Audi 90 20V Sport
Author
Discussion

macp

Original Poster:

4,823 posts

213 months

Friday 11th June 2010
quotequote all
So there`s this guy selling an Audi 90 20V sport and it looks nice in the pics.However speaking to the owner who has owned it a year I was told it has a misfire.He told me it had one when he bought it.I said what youve been driving around in it like that for a year.He said it was only slight when he bought it and if you know anything about these engines it probably just needs some leads.Its a cheapish car at £800 notes but im thinking if its only the HT leads why drive around in it for a year and not change them ?

300bhp/ton

41,030 posts

220 months

Friday 11th June 2010
quotequote all
macp said:
So there`s this guy selling an Audi 90 20V sport and it looks nice in the pics.However speaking to the owner who has owned it a year I was told it has a misfire.He told me it had one when he bought it.I said what youve been driving around in it like that for a year.He said it was only slight when he bought it and if you know anything about these engines it probably just needs some leads.Its a cheapish car at £800 notes but im thinking if its only the HT leads why drive around in it for a year and not change them ?
Because it's an £800 banger? Also depends if it's a bad misfire, or just slightly hesitant under certain throttle conditions.

McSam

6,753 posts

205 months

Friday 11th June 2010
quotequote all
Sounds pretty reasonable. Like 300bhp/ton says, it depends on the misfire. If it's barely noticeable, only shows up when the car's cold, or whatever, then the owner would ask himself "Do I spend £40 on a new set of leads (plus a lot for fitting, assuming he's not mechanically minded) when I don't really notice and don't really mind?"

Seems a waste of money for a minor issue on a cheap runaround, so fair enough.

What else could be causing the misfire, other than the HT leads or the plugs?

macp

Original Poster:

4,823 posts

213 months

Friday 11th June 2010
quotequote all
McSam said:
What else could be causing the misfire, other than the HT leads or the plugs?
Thats really where im coming from.

McSam

6,753 posts

205 months

Friday 11th June 2010
quotequote all
So the point is that, while the owner doesn't mind it, you would and want to know how much it could cost to sort?

I can't say with certainty, so I'll let someone more experienced take the floor wink

TwistingMyMelon

6,516 posts

235 months

Friday 11th June 2010
quotequote all
Chances are he has tried the obivious and it isnt that!

Check the leads/plugs on it, if they are new then he/she has done the obvious and the issue could be worse or more pricey

still its under a grand and they have been honest.

hman

7,497 posts

224 months

Friday 11th June 2010
quotequote all
£800 quid for a 90 20v with a misfire?

Thats very pricey.


offer £350 and if he doesnt take it walk away.

I've owned 2.2E 90, Audi Cab 2.6E and a 2.2E Coupe Quattro from this era, the misfire could be a dropped valve, or a vacuum problem, or an injector, or an ht lead, or the fuel injection system.

Then you'll need (within months) suspension bushes, cambelt, rear calipers, exhaust, and at some point the heater matrix will burst leaving you to remove the dash to replace it or blank it off and only have cold air.


Seriously, I'd look elsewhere.

macp

Original Poster:

4,823 posts

213 months

Friday 11th June 2010
quotequote all
Im suspicious to be honest and yeah its still £800 quid so I think I will look elsewhere.

Thanks all.

300bhp/ton

41,030 posts

220 months

Friday 11th June 2010
quotequote all
macp said:
McSam said:
What else could be causing the misfire, other than the HT leads or the plugs?
Thats really where im coming from.
In that case it's a bigger question.

1st you need to try and diagnose if its fuel or electrical related, I would expect electrical as being more common, but not the only reason. Then it's a process of elimination from leads to plugs, coil, distributor, ECU even.

dan19evans

4,954 posts

197 months

Friday 11th June 2010
quotequote all
could be alot worse and alot more expensive than just some HT leads... i'd leave it mate unless you can get the car for peanuts

MattOz

4,021 posts

294 months

Friday 11th June 2010
quotequote all
When he says misfire, is he just confusing it with the slightly off beat note of a 5 cylinder motor? wink

Just a thought.

bazking69

8,620 posts

220 months

Friday 11th June 2010
quotequote all
It's neither cheap nor unreasonable to think that the owner is being slightly economical with the truth. If it was a simple fix, it would have been fixed...

dan19evans

4,954 posts

197 months

Friday 11th June 2010
quotequote all
bazking69 said:
It's neither cheap nor unreasonable to think that the owner is being slightly economical with the truth. If it was a simple fix, it would have been fixed...
my thoughts exactly

istoo

2,365 posts

232 months

Friday 11th June 2010
quotequote all
I have a £750 audi 90 20v quattro sport i bought 18 months ago. Better than you would expect. But £800 is it worth it? In my mind yes but i like them.
Took me 9 months to diagnose my intermittant fire, as knock sensor.

HT leads, i replaced two on mine, open the bonnet in the dark and you will see if there is any arcing.
Vac lines get dry and brittle and they will generally give you a dip in power.
As stutter especially if it runs lumpy/intermitant to 5000rpm then OK asfter will almost certainly be the knock sensors (two on this car)
The Hitachi injectors a weak point and at age and mileage cleaning or upgrading for the popular bosch ones makes a world of difference. But not cheap dont expect change from £200, but netts 8-10bhp.
Check the spark plugs as well, they dont need a lot of torque and can work loose.
Despite the age these cars have onboard diagnostics, you can make your own blink code reader for £3 from maplins easily. Or a garage with a old serial vagCOM could scan it. Its in the footwell.

Working these can develop good power, christ 034motorsport make and off the shelf turbokit for these. Even in standard trim quite entertaining.

Some good reading here;
http://20v.org/indexb4.html
http://audi20v.net/


istoo

2,365 posts

232 months

Friday 11th June 2010
quotequote all
price wise, £800 seems a bit steep if its missfiring, is it a white one by any chance in North England?
With a missfire, which could be a few things expensive i would be loking at 400-500.

Other really big note is parts some bits you cant find for love nor money (i am there). But there are a lot of 7A fans out there, myself included.

mcdjl

5,760 posts

225 months

Friday 11th June 2010
quotequote all
Depends what he means by misfire. I've got an 80 of similar vintage which 'stutters' at certain rpm bands under the right conditions. I've learnt when its going to happen and how to drive around it so it doesn't bother me but could cause a new owner issues (not that I'll be selling it)

macp

Original Poster:

4,823 posts

213 months

Friday 11th June 2010
quotequote all
dan19evans said:
bazking69 said:
It's neither cheap nor unreasonable to think that the owner is being slightly economical with the truth. If it was a simple fix, it would have been fixed...
my thoughts exactly
Mine too.

macp

Original Poster:

4,823 posts

213 months

Friday 11th June 2010
quotequote all
istoo said:
price wise, £800 seems a bit steep if its missfiring, is it a white one by any chance in North England?
With a missfire, which could be a few things expensive i would be loking at 400-500.
Thats the one.

hman

7,497 posts

224 months

Friday 11th June 2010
quotequote all
Faaaark. white as well, thats just dropped it another 50-100 quid.

If you are in the market for a 90 20v I think you can do a lot better than this one...

istoo

2,365 posts

232 months

Sunday 13th June 2010
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Ah it is "that one" Nowt wrong with ones wink the sports were rarer thus still fetch more, only available in white red and black. Most were red. They were rare and amoungst entusiasts fairly desired.

The white one had non rusty wings which is a rariety. The sports are colour coded, have a thinner body trim, lower and stiffer springs forgeds wishbones, quattro jaquard interior, forged front wishbones.

I would contemplate a FWD to match my quattro but already struggling wiht 3 cars 4th would mean a very unhappy missus! Arguably the quickest of that era cars excluding the S's. 7sec to 60 and the engine is a peach, as long as its not misfiring, quicker than the quattros in acceleration, different ratio box as well. ~Mild teaking makes them a better drive than you think.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4KIya0oG090
Said car has some interest on some other audi sites as well, i would expect it will got for £500 personally.

Is it worth fixing, if its £500 then there isnt much lost in punting it on again for the same. One mans poison and all that.

Edited by istoo on Sunday 13th June 13:33