Very Sad :-(
 

Well, looks like the wife's D2 will have to go :(

As you know it overheated and I replaced the oil cooler pipe and the thermostat and runs like a dog.
Took it to my local garage last night (his mate works for Leeds Audi as a mechanic and comes to help him out during some evenings).

Ran the diagnositics on it and it came up with no issues - none.
He (the Audi guy) took it for a spin and says it is mechanical, probably head gasket leak.

Phone call this morning. They carried out a compression test and the rear right cylinder is very low so suggest a gasket change (they have to do both)

So - cost:

Head gasket kit x2 = £400
Cylinder head checks = £160
Labour = £800 (around 21 hours according to Audi)
Cambelt and water pump change = £250
New oil, anti freeze etc = £80

Total = £1690
Plus VAT - £2028

Prolly a few other things will be found so budget £2500. (car is probably only worth £2K or so as it is due to the wife's dings and prangs)

I do not have that kind of cash floating around so what to do :(

Difficult decision, but the D2 is probably worth only scrap value as it is and you're going to have to find money for a replacement car if you do scrap it. So, how much would you spend on that? £2-£3K at least? And what do you get for that - a car that might be a lemon. I'd bite the bullet and fix the D2 - at least you know that it'll be a sound car then.

Difficult decision.. If the gearbox, body and other physical bits are OK, then it's probably worth sorting. Maybe even worth thinking about chancing it yourself.

If it was mine, I'd spend the dough. You're not going to get anything decent to replace it for less than a couple of grand - and the chances are you will have ended up spending much more than the cost of the repair by the time you've gotten the replacement sorted out and running for a few months.

Provided there are no other obvious issues looming, it's gotta be worth it.

If you lived closer to Durham or Newcastle I could save you at least £500 on that price. But its still a big chunk of money. It all depends on how much you love the car! Retail value doesn't really apply when its an older car it all depends on how much its worth to you.

I would probably do it myself to save on the labour, but that depends on you having the required tools, space and skills to do it.

If your pushed to get a car for the wife get her a 500 quid special with rent and test on it till you fix your car then punt the temp car.

If all thats too much hassle then perhaps ask A8 parts what they would give you.

I know it needs head gaskets but the likely hood is they would strip the engine anyway.

Best of luck man.

I agree with all the other replies above.

Assuming you'd need to replace the car, you're probably going to spend more than 2-3k on a replacement, and that could be a lemon anyway.

I'd spend the money on the repairs.

Cheers for the advice guys - not told the wife yet as she is out in mine picking up the daughter from college.................(not looking forward to that!)

To be honest, I would probably spend no more than £600 on a replacement while hers is not working - I would use that and she would use my A8 (she doesn't get on with manual cars ;))

Gearbox has never been touched so that is a risk in itself and the body is very tatty due to car park scrapes and dings.
Everything else works as it should though.

She does love the car but nor sure if she loves it £2k much though.
Will find out when she gets back.

Cheers

I'm going to go the other way in terms of advice.

Personally, unless the car is pretty neat, and all the toys work as they should, I would NOT throw the best part of 2 grand at a D2, not even if it was an S8.

These cars are getting on a fair bit, and there WILL be other issues waiting to surface - either found as the tear down commences, or shortly after a big chunk of money's been spent.

An over heated D2 is a risky proposition. The camshaft adjusters / variators will most likely have suffered. The teflon-based shoes don't like heat, and will probably have cracks, and start to separate from the steel shoes.

The bores - well you know what the alusil coatings are like at the best of times, with just wear from normal use. A tear down is a "fact finding" exercise - you never know what will surface once the engine's torn down to major assemblies.

Then there's the ZF tranny...heart-stopping bills if that decides to go wrong. Heart-breaking if it goes wrong after spending a small fortune on the engine.

I used to let my heart rule my head, when it came to older Audi models. That has changed, and I've become more practical, brutally so too.

I'm not telling you what to do, it's your car, your cash, your emotions. It all depends on how you view your D2 - as a loved member of the family, or as a hunk of aluminium and steel on 4 wheels.

I wish you the best of luck, whatever you decide.

Cheers for your thoughts

Spoke to the wife and we are going to let it go as we too, are unsure of what will happen next and the cost if anything did go wrong.

Will ring A8Parts tomorrow and see what they will offer - a very sad day for me to be honest :(:-(