wheels were terrible and the tyres were flat
- The top mounts were shot
- Passenger side headlight tabs broken
- The brakes were pitted
- Power steering doesn't work and is leaking from somewhere
- ???
- Profit
I chucked it on the drive and set about giving it a clean first.
If this is already TL;DR, here're some links to our YouTube channel so you can have moving images massage your eyeballs instead of my incoherent ramblings:
Boot was nice and clean
Free Cider? Pity I bloody hate the stuff!
Pretty grim!
I'd used a little set of brushes that can be used on a drill and it came up really well. This is without attacking it with a wetvac yet. I'd also removed the front seats and the rear bench for easy access.
I between waiting for my drill to charge, I set about deleting the EGR valve. After owning many many PD130 engines over the years, this is a must-do mod. They get so clogged up with sludgy carbon, they can somtimes reduce the intake size by about 80%. Luckily, mine wasn't too bad, but still managed to scrape some gunk out of the inlet! Ideally, the inlet should come off and be soaked in solvent to be cleaned properly.
EGR Valve (which is also the Anti Shudder Valve) coming off, pretty gunky but by far not the worst I've seen.
Inlet pretty gunked up
Standard boost hose being used, I just cut the metal collar that incorporated the standard "tab" type fitting, which are as useful as an ashtray on a motorbike.
New EGR delete kit ready to go on
EGR outlet on top of manifold ready to receive its new blanking plate
All fitted and shiny. This is a fiddly job, but by no means difficult. It helps if you have hands like E.T. or Slenderman
My plan was then to get the rest of the interior cleaned; plastics, trim, removable trim pieces etc. Alas, darned COVID had other ideas as it decided it was going to turn me into a 96 year old man who'd smoked 60 woodbines a day for 100 years. It hit me hard. Thankfully out the other side now but struggling with fatigue so taking it slow.
Despite COVID, I did managed to make some changes. Namely leaving the rear windows open during Storm Christoff
which resulted in a natural foot spa being installed in the drivers footwell. FFS. So it was out with the space heater and dehumidifier to try and dry it up. A few hours later and the, now frozen, foot spa had all but disappeared leaving just a small damp patch in its place. Which'll hopefully dry up with more heat and the dehumidifier.
So, I have a few plans for it so it'll be a decent, snow-going road trip vessel. But I'm gonna concentrate on the basis for now:
- Full service, oil ,filters, coolant, timing belt and water pump
- Fix the power steering. I have a selection of spare racks, including a TT quick rack so will see. If it's a simple pipe swap, the rack will stay.
- Upgrade the brakes to a TT 225 setup I have on the shelf
- Polybush the front wishbones
- New ball joints, drop links, ARB pushes (poly) and top mounts
- I have a full TT rear end available (thanks to Superchickenn) so will refurbish that, paint, new bushes etc. service the Haldex and swap it over
Thanks guys, stay tuned
Edited by MikeDrop on Saturday 23 January 18:04
helix402 said:
Looks like a good project. I didn’t watch the YouTube video, it’s the sort of car that often has a distinct reek of cannabis-did you find any?
This, I reckon there's a 50% chance the previous owner was described as a "Donut" by the voice-over guy on Channel 5 at some point 
Looking forward to the revival thread and the subsequent road trip!
My Ibiza 130PD was a whole £100 less & cosmetically very tidy indeed.
I’ve spent half the purchase price on some TT brakes for the front end, fitted a dogbone mount insert, fixed a few minor issues & given it a home remap
My EGR is OFF electronically now but il get it all stripped & cleaned out along with the inlet manifold. Free horsepower & economy.
It runs smoothly & swiftly
I’ve spent half the purchase price on some TT brakes for the front end, fitted a dogbone mount insert, fixed a few minor issues & given it a home remap
My EGR is OFF electronically now but il get it all stripped & cleaned out along with the inlet manifold. Free horsepower & economy.
It runs smoothly & swiftly
Edited by chrismc1977 on Sunday 24th January 13:03
There were many Marijuana's found in various places throughout the car and yeah, it's definitely the kind of car you expect to see on a Police dashcam get ploughed into a prefab garage in the arse end of some council estate! Lucky for me, it didn't
I spent a little while cleaning the dashboard today. Had to take it easy as the remnants of COVID is still kicking my ass slightly.
Images are snaps from my recordings so not the best quality. I'll be editing the vid soon.
As you can see, it's in a very sorry state. There appears to be an entire eco-system growing pretty much anywhere it can cling on to. Who knows, could be a natural cure for COVID amongst that lot? Who know and in any case, it's going!
My main weapon of choice is good old fashioned Elbow Grease. Literally. Accompanied by some microfibre cloths, kitchen roll and a hoover with assorted nozzly end bits for nooks and, indeed, crannies.
After about 45 mins of sucking, squirting and wiping, I started cleaning the car! HA - Badum-tsh and all that. Anyway yeah, so, it didn't turn out too bad. I'm sure someone with more patience, knowledge and, in fairness, the inclination to do a better job, could. But for me, I'm happy with the result.
I still need to do the door cards and the rear plastics, but they ain't half as bad. I intend to try and keep it dehumidified to that the mould stays at bay, but it should find it hard to grow after using that Elbow Grease stuff.
Another vid to come soon, which'll include the EGR delete and a quick walkaround of what my plans are for it.
and yeah, it's definitely the kind of car you expect to see on a Police dashcam get ploughed into a prefab garage in the arse end of some council estate! Lucky for me, it didn't I spent a little while cleaning the dashboard today. Had to take it easy as the remnants of COVID is still kicking my ass slightly.
Images are snaps from my recordings so not the best quality. I'll be editing the vid soon
.As you can see, it's in a very sorry state. There appears to be an entire eco-system growing pretty much anywhere it can cling on to. Who knows, could be a natural cure for COVID amongst that lot? Who know and in any case, it's going!
My main weapon of choice is good old fashioned Elbow Grease. Literally. Accompanied by some microfibre cloths, kitchen roll and a hoover with assorted nozzly end bits for nooks and, indeed, crannies.
After about 45 mins of sucking, squirting and wiping, I started cleaning the car! HA - Badum-tsh and all that. Anyway yeah, so, it didn't turn out too bad. I'm sure someone with more patience, knowledge and, in fairness, the inclination to do a better job, could. But for me, I'm happy with the result.
I still need to do the door cards and the rear plastics, but they ain't half as bad. I intend to try and keep it dehumidified to that the mould stays at bay, but it should find it hard to grow after using that Elbow Grease stuff.
Another vid to come soon, which'll include the EGR delete and a quick walkaround of what my plans are for it.
Good spot, but not just the TT and Cupra R have that setup. Anything with the Quattro/4Motion on these platform cars user an ARB that goes under the Driveshaft and the link connects to the Macpherson strut. I have a Mk4 Golf 4Motion that's the same set up
Weirdly, only the TT, S3 and Cupra R use the cast lower arms which do away with the the threads that would ordinarily secure the drop link to the lower arm. On "lesser" Quattro/4Mo cars, they retain the use of the pressed arms, but just don't use the threads.
Weirdly, only the TT, S3 and Cupra R use the cast lower arms which do away with the the threads that would ordinarily secure the drop link to the lower arm. On "lesser" Quattro/4Mo cars, they retain the use of the pressed arms, but just don't use the threads.
MikeDrop said:
Good spot, but not just the TT and Cupra R have that setup. Anything with the Quattro/4Motion on these platform cars user an ARB that goes under the Driveshaft and the link connects to the Macpherson strut. I have a Mk4 Golf 4Motion that's the same set up
Weirdly, only the TT, S3 and Cupra R use the cast lower arms which do away with the the threads that would ordinarily secure the drop link to the lower arm. On "lesser" Quattro/4Mo cars, they retain the use of the pressed arms, but just don't use the threads.
Ahh I was getting ahead of myself, it has the other setup, no worries! You know your stuff, good luck with the car, I've played around with quite a few mk4 platforms, not had a 4motion setup before. cheersWeirdly, only the TT, S3 and Cupra R use the cast lower arms which do away with the the threads that would ordinarily secure the drop link to the lower arm. On "lesser" Quattro/4Mo cars, they retain the use of the pressed arms, but just don't use the threads.
Skyrocket21 said:
MikeDrop said:
Good spot, but not just the TT and Cupra R have that setup. Anything with the Quattro/4Motion on these platform cars user an ARB that goes under the Driveshaft and the link connects to the Macpherson strut. I have a Mk4 Golf 4Motion that's the same set up
Weirdly, only the TT, S3 and Cupra R use the cast lower arms which do away with the the threads that would ordinarily secure the drop link to the lower arm. On "lesser" Quattro/4Mo cars, they retain the use of the pressed arms, but just don't use the threads.
Ahh I was getting ahead of myself, it has the other setup, no worries! You know your stuff, good luck with the car, I've played around with quite a few mk4 platforms, not had a 4motion setup before. cheersWeirdly, only the TT, S3 and Cupra R use the cast lower arms which do away with the the threads that would ordinarily secure the drop link to the lower arm. On "lesser" Quattro/4Mo cars, they retain the use of the pressed arms, but just don't use the threads.
Still learning too!
Small update.
I had some prezzies from the postman in the last week, one of which was my eBay bargain purchase. A Thule Roof Rack for the 8L A3. I won this for £19.50, complete with 2 keys and all the lock fittings present. Well happy with that find
I also managed to get those god-awful wheels that'd bee painted with coal dust by someone with bricks for hands. We had a spare set of 16" Montreal 2's lying around so it's sat on those for now. My plan is to run 16" banded steels, with a higher profile snow tyre for a little more aggressive look.
I've had a replacement bumper delivered and have a replacement wing on the way, all in the same colour, thankfully! That said, I've been having some mental ideas that could involve keeping the battered wing, so I don't have to cut up one that's in decent shape
I'm just editing the vid of cleaning the dash, so will post up the link for the 3 and a half of you who may be vaguely interested
I had some prezzies from the postman in the last week, one of which was my eBay bargain purchase. A Thule Roof Rack for the 8L A3. I won this for £19.50, complete with 2 keys and all the lock fittings present. Well happy with that find
I also managed to get those god-awful wheels that'd bee painted with coal dust by someone with bricks for hands. We had a spare set of 16" Montreal 2's lying around so it's sat on those for now. My plan is to run 16" banded steels, with a higher profile snow tyre for a little more aggressive look.
I've had a replacement bumper delivered and have a replacement wing on the way, all in the same colour, thankfully! That said, I've been having some mental ideas that could involve keeping the battered wing, so I don't have to cut up one that's in decent shape
I'm just editing the vid of cleaning the dash, so will post up the link for the 3 and a half of you who may be vaguely interested
Usget said:
If you're cutting up your bumper and planning a snowy trip, you should take inspiration from this chap:
Already have Also, by happens-chance, ended up chatting to him on the Lifted VW Water-cooled pages about tyre size.
I won't be going anywhere near as far as Dave has gone with his TT. I want anything I do to be somewhat reversible if at all possible!
Finally finished editing the video and it's now on Youtube for the 2.7 of you who might care
The dehumidifier has been working its magic and I've probably emptied out at least a litre of water from it over the last week or so of continuous running. It's still a little damp in there so will get another heater in which will hopefully help. I also have a new cabin filter as I suspect the one in there hasn't been changed for a while.
I also needed a list. But am forever losing the bits of paper/cardboard I write them on. So I came up with a solution.
I'll get out there again soon and finish cleaning the rest of the plastics and head lining. Then I need to move my TT out the way to get it in place ready for the fun stuff to happen
The dehumidifier has been working its magic and I've probably emptied out at least a litre of water from it over the last week or so of continuous running. It's still a little damp in there so will get another heater in which will hopefully help. I also have a new cabin filter as I suspect the one in there hasn't been changed for a while.
I also needed a list. But am forever losing the bits of paper/cardboard I write them on. So I came up with a solution.
I'll get out there again soon and finish cleaning the rest of the plastics and head lining. Then I need to move my TT out the way to get it in place ready for the fun stuff to happen
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