1987 Audi 100 CD from UK and Ireland - Comments

Nearside front wheel bearings needed renewing on purchase.

Air conditioning compressor.

Driver's heated seat no longer works.

Flexible brake hoses have needed renewing (is this an MOT rip-off?)

Most recently has started to stall when cold.

I switched to Audi 100s when it became impossible to find rust-free Passats (Audis are galvanised, so no rot). So far I've bought 4, all autos, and currently own 3. 2 have the 5 cylinder engine which just goes on forever (well the furtherest I've go to is 160,000 when the rings went in one cylinder - the car ran OK, but failed its emissions test).

Watch out for lubricant loss in the final drive and over heating in the auto box. The final drive is a bugger to get to check. I recommend changing the auto box oil every 10K after 100K (don't change the filter).

If anyone has any advice on the cold start problem (poor starting is a characteristic of the VW 5 cylinder) then I'd be pleased to hear.

My 5 cyl petrol has always been a poor starter when hot or cold various Audi dealers investigated and the offical word was that an engine cranking 25 times to fire when cold is acceptable, however I know of another one that starts perfectly hot or cold the only difference is that the radiator fan stays on for a long time after the engine has stopped, obviously a design fault. also mine gets through rear wheel bearings for a pastime.

I currently own/drive a 2.6 Audi coupe with 107000 miles, over the last 20 odd thousand miles it has never started in less than 5 seconds, but always before 20 seconds. I no longer worry and just accept it as an idiosyncrasy.

I own Audi 100 2.3Avant 89. A dream to drive. The reason for the problems with starting the cold engine is the cold start valve. In NF 5 cylinder engine it is on the left hand side underneath the manifold. You need to use "Allan key" to take it out. To check whether it is faulty or not, you need to give it an electric shock of 6 volts or more. Then the fuel should come out in "cone shape". if it does not then the injector "cold valve start" is faulty.

Michal. Poland.

The problem can also be leaking injectors which flood one or more cylinders when the engine is switched off for more than say 20mins. This requires cranking to clear the cylinders, but a tell-tale sign of this problem is that the engine slowly struggles into life and clears its throat for a couple of seconds before subsequently behaving perfectly normally.