Last month I pickup a 2001 Audi TT Black Roadster 225 Mk1. This entry is to document the progress on the Roadster. Car has 172,000 miles
Firstly, I came across this car on Craig’s list and was not looking for another car. Went out in the dark to check it out. After driving it I noticed that the turbo was not spooling up and got the car for under $3000. But on the way home the Check Engine Light went on CEL throwing a P1136 Lean fuel condition. My stomach started to sink. Then next day started in on the car.
Here was the condition when I got it:
- Turbo was not kicking in.
- Convertible top was in perfect condition.
- Brakes squeaked.
- Convertible light on the dash was on when top was up.
- Interior light stayed on after shutting door.
- Windows did not roll down when opening doors.
- Interior had bad seat covers.
- Smelled like cigarettes.
- Chirping noise from engine after 3 days.
- Trunk liner was falling down.
- Tint on windows was bad
- Turn signals are hyper flashing
- Headlight was out (low beam)
- Headlight was foggy
- Left Rear Tail light (LED) was scratched (After Market) <– Love to replace with original OEM lights
- Missing A/C on/off knob was missing
- Missing Left Door
- Audi TT Door Panel Cap Trim missing
- Wiper blades in bad shape
- Missing belly pan
- Corroded Left mirror
- Missing Engine Slam Panels
- Broken rear center console door
- Glove box would not open
- front turn signal light was out
Before i got into the mechanical issues of the car. I gave it a deep cleaning. and made a list of missing/broken parts.
First thing tackled was strip-off the crusty window tint and remove all the interior pieces. cosmetic Issues
Removal of all smokey interior part for a deep clean and shampoo
Seats removed and attacking the center console.
Close up of the rare GPS OEM system before it was cleaned.
Center console removed and found a $20 underneath the dash.
After a few days the engine compartment started make a chirping noise for about 10 mins after starting the car. Posted a video on Twitter and Instagram to crowdsource the issue. Many pointed out that the tensioner belt bearing might be going out or maybe an issue with the alternator.
After driving it 40 miles to a friend across town, the noise was constantly chirping. After inspecting the engine, we noticed the alternator was about to fall off. the top bolt was snapped and the bottom was very loose causing the serpentine belt to bind and make noise.
So after removing the alternator, swapping the electrical connection on the back of it, locating a replacement bolt we solved the chirping noise. mechanical Issue
Stay tuned, more to come!!!
Hey there – Good stuff! I’ve been doing a similar project on a 2001 TT Roadster 225 for the past year. Got it looking pretty good and back to stock. Had all the panels and other interior parts out and ultimately replaced half of the interior. Bought new steering wheel from Poland – made HUGE difference.
Check out eBay for interior leather bits from TT shops in the UK – lots of cool stuff that looks stock like custom leather shift boot, grab handles (on the aluminum braces on either side of the radio/gear stick) and the interior door pulls. They love TTs over there. Working on the engine is easy but can also be tricky. Did timing belt, coil wiring, coils, coolant flush, replaced all fluids, etc. all myself. Happy to swap notes anytime. Great to see another MK1 TT Roadster 225 6-speed project car!
This is great stuff. I too picked up approx a year ago a black 225 hp roadster for my gf. She absolutely loves driving around and I have to say, it’s a really fun car to drive when everything is operating correctly.
Cosmetically it was in decent shape. I had to fix the back window that had detached. Top was in excellent shape so I chose to just reglue the window. Did a lot of research and ended up buying a kit that worked out well.
I replaced the timing belt, shortly afterwards the timing chain tensioner went out and the chain slipped cause some internal damage to the valves. So I went to our local u-pull it yard, and although they didn’t have any tt’s on the lot, they had a few vw’s with the identical 1.8 engine. So I was able to grab the entire top end off one that had good compression and swapped out the bad one. Total cost including the $200 I gave to my buddy for helping me was $350.
Changed a the fluids and any hoses that were in poor condition.
Oh, and I put in a new chain tensioner, which I recommend be done at the same time as the timing belt and water pump
Biggest problem I’ve had to deal with other than the new top end, has been vacuum issues. After battling that for a few weeks I’ve decided it’s best just to take a night and replace all the hoses.
I’m up for keeping in touch with the progress of our projects. The biggest hastle is that when you need to replace a worn or broken part, before you can remove that particular part, there usually 8-10 other parts that have to be removed before you have access to the broken part. So repairs are usually labor intensive.
I’m glad to bump into some other people who have interest in restoring the tt.