1 hour ago, unclerichy said:

Booked mine in for a service & MOT at the end of next month.

 

I've only done 3,000 miles this year (much the same as last year) and it's spark plug change time too so all quite pricey considering the distance covered.

I opted out of a spark plug change on my last service because I had only done 6,000 miles in it since the last service / MOT. Might be even less this year as we've been using my wife's EV more & more to save fuel costs. 

seems to be SLA. Interesting - now to find out if that's compatible with a real aux light...

 

Had the chance to remove the silica bag from the coolant. Those have been notoriously known for breaking and clogging the matrix heater. Soon I will be servicing the engine oil, gearbox, Haldex. So I thought why not flush the G13 down the drain and get a fresh refill of G12evo.

17 minutes ago, naster said:

Had the chance to remove the silica bag from the coolant. Those have been notoriously known for breaking and clogging the matrix heater. Soon I will be servicing the engine oil, gearbox, Haldex. So I thought why not flush the G13 down the drain and get a fresh refill of G12evo.

How easy  / hard was it to do?

I have one in my coolant reservoir. Looked at it a few weeks ago & couldn't see how to get it out without risking bursting the bag. YT vids I've seen require the reservoir to be drained & removed from the car to get at it.   

I’ve got fat fingers so pulling the silica out was a no no. I had to remove the reservoir indeed. All videos on YT are quite accurate and not a huge problem, so long as you have big enough pliers to squeeze the bottom hose bracket. If you can see the satchet floating in the reservoir you should have not trouble yanking it out. I put the tank upside down and pulled it with my middle finger and some thin long nose pliers.

 

btw there is also an alternative that Audi use. What is a plastic cylinder filled with silica. Looks much more reliable than the lousy teabag and I know of people having had that replaced. Saves the hassle of flushing and bleeding the complex coolant system.

 

Hope this helps. Cheers.

32 minutes ago, naster said:

I’ve got fat fingers so pulling the silica out was a no no. I had to remove the reservoir indeed. All videos on YT are quite accurate and not a huge problem, so long as you have big enough pliers to squeeze the bottom hose bracket. If you can see the satchet floating in the reservoir you should have not trouble yanking it out. I put the tank upside down and pulled it with my middle finger and some thin long nose pliers.

 

btw there is also an alternative that Audi use. What is a plastic cylinder filled with silica. Looks much more reliable than the lousy teabag and I know of people having had that replaced. Saves the hassle of flushing and bleeding the complex coolant system.

 

Hope this helps. Cheers.

Thanks.

I think my reservoir has two chambers & the bag is in the bottom one which has no access from the top. 

I've ordered a new coolant reservoir from Amazon (£25.79) so I'll just switch out the old for the new which looks easy enough to do & removes any chance of the bag splitting while trying to remove it. 

8G3 is masked high beam. So DLA. It's easier to see the part number of the headlight if there is a "B" at the end of the number.

12 hours ago, Lutz_91 said:

8G3 is masked high beam. So DLA. It's easier to see the part number of the headlight if there is a "B" at the end of the number.

Danke für die Bestätigung. I've also seen that XBB have an OBD dongle that should report data on the status of the system, including when there is nothing seen, so full operation... i will test and see if this is enough or I need to add an aux light. Would want to do the Elite 24 this time (which is 30+30 ref, so legal still)... now to see if the deal happens.

 

But i also got a P20E8 error today. Time to visit a mechanic and see what they say...

10 hours ago, brettikivi said:

But i also got a P20E8 error today. Time to visit a mechanic and see what they say...

Could be your adblue tank has frozen and should sort itself out when it warms up.

well, it did hit -33 at the weekend, but it's been +1 today and ... it's over at my local mechanics anyway. Possible it tried to do a regen a couple of times and couldn't as it was frozen and a forced regen might fix it. Let's see... most of the other stuff for the replacement of the car next week seems to be in place, just need to find time to go through the financing with the selling dealer. And then work out what's going with the car and what not.

8 hours ago, brettikivi said:

well, it did hit -33 at the weekend, but it's been +1 today and ... it's over at my local mechanics anyway. Possible it tried to do a regen a couple of times and couldn't as it was frozen and a forced regen might fix it. Let's see... most of the other stuff for the replacement of the car next week seems to be in place, just need to find time to go through the financing with the selling dealer. And then work out what's going with the car and what not.

-33???? Where are you?

4 hours ago, ApertureS said:

-33???? Where are you?

From the spelling of the name and the road numbers, my money is on Finland.  I was there in the winter of 1998/99 and it can be very cold.  I'll not go there again in the winter as I ended up with pneumonia and spent Christmas to New Year in hospital on a drip!

8 minutes ago, Penpusher said:

From the spelling of the name and the road numbers, my money is on Finland.  I was there in the winter of 1998/99 and it can be very cold.  I'll not go there again in the winter as I ended up with pneumonia and spent Christmas to New Year in hospital on a drip!

I spent Xmas & New Year in Finland back in the early '80's when we visited some friends in Helsinki. For the New Year we got a train up to Tampere & I remember standing late at night outside a club waiting to get in. It was -25c & my nose froze up!! As low at the temperature was it didn't feel that cold because the humidity was so low. No need for freezers in winter either. The people we stayed with kept their food outside on their apartment balcony🥶

Also memories of cross country skiing, which we were very bad at. 

The parts arrived yesterday so I will be fitting a new coolant reservoir in order to get rid of the "Mit Silica" bag one that's fitted to my car. 

The wife objected to me using the turkey baster to drain the excess coolant out of the reservoir so I had to buy a syringe as well .

However, with no cover or a garage that I can get the car under or into I'm waiting for it to warm up a bit before I tackle this job on the drive. By the looks of the weather it may be getting colder next week so it might be a while before this gets done. 🤞the bag stays intact for a while longer.

 

  

I have already replaced my container. But because of something else. There are no more with silica anyway. 
Simply disconnect the hoses, then separate them and quickly remove the container. I didn't need an injection. Insert a new tank and then adjust the level again.

Edited 11 January, 20242 yr by Lutz_91

2 hours ago, Colin170CR said:

syringe

 I didn't use a syringe at all. A small towel/rag under the lower hose and a thumb to block the container's lower connection. Once I took it away from under the bonnet I drained in a half-litre water bottle. And that was exactly how much coolant/distilled water mixture I needed for topping up. And just in case after the procedure is finished and having driven the car for a while, I'd check the coolant level again at low temp.

Edited 11 January, 20242 yr by naster

yes, Finland; summer house hit -37C last week.

 

Friday on the way home it was -17 in Lahti and -28 in Jyväskylä, switching +-5 degrees super fast. -33C on Saturday when I tried to start the car, here in town. Lots of batteries have given up the ghost, it seems. Mine seems to be ok again after some charging and use.

Anyways, looks like things are on ice with the car change: the DEF problem is a hole in a pipe and 2 pipes need replacing (front and rear). €300+ each and 5 hours of labour. Yay!  But no-one has the parts so I won't get the car back for a while... and then I won't be here so it's going to be a few weeks.

1 hour ago, naster said:

 I didn't use a syringe at all. A small towel/rag under the lower hose and a thumb to block the container's lower connection. Once I took it away from under the bonnet I drained in a half-litre water bottle. And that was exactly how much coolant/distilled water mixture I needed for topping up. And just in case after the procedure is finished and having driven the car for a while, I'd check the coolant level again at low temp.

My original suggestion for syringing out the expansion tank with a turkey baster was simply for eliminating any spillage onto engine bay paint (I'm not really that mean to save on 250mls of antifreeze 😄) But I do strongly recommend investing in a proper pair (inexpensive) of hose clip pliers.

Edited 11 January, 20242 yr by Warrior193
added information

1 hour ago, Warrior193 said:

My original suggestion for syringing out the expansion tank with a turkey baster was simply for eliminating any spillage onto engine bay paint (I'm not really that mean to save on 250mls of antifreeze 😄) But I do strongly recommend investing in a proper pair (inexpensive) of hose clip pliers.

The problem that I see is removing the header tank and replacing it with a non silikat version is now your coolant has no silicone going through the system, which will lead to corrosion.

 

Isn’t it better to have the header tank changed whilst having the cambelt and water pump done, along with whatever the correct coolant is these days?

1 hour ago, Danoid said:

The problem that I see is removing the header tank and replacing it with a non silikat version is now your coolant has no silicone going through the system, which will lead to corrosion.

 

Isn’t it better to have the header tank changed whilst having the cambelt and water pump done, along with whatever the correct coolant is these days?

I believe the G12 Evo coolant does not require the silikat additive - in any case, it is recommended to replace coolant at certain intervals to preserve anti-freeze and anti-corrosion levels..

My understanding of having the silikat bag in the expansion tank pre G12 Evo, was to serve in extending the coolant change periods.

Edited 11 January, 20242 yr by Warrior193
added information

1 hour ago, Danoid said:

The problem that I see is removing the header tank and replacing it with a non silikat version is now your coolant has no silicone going through the system, which will lead to corrosion.

 

Isn’t it better to have the header tank changed whilst having the cambelt and water pump done, along with whatever the correct coolant is these days?

The problem is if the silica bag breaks & silica gets into the cooling system & heater matrix your are screwed & left with a big bill to clean it all out. £1k+ from what I've heard. Newer cars don't use the silica bags anymore & have a different coolant spec. The silica bag was supposed extend the life of the coolant to 5+ years to save costs. Instead it introduced a problem that was never there if coolant was changed on a regular 2 yearly basis. So without the silica bag we revert to morer regular changing of coolant. 

Next time my car goes in for a service at my independent I'll tell them the bag has gone so they can replace the coolant with the correct one. 

Edited 11 January, 20242 yr by Colin170CR

5 hours ago, Warrior193 said:

spillage

Indeed, I’d’ve hated spilling some in the bay. But my point was no syringe was needed at all. The bottom hose is last to be disconnected. A quick thumb on the tank stops from spilling the liquid and a few drops on a tissue or rag below the hose, no big deal. I replaced with fresh G13/distilled water.

4 hours ago, Danoid said:

whilst having the cambelt and water pump done

My antifreeze is 5yo and with only 26k miles on it. After taking the silica gel out it would take years to deteriorate. I will rinse and switch to g12evo in the next oil change which would be in several hundred miles.

2 hours ago, Warrior193 said:

I believe the G12 Evo coolant does not require the silikat additive - in any case, it is recommended to replace coolant at certain intervals to preserve anti-freeze and anti-corrosion levels..

My understanding of having the silikat bag in the expansion tank pre G12 Evo, was to serve in extending the coolant change periods.

Yes that sounds right, I know Skoda now no longer say to change the cambelt every 5 years or X miles, it’s just mileage now.

 

But I wonder if it should have been Cambelt every 120k miles or whatever it is and include change coolant every 5 years

I succeeded to put my rear armrest back into operating conditions.

But what a mess to open it and disassemble both plastic shells 🤯! It took me more than 2 hours! And... less than 10 seconds to clip them back together. 🙄

Bad news is: I've unfortunatley broken small clips inside

Good news are: These missing clips won't be an issue. And... I have not broken the plastic shells, though they are very stiff. 

I just need to screw the armrest back in the car now.

 

I'll post some interesting pics in the right thread.  

Edited 14 January, 20242 yr by Bap33