Check Engine light in 96 A4 Quattro

[jgs...@yahoo.com]

I am at the end of my rope with the Check Engine light in my 96 A4
Quattro. I changed the EGR valve six weeks ago...and it turned on
again a week later. I took it back to the repair shop, and they
reattached a vacuum hose. The Check Engine light appeared again one
day later. I took it back again...and they claimed that no codes
needed to be cleared and that they had never seen this before. The
light came back on a day later. I took it again, and now they claim
that I need to have my head gaskets cleaned (approximately 3K)! My
engine is not pinging, knocking, or otherwise having issues. I
wouldn't care about the light, but since I live in Atlanta, I cannot
get my car registered without passing an emissions test. Any
suggestions for what I can do...short of moving to South Carolina?

[Dan DiBiase]

'Head gaskets cleaned'?? That's a new one! I would suggest that you take it to a different shop, or find someone who has the VAG-COM tool that can pull the codes for you (i.e., a private individual, versus a shop). Then you can see what's really going on.

What I would do is go to www.audifans.com and join the A4 and/or quattro mailing lists. Then post and ask for a reference to an Atlanta-area shop. Also check out www.audiworld.com - there are extensive forums there and you can find resources for the VAG-COM diagnostic tools as well.

That said, if you have the 2.8l V6, it does have a tendency to leak oil through the head gaskets - do you have any leakage? If oil could get out, then air could get in and conceivably cause a CEL.

Dan D
'04 A4 1.8Tq MT-6
Central N USA