Audi 1.9 tdi reliability
 

The runaround is out of mot in july so it's off to the scrapyard. I have however been offered a 99 audi 1.9tdi from at bloke at work for £900, the car seems tidy enough and it has recently had brand new pirelli tyres on it but it has 145k (audi history upto 100k) on the clock which makes me slightly nervous.

Are these engines good for for 200k? or will I be shelling out for a new recon engine 6 months down the line?:)

They are normally reasonably good, they suffer issues though, injectors being one of them at around the age/mileage that one is at now, and a few other nasty niggles :( but for 900 quid its not going to kill you tbh :)

Tony:)

PS, BIG bottle of redex diesel injector cleaner ;) all in :eek::D

I've taken it for a drive and it's definitely a lot more refined than my 1.7 vectra, no problems I could tell of:) It's just come out of the garage to have turbo valves cleaned.

I've also seen a 2000 2.5 v6 tdi a4 as well but I'm not sure that would be practical as a run around

I got a new A4 for one of my lads at work 6 years ago, I think it's the 1.9 130bhp? it's fully serviced and recently topped 190,000 miles without any engine problems at all, even the clutch is original.

He's had a few electrical gremlins and the aircon compressor packed in, but that's it and he drives like a tit, so I would assume they are fairly bullet proof.

I've not bothered to replace it as he loves it and doesn't want to change, so I think we'll just see how long it goes on for.

The 1.7 vectra's are dogs :( that engine should never have gone into the vectra, the astra was about as big as you wanted to go with it (astra G that is).
Now forget the 2.5 V6, people dont rate them too highly :( so go for the 1.9 at 900 quid, if it breaks then just scrap it, they are fairly reliable, but just to put you into perpective, one of the guys from work bought one (2004 model golf) 64k miles fvwsh, 3 weeks later, bang....
Another mate has one, not sure how many miles he has done (probably less than 60k) in a bora 51 plate 130bhp model, no engine issues at all (though hes had suspension issues and some other niggles).
If it looks good, drives well, feels good, then buy it ;) and dont forget that bottle of redex ;):D

Tony:D

The vectra is underpowered but that little isuzu engine is indestructable it's just a shame they put such a great engine in a crap car:(

I'll take it for a proper drive on thursday and try and have the bare faced cheek to ask him to knock another £100 off:norty:

Disagree my friend. I have one to cover my 100 miles round trip to work. I've had it for almost 2 years (done 40k - now 122k) and other than normal maintenance, it hasn't put a foot wrong. It's really quite quick (especially compared to the 1.9 of the same era), you can cane it all day and still easily return 38 mpg (45+ is easy if your a bit more gentle) and the engine is very free reving for a diesel and is extremely relaxing to drive, especially on a long journey. As far as people not rating them, just try getting one, my brother spent 3 months recently trying to get one at a resonable price and was constantly outbid on ebay for very average examples. Only gripe with mine, is the shockers need replaced now so it's a bit wobbly.

Only one inherent problem with the v6 diesel from this era is the Crankcase Filter which causes the crankcase to pressurise and throws out smoke when hot. The superceded replacement part fixes this and the whole job is less than £100.

I,ve just bought one to replace my scooby and I have to agree with the above re refinment of the diesel (cant vouch for the reliability yet)

see my post
https://www.scoobynet.com/other-marq...placement.html

Nice:thumb:

We are talking the B5 2.5tdi here, not the B6, though the B6 still has its ass whooped by anything BMW made, both in reliability, economy and refinement ;)

Tony:)

IMO stick with the 1.9TDI.

The 2.5 V6 has historical issues with the strength of the valvetrain. Which can lead to expensive rebuilds when the top of the engine falls on the bottom end.

Unless you know your onions, it's safer sticking with the 1.9. It's far more common and VAG indie specialists exist "everywhere" to maintain it....

DYOR maybe, try TDICLUB and/or ukmkivs etc.

J.

It's the B5 that I have. All the ones I know, have had no top end problems provided the cam belts are done in accordance with schedule.

Where I live, and because I need to get to work during the winter, the BMW has it's ass soundly whipped in terms of traction (2wd audi or 4wd). Never had any reliability issues with the Audi.;) :)

Do you know what engine it is? Is it the PD or the regular pump on the side of the head,
Engine codes something like- avf, awx, afn. Most common has to be suspension arms knocking etc. engines are sound if looked after (and with the right oil!). Not too sure of injector issues on those engines!! Uneven tickover gives a good indicator to a dodgey injector or dual mass flywheel, which are both £££.

I've got a 2001 Passat 1.9 (the 130bhp one). on 145K. Sweet as a nut engine wise. Just check exactly which engine you have and so be able to check on the status of belt changing etc. As long as belts and oil have been changed you should be fine.

Go look on places such as VWAUDI Forum - Powered by vBulletin and Audi Forums for info from owners but, as I said, as long as it's had belts and oil the engine will be fine. You just need to check suspension arms etc. A long MOT will help here ....

Dave

I cleaned out the egr valve today as it was smoking like a train under hard acceleration, the gunk in it:eek: . running like a dream now:D