Going to buy a S4

[k9any]

Hi ppl

Firstly to introduce myself....my name is Khany and I'm from Bradford in the UK.

I am looking to buy a S4 at the end of this year and my budget will be around the 13k mark.

For around this budget i am looking at a 2000 - 2001 model with aroud 70k on it with FASH.....how reliable are the turbos and at what mileage to they get tired????????

Any other points i should look out for??

I will be looking to modd it as well, only to stage 1 being a chip exhaust and suspension...any body with experiences in these areas?????

What sort of modifications are people running on their S4s here?

Sorry about all the questions, but i would like to know as much as I can before I buy.

Regards

Khany

 

[simont]

common problems with the biturbo S4 engine are:

Split F hose on cars up to 2001
Torn throttle body boot
Faulty DV's (Diverter Valves)
Clogged up oil lines on earlier 98-99 year cars resulting in turbo failure
MAF problems with Bosch units fitted on cars up to 2001
Leaking Intercooler end caps
Dodgy unknowledgeable dealers!

Turbo reliability is very much a result of how the car has been driven and looked after. If you turn the engine off straight away after a hard blast, then don't expect the best from turbos (and this probably applies to all turbo based cars!). Likewise, bad maintenance and known problem areas such as a split F hose and throttle body boot puts increased strain on the turbos resulting in premature failure. The Biturbo engine requires a fully functioning vacuum system to operate at its best.

The S4 does not automatically switch on the turbo coolant recirculation pump after switching off the ignition like the RS4/S3 cars do. That's why it is important to let the car cool down properly before switching off.

When you test drive the S4, if you hear any 'Siren' noises when the turbos are spooling up to 3000 revs, then avoid buying! (don't confuse this with a whistling noise which is fine...)

Better cars to buy are the MY2001.5 cars which have extensive revisions in most areas mentioned, but they are rarer and dearer due to their age!

There's probably stuff i've missed - use the search function and also look at specialist sites like www.RS246.COM and Audiworld - plenty of info on RS246 in particular.

 

[k9any]

cheers simont.....by what you have told me i would be better going for a 2001 model onwards????

From other sources I have been told that pre 2001 S4's suffer from smaller oil lines leading to a lot of turbo failures especially over 50k. This problem was rectified in 01 model. 01 models have many other bugs ironed out (maf sensor and throttle body upgrade <--- big problem in 00 models)

The only bad part on the S4 is the passengers side turbo oil feed line. It's not so much the line as it is the lack of shielding from heat radiation off the exhaust manifolds. It can be fixed..

Any truth in the above statements?

What standard boost levels does the S4 run?

 

[simont]

[ QUOTE ]
bradford said:
cheers simont.....by what you have told me i would be better going for a 2001 model onwards????


[/ QUOTE ]

Well it is certainly true the last of the Biturbo S4 cars (ie MY 2001.5) certainly had a fair number of revisions, but again they are dearer due to them being rarer and newer. But, you shouldn't ignore the older cars completely as most owners don't have big problems if they look out for the troublesome areas. I'd also suggest that a few of these cars have been through the hands of enthusiasts and when the turbos have previously failed, they've upgraded to the bigger K04 turbos and thus tweaked to produce RS4 comparable performance so you could find quite a bargain!!!

[ QUOTE ]

From other sources I have been told that pre 2001 S4's suffer from smaller oil lines leading to a lot of turbo failures especially over 50k. This problem was rectified in 01 model. 01 models have many other bugs ironed out (maf sensor and throttle body upgrade <--- big problem in 00 models)


The only bad part on the S4 is the passengers side turbo oil feed line. It's not so much the line as it is the lack of shielding from heat radiation off the exhaust manifolds. It can be fixed..



[/ QUOTE ]

There is evidence to suggest the turbo oil supply lines were changed on MY99 onwards cars - there is an Audi of America bulletin which advised dealers to change the oil lines and heatshield on these earlier cars. Sure, anything can be fixed, but due to turbo location on these cars, the job requires the engine to be removed!!! Heatshields were a problem on earlier cars but rectified on the 2000 onwards cars.

It is said the 2001.5 cars also have revised turbos (but I think this was a revision by Borg Warner, and all new K03 turbos for the S4 have the same revision)

[ QUOTE ]


What standard boost levels does the S4 run?



[/ QUOTE ]

stock S4 peak boost is around 0.8 bar - the K03 turbo is a smaller turbo than the RS4 K04 but this means the turbo spools up faster at lower revs.

Finally, you will find a lot of answers to your questions within the S4 section on the RS246 web site which contains a wealth of info on the Biturbo S4.. Without being funny, these are common recurring questions, which have been answered numerous times on there.

 

[k9any]

cheers simon i will visit this web site before asking the same old questions.

many regards

 

[aagallarini]

I've actually got the paperwork processing for mine! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/groovy.gif
It's a silver 2001 with Eibachs, Bilsteins, Euro HIDs with clear corners and a UUC short shifter.
When I drove it, there was no noticeable sound from the turbos and it pulled nicely all the way up to about 6k. The only slight flaws are a few marks on the factory wheels. The owner put wheel spacers on that pull the wheels out just enough to get the tires out for a little wider track, with no scrubbing. It's really sharp and in nearly perfect shape.