applehugger

Car:
1988 Audi 5000s
5 Speed
FWD
estimated 250k miles

tl;dr: Please read the whole thing because I'm really sad that my Audi isn't running properly

About a week ago, the car started having a hard time starting, which it has NEVER done. Almost like the car wasn't getting enough fuel. It would crank and crank, then catch and die, until it finally caught. For the first few seconds, it would idle at around 400rpm, and die if I gave it any gas. After a minute or so, the idle would smooth out and the car would drive as normal.

Then on Sunday, coming back from a 40 minute trip, about five minutes away from my house, the CEL came on, and the car suddenly had a serious dearth of power. Got home, and there was an absurd amount of smoke coming from under the hood. It smelled like burning oil, and it looked like the smoke was coming from the joint where the downpipe meets the header, but there was so much smoke, I had a hard time telling. All fluids were fine.

After sitting for a day, the car had the same hard starting issues as before, but then ran fine with no CEL. I was theorizing a plugged cat, but after unbolting the cat, the car still had the same hard starting issues. Anyone have any ideas as to what the problem is?

hertfordnc

I wish i could offer some meaningful advice but I'm just excited to see another Audi 5000 owner. I just bought mine a few weeks ago with 125K. I'm also pleased to see the mileage you have.

Mine is pretty sluggish. I'm thinking dirty injectors but I won't have time to explore that for a few days. I'm only getting 20MPG on an 55 MPH commute. It accelerates like a dump truck

Today i got on a real freeway for the first time and i struggled to get past 80.

Tell me this is not normal performance for a non-turbo 5000s.

I love the car and the way it feels on rough roads. A delight to drive. (if you're not in a hurry)

Good luck with your problem, i'll follow this thread

Dave

one5k

wow, very similar to my issue. mine is about to go into the scrap yard. they are willing to pay almost what i could sell it for. going to strip off all the new parts and sell them. i've had enough with this car.

applehugger

That's pretty much where I'm at. I've had this car for almost two years, and it's been super reliable until now

applehugger

No, that's not normal. The non-turbo 5000's aren't exactly quick off the line, but the short gearing and wide torque band make them really quite quick on the highway. In mine, I hit 80 without knowing it. I hope you get yours working, that midrange torque is addicting, and you'll love the way it drives on the highway!
Also, mine would do about 25mpg if I kept it at at 55mph. It only droppes to about 23 when cruising at 80. Mine is a 5 speed, so ymmv if yours is automatic.

audiqv8

See my post

https://www.audiworld.com/forums/sho...9#post24449789

hertfordnc

The car starts imediately but then struggles to stay running, I have to sit and tap the pedal for several minutes before i can take off. It will bog and stall until it's been running for a while.

I'm thinking automatic choke? But I'm not quite sure where to go looking for the problem.

MarkPan

If it was a turbo I'd say it's the (mostly mechanical) warm up regulator.

But i think the non-turbo has some sort of electric valve and an electronic control box instead, right? I'd look at swapping that stuff...

Presumably the control box needs to know what temperature it is for compensation, so I'd look into the temperature senders as well.