'older' cars with Quattro

[chr15b]

I remember reading a few years ago in the letters page of auto express or something of a volvo that the 4wd system that failed due to a single replacement tyre.

With Audi's should there be any worries on older cars, and i'm thinking of the time i'm going to run the car so say 3/4/5/6 years old?

should mileage be an issue?

anything to look for in the service history or anything, is there any regular maintanence on them..

also similar question on the dsg system

Cheers

Chris

[phlap]

Im no mechanic but here is my opinion for what it's worth.

On the Quattro issue, it will depend on which system is fitted ie which car you are interested in. Really old Audis with a quattro drivetrain will have a mechanical torsen diff sending drive permanently to all 4 wheels. This is a rugged system and shouldnt be a cause for concern. This basic system, updated, is still fitted to the bigger cars. (I ran one up to 145k miles with no trnsmission issues at all).

More recent cars such as A3s and TT quattros have a Haldex clutch which is electronically controlled, making these cars front drive until power is sent to the rear when the system determines this is necessary. As far as I know this system is also reliable and shouldnt pose a concern.

Im heavily biased towards 4wd Audis but Id say the benefits of the system make it well worth having and wouldnt be put off by a perceived maintenance risk.

[hman]

my old coupe quattro ran 4 different tyre depths for most of its life until it was furnished with new alloys and tyres.

the transmissions holding up ok.

Its done 185000 miles!

if its torsen then you'll be fine.

[chr15b]

i'm looking mainly at the a3's about 04 onwards..

Good to hear it's a solid system

Cheers

Chris

[Vee]

chr15b said:

i'm looking mainly at the a3's about 04 onwards..

I think that will be the haldex system ?
If so its 2wd (fronts) until they slip and drive is transferred to the rear.
If it is haldex is needs a £100 oil and filer change regularly (20-40k, opinions vary).
Sometimes the controller goes wrong and the fix can be expensive, around £1,000.

[hman]

Vee said:

chr15b said:

i'm looking mainly at the a3's about 04 onwards..

I think that will be the haldex system ?
If so its 2wd (fronts) until they slip and drive is transferred to the rear.
If it is haldex is needs a £100 oil and filer change regularly (20-40k, opinions vary).
Sometimes the controller goes wrong and the fix can be expensive, around £1,000.

Yep, all in all its way easier to break and have problems with compared to the torsen system.

Personally I'd go for an A4 upwards which are fitted with the more purpose made torsen system.

The haldex system always seemed like a underpar conversion of fwd to 4wd but thats just my opinion.

[nicktowe]

I have a 2007 A6 3.0 quattro. The handbook stipulates that replacement tyres must be the same tread pattern and type to prevent strain on the system.

I try and change all 4 tyres together

[kennym999]

Thinking of a change chris?

[chr15b]

so you're saying the a3/tt has the potential for problems, but the a4/6/8 are pretty much bullet proof?

not sure i want to go that big..

[chr15b]

kennym999 said:

Thinking of a change chris?

a friend mentioned they were looking at one, got me thinking thats all

[Robatr0n]

chr15b said:

so you're saying the a3/tt has the potential for problems, but the a4/6/8 are pretty much bullet proof?

not sure i want to go that big..

Then don't.

People say the Haldex system has a weakness but a friend of mine abused the hell out of his TT and it never failed and he used to replace tyres individually meaning there was a different rolling diameter on every corner.

I've seen more than my fair share of S3s driven in anger and they haven't failed either. So long as you find a decent car that's been well looked after you'll be fine.

[kennym999]

chr15b said:

kennym999 said:

Thinking of a change chris?

a friend mentioned they were looking at one, got me thinking thats all

You should stick with the passat, they are great big cars . You must just be missing the ibiza I think.

[chr15b]

kennym999 said:

chr15b said:

kennym999 said:

Thinking of a change chris?

a friend mentioned they were looking at one, got me thinking thats all

You should stick with the passat, they are great big cars . You must just be missing the ibiza I think.

passat, ibiza think you may have me confused - i have a celica, had a bmw before it..

[kennym999]

Sorry mate, you have the same user name as someone on seatcupra.net

[bigburd]

Been through 2 diffs in 70K on my "53" Golf. Oil and filter changed when advised etc etc. £2500K to replace with a new part (both of mine were warranty phew)

I also have the haldex performance controller which actually makes the car more drivable compared to the original Gen 1 controller

[SJobson]

phlap said:

Really old Audis with a quattro drivetrain will have a mechanical torsen diff sending drive permanently to all 4 wheels.

*Really* old quattros (pre-1988) will have an open, but lockable, centre diff. The Torsen came in for 1988.

The distinction between Torsen and Haldex is not about age though; new A4s, A5s, A6s and A8s all have Torsen. The Haldex cars are the ones with transverse engines.

[hman]

SJobson said:

phlap said:

Really old Audis with a quattro drivetrain will have a mechanical torsen diff sending drive permanently to all 4 wheels.

*Really* old quattros (pre-1988) will have an open, but lockable, centre diff. The Torsen came in for 1988.

The distinction between Torsen and Haldex is not about age though; new A4s, A5s, A6s and A8s all have Torsen. The Haldex cars are the ones with transverse engines.

my 1990 coupe quattro has a torsen diff and lockable rear diff, is this not the same as the pre 1988?

[SJobson]

Your 1990 car will be the aerodynamically styled one - they launched that shape in 1988 and as far as I'm aware all of them had Torsen. It might have come in at slightly different times on different models, but it was certainly introduced on the Ur-quattro for the 1988 model year.

[hman]

yeh, sorry, I know its a torsen system, I was asking about whether it was a lockable centre or rear

As far as I know its only a lockable rear on all cars and I dont believe you can lock the centre diff as thats the torsen part.

Or does the pre 1988 quattro system differ?

[SJobson]

Yes, the pre-1988 centre diff is open like the rear, and lockable itself. The Torsen doesn't need to be lockable because it's a limited slip diff anyway, so it's automatically locked.