1995 A4 Z28, poly trans mount, everything else BONE STOCK.
List of issues, any pointing-me-in-the-right-direction is appreciated.

Center Console rattles at cruise speed: have found most of it is coming from the electronic thingamagigy that makes you press the brake when you shift from park, also the shifter button and e-brake button rattle. I'm sure the poly trans mount I installed right after I got the car isn't helping.

Vibration that appears to be coming from driveshaft: U-joints seem to be free of play. However, I do notice there seems to be play between the slip yoke and the tailshaft of the tranny, or play in the tailshaft itself. I think I read somewhere there is some sort of bushing that wears out in this area?

Brake pedal feel: Pedal responds well and brakes grab good with initial light to moderate pressure... if I press a little harder it seems there is no change in brake force... press harder still (like a good hard stop) it seems there is plenty of brakes, just feels a little spongy... if not spongy, maybe more like it takes more brake pedal push than the amount of stopping power i have.

Cracked Dash cover: previous owner said the original was good until about a year ago, he put an aftermarket dash cover on (the plastic top of the dash that is) only to have it crack 2 weeks later?

Diff Ratio?: i have the original window sticker it says something to the effect of performance axle upgrade or something... the build code sticker (vin matched) in the glove box indicates GU5 and G80 (yay). It definitely has posi, but it does not seem to have a 3.23 ratio. At 62 (where I cruise most of the time) Tach reads about 2100. Previous owner (also original owner) says no Diff work has been done.

Fuel Mileage?: averaging 18 mpg, mostly highway. Normal?

Paint and clearcoat peeling: working on that... no paint left at all at the front edge of the hood about a 12 inch wide strip.. no clearcoat on most of the rest of the hood and driver side fender. Clearcoat peeling off top edge of doors (under windows). Plan to sand and paint shortly.

 

Out put shaft bushing can cause play and the vibration. It would be made worse by your mount.

If the brake feels spongy that is air in the system. They are a few of other issue that will require you to push harder on the pedal to get the car to stop. First is glazed brakes. This happen after a brake has been over heated, The brake pads will polish the rotor to the point there is nothing to grab. The fix for this is easy, Just run some 250 grit sand paper over both sides of the rotor. Second If someone install a cheap pair of organic brakes pads. These pads can not hold a candle to a lower end semi metallic pad. Lastly you want to be sure the calipers are not tight. If the caliper is slightly applying the brakes all the time when you use them they are already heat soaked.


Most likely the cover held in some extra heat or the stress of installing it started some small cracks. A early 4th gen with a cracked dash? welcome to the group I like to call "everyone that owns a 4 gen Camaro" we have jackets, they don't match but we have some.


This one is a little confusing to me. There is no way you can tell what gears you have in a car based on what your speedo and tach read. All the speedometer knows is how fast the output shaft turns. You could put 5:17s in there an your speedometer will still say you are going 62 MPH at 2100 RPM same thing goes for 2:73s. Now if you are reading your speed off a GPS and it does not match what the speedometer says then you know you have a changed set of gears.

If you know the factory tire diameter you could reverse the rpm/speedometer reading to show what gears the PCM thinks you have.

Edit: I just did the math assuming your factory tire size was 25.6" and your A4 trans had a final drive if .7. Your PCM thinks you have 2:71s in your car. That is programmed at the factory but can be changed by the dealer or anyone that has tuning capability.

MPG Seems low, when was the last tune up? How old are the O2s?

Sounds like you have the paint thing under control. You do know you can not just reclear it? the Base coat was not designed to handle UV rays and if exposed it changes the color shade and the paint oxides quickly. The base coat needs sanded and primed and repainted before the clear is added anyplace the clear is gone.

 

20 year old car could have any number of things done. If you really want to know what gear ratio you have either:
1) jack up car, put in neutral and count how many drvieshaft revolutions you need to turn wheel 1 time.
2) change the rear end oil and count teeth on ring gear and pinion
pinion teeth/pinion teeth = gear ratio.

a basic gps can verify speedometer.

 

As far as the speedo goes, I'm using a gps for speed. Gear calculators online show I should be taching a little over 1800 @62 mph. Stock sized tires (25.65") .7 OD in the a4. I'm closer to 2100 but who knows how accurate the tach is.

Brakes-they seem to be getting better. I had the rotors turned as soon as I got the car, drilled slotted rotors were on it. They are plenty thick enough after turning. Have no idea what pads are on it, probably would have helped to scuff them a little. Calipers are free, I cleaned and re-greased the slide pins also.

Paint-I reprinted it today yes I sanded the paint and repainted before clear coating, but only because you said to Gorn lol. Looks about as good as can be expected for not having a booth. Hopefully it will look as good when the sun hits it tomorrow. Was running out of daylight when I finished up. Hood needs a ton of work still. Got the rust off,still some rust in the pitted areas. I treated it with some metal prep stuff and primed. Needs to be sanded and primed some more before painting though. As soon as I can post pics I will.

Thanks for the replies fellas.

 

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Well posting pics from my phone is extremely cumbersome so I'll have to wait till I get on my computer.

 

wow bra didnt do that any good.
to get rid of the vibration change back to a stock transmission mount.
check to make sure po has not removed the abs dash bulb. change to braided wire brake hoses at the caliper to brake line. change your brake fluid if you haven't yet.