Dog Rough Audi Coupe - C reg

[TheTwelveQuidKid]

Went to see a mate today. He's just bought a dog rough coupe (non quattro) on a c plate.
Bodywise, it's got potential (it's light metallic blue). The base of the drivers seat is shredded, there's some paint missing off the fuel flap, but the worst thing about it is the engine.

I thought I'd post some of the details here in case

a) anyone recognises the car

and

b) anyone can suggest or throw any light on what might be wrong with it.

It's got 144k on the clock, but the mileage doesn't work, presumably due to a broken worm drive in the speedo (can be fixed by nicking the component out of a vauxhall carlton).

When he got the car, it had really low oil pressure, so bad that the warning buzer was on. He changed the oil and now the pressure is fine.

Then he cleaned the engine with some degreaser, and hosed it off with water. From what I can remember him telling me, he also drained and flushed the cooling system before starting the engine again. And when he did, it had a really bad misfire. We initially put this down to water on the electrics, but now I'm not sure. We borrowed some leads and plugs from another car which was running well, but this didn't cure it.

When he revved it, there was a noticeable hesitation and misfire. Even worse when he tried to drive it. It was kangarooing along the road. With it parked, I put my hand on the rubber boot between the air box and throttle body, and when he revved it, I could feel a slight backfire through the intake. My hunch is that the head's blowing across a couple of combustion chambers. Also, I suspect that the seller may have put something into the oil or cooling system to disguise or temporarily cure the symptoms. I can't remember the brand names but I know there are products which claim to cure problems like this one and even worse ones. My mate reckons he used one of them once on a car and it stopped the problem. So, to follow my theory along a bit further, could my mate have flushed out or removed whatever was making the car run ok when he changed the oil and water ?

And if the head does need to come off, how much is a gasket set for one of these ? It's a C reg, injection engine.

Any ideas welcome

[Booty]

I cannot for the life of me think that flushing the oil out / changing or flushing the coolant will have anything to do with the running of the car. I reckon you have a problem with either the fuelling side of things or the general set up of the car i.e. dizzy. You need to work backwards with the fuel first to make sure it's getting some and in the right sequence. Once it is ( and it's getting the right quantity ) make sure there is a spark when there needs to be. These engines are not that mechanically technical you just need to ensure everything works in the right sequence and gets what it needs when it needs it.
Let us know how you get on please....

[darreno'd']

A bit of fresh petrol never goes amiss either.

[Booty]

Oh yeah, forgot that bit!

[Octanejunkie]

Also go over the car and make sure no elecrical connections have been snagged or broken when it was being cleaned. Have a quick squizz at the earths too.