Testing Driving A Bam S3 On Saturday

[Jenno007]

Hi Guys,

So I'm finally moving up in the Audi 8L world as I'm test driving a '02 BAM S3 on Saturday. I currently have an AGU A3 so it is quite an upgrade. I have been searching all around for S3 buying guides to try and find common faults to look out for. I was wondering if people could add to the list or give be "tests" to do in order to make sure the car is as fault free as possible.

I will be taking my VCDS lite cable to scan the car for fault codes. I'm hoping there are none.. Otherwise I will have to do my research to find out how serious they are.

My biggest concern is the Quattro and Haldex. I will do some really tight turns at a very low speed to see if the back wheels feel like they are turning (ie the Haldex is stuck on).

I also PM'd Tuffty and he advised that to test that the Haldex will kick in that you need to spin the front wheels to see if some power gets sent to the back. How much throttle will I need to give it in order to do that (in first)? It will be completely dry on Saturday, and I don't want the guy to think I'm just flogging his car.

So basically I'm wondering,

1) Are there any other tests I can do to make sure the Haldex is operational aside from what I listed above?

2) It has a colour screen and a DVD player, are these units still prone to the volume issue where it is either incredible loud or quiet?

3) Any other things I should look out for that might not be too obvious. I've read through this thread http://www.audi-sport.net/xf/threads/audi-s3-buying-guide.101863/ but any issues highlighted in that thread seem like they would be very obvious and you would easily be able to tell something is wrong. So I'm looking for additional things that will cost quite a lot of money to fix, for example if I need to change the thermostat I'm not too worried.

Thanks for the help guys and I'm very excited to (hopefully) be joining the S3 club!

 

[<tuffty/>]

I also PM'd Tuffty and he advised that to test that the Haldex will kick in that you need to spin the front wheels to see if some power gets sent to the back. How much throttle will I need to give it in order to do that (in first)? It will be completely dry on Saturday, and I don't want the guy to think I'm just flogging his car.

Wasn't exactly what I said though was it lol...

You will need to try and accelerate hard in first and second.... in a FWD car with some power this will spin the front wheels up easily even at the std 223bhp of the BAM... if the front wheels spin like a FWD car then the haldex is not working... if there is a slight hint of spin folllowed by the **** end squatting and the car just pulling effortlessly then all is good...

It will be a bit much to ask to launch the car as this can expire the clutch and I doubt the seller will thank you for it but get it rolling in first then bury the loud pedal and off you go...

I also explained the procedure for testing if the haldex is stuck on so you should be ok with that...

<tuffty/>

 

[Jenno007]

Wasn't exactly what I said though was it lol...

You will need to try and accelerate hard in first and second.... in a FWD car with some power this will spin the front wheels up easily even at the std 223bhp of the BAM... if the front wheels spin like a FWD car then the haldex is not working... if there is a slight hint of spin folllowed by the **** end squatting and the car just pulling effortlessly then all is good...

It will be a bit much to ask to launch the car as this can expire the clutch and I doubt the seller will thank you for it but get it rolling in first then bury the loud pedal and off you go...

I also explained the procedure for testing if the haldex is stuck on so you should be ok with that...

<tuffty/>

I probably didn't word it exactly as you did haha. Thanks for that. So I'll just do full lock forward and reverse to see if the back wheels skip at all? Thanks for your help I'm so excited!

 

[rupe]

If you can find an empty car park or similar space you can test it like this.

Mechanical Function-test of the Haldex coupling.

- Rollout in circle

Aim: Check the function of the coupling and the response on the car. Is to be done on level ground.

1. Drive in circle with minimum turning radius at a speed of about 10 km/h.
Disengage the clutch and close the throttle.
Let the car roll to full stop.

2. Drive in circle with minimum turning radius at same speed as in case 1.
Disengage the clutch and run up the engine to 3000 - 4000 rpm.
Let the car roll to full stop.

* If the coupling is working the car will stop in about half the distance in case 2 compared with case 1.

* If there is no difference in the two cases there is a malfunction of the coupling. The problem could be caused by the coupling or by missing signals from the car. A further inspection has to be done to be able to determine the cause of the malfunction.

* If a noise from the HLSC is noticed when turning or driving in circles the oil in the coupling is damaged. The damage can be caused by overheating or by water in the oil.

 

[thegoal007]

I probably didn't word it exactly as you did haha. Thanks for that. So I'll just do full lock forward and reverse to see if the back wheels skip at all? Thanks for your help I'm so excited!

Take it from someone who had this problem. When on full lock and going very slow (moving front or back either left or right) it will feel like something is preventing you from continuing any further and if you try and push it by accelerating a bit too much one of the rear wheels will skip. It may feel like both rear wheels have locked, but having someone on the outside (in my case) it was just the one - depending on the direction will depend which wheel is locking.....well, this was my experience.
Coming out of tight junctions (again left or right) the car would feel jerky and you would see the yellow ESP light flash on the display - not that you need to see this as you will definitely feel like something is not right!

 

[The Doctor]

The Haldex dis-engages when the handbrake is pulled up one notch, so you can also check by pulling away under strong acceleration with it fully released vs one notch up. You will feel the difference in wet or dry conditions; if it's fully dry you can feel the front pulling at the steering wheel when the Haldex is dis-engaged, especially on uneven roads and without the need to drop the clutch from 4k revs!

Other things to check;
Electric seat adjustment (driver & passenger)
Door blades (tend to detatch from their mounting strips towards the rear of the doors)
If lowered, make sure it has adjustable control arms fitted to correct the rear camber.

Looking forward to hearing how you get on - good luck with the purchase.

 

[Jenno007]

Thank you for all the feedback guys you've been an amazing help! Could someone please explain why the car should stop quicker if you're driving in a circle with the clutch held in with the engine at 3k-4k as apposed to the engine at idle. It seems like a very easy test to do, I would just like to know the theory behind it in case the guy thinks I'm a nutter!

Also testing for torque steer with the handbrake off vs up 1 notch seems like a good test! Thanks!

 

[tomjol]

The Haldex controller uses, among other things, engine speed in order to determine how much torque to send to the rear axle.

 

[Jenno007]

wow okay great. I sort of understand how it would make the car slow down more now. With the haldex engaging the rear wheels it will increase resistance slowing the car down slightly? (which is noticeable at 10km/hr).

My previous understanding was that it would only engage once the front wheels started slipping.

 

[rupe]

http://www.vaglinks.com/Docs/Audi/TT/Audi_TT_Haldex_SelfStudyGuide.pdf

 

[Jenno007]

Just drove the car and I loved it. Was amazing, so different to my A3. Did the test in the car park driving around in circles, and when I was revving it at 3,000+ you could feel the quattro kick in!

Just one thing I noticed. After I drove around and I turned off the car, I could hear a bit of noise coming from the engine bay. It was like a pipe right above the alternator (with what I believe to be coolant) was still pumping. The pipe was slightly vibrating and making a strange noise. I'm not worried about this it didn't seem like anything was wrong I just don't know what it is.

But I will be buying the car sometime this week, very excited to be joining the S3 club!

 

[cammage08]

The noise you can hear when youve switched the engine off is the after run pump... this is a good thing to hear as most are dieing of old age now. It runs for roughly 10 minutes after the engine is switched off to help cool the turbo. Sounds like its a good one!

 

[Sandra]

Im sure you will enjoy the car. You were sure up sharp for the test drive. We all look forward to you buying and pics. x

 

[Jenno007]

The noise you can hear when youve switched the engine off is the after run pump... this is a good thing to hear as most are dieing of old age now. It runs for roughly 10 minutes after the engine is switched off to help cool the turbo. Sounds like its a good one!

Thank you for the answer, I was thinking it was something to do with that, but isn't it usually more important for the oil to keep flowing whilst the turbo is hot? Given that it is still working sounds like the car has been looked after.

Im sure you will enjoy the car. You were sure up sharp for the test drive. We all look forward to you buying and pics. x

Thanks Sanda, it was actually at 11am over here so not too early (Western Australia). But given how excited I am, I would have been up at 5am for a test drive if I had to

 

[The Doctor]

Good to hear it was a positive test! Looking forward to seeing the pictures once you have it in your posession.

 

[<tuffty/>]

Thank you for the answer, I was thinking it was something to do with that, but isn't it usually more important for the oil to keep flowing whilst the turbo is hot?

Not really no... hot oil is hot oil... coolant will always be better at removing heat... oil is a lubricant not a coolant

<tuffty/>

 

[Jenno007]

Not really no... hot oil is hot oil... coolant will always be better at removing heat... oil is a lubricant not a coolant

<tuffty/>

Thanks for clearing that up tuffty.


I just picked up the s3 and noticed on the way home that the thermostat has gone. I have a spare one from my A3 AGU (brought two by mistake). I've had a look around and it doesn't look like I can use that on my S3 BAM, can someone just clarify whether I can or not before I buy a new one.

edit: almost certain they are different, just if someone could confirm that before I waste any $

 

[<tuffty/>]

same part

<tuffty/>

 

[Jenno007]

same part

<tuffty/>

Do they open at the same temperature etc? The reason I'm sceptical is because I used the part finder on tridons website and they have them as different parts. They even had the o rings different.

 

[<tuffty/>]

There maybe regional variances (temperature ratings) due to localised climate but as far as I am aware all 20v stats are the same... it should have the temperature rating stamped on it... typically 87 degrees

Bill only ever orders parts based on a few registration numbers... his Ibiza and my S3 (apparently the most unreliable cars in gloucestershire lol) and I know we have used the same stat on S3's, A3's and loads of SEAT's....

The blocks are physically the same... the stat housing is the same... your parts site is not correct imo

<tuffty/>

 

[Jenno007]

There maybe regional variances (temperature ratings) due to localised climate but as far as I am aware all 20v stats are the same... it should have the temperature rating stamped on it... typically 87 degrees

Bill only ever orders parts based on a few registration numbers... his Ibiza and my S3 (apparently the most unreliable cars in gloucestershire lol) and I know we have used the same stat on S3's, A3's and loads of SEAT's....

The blocks are physically the same... the stat housing is the same... your parts site is not correct imo

<tuffty/>

I was thinking they would be identical but I was surprised when I looked it up. I've checked two well know suppliers and they both have different parts for the BAM and AGU. I will dig into the differences when I get home. They might be identical with different part numbers for some strange reason.

I've got a few small issues with the car that I'd like to sort out so I'll probably be making a new thread on that when I can compile everything together

 

[Jenno007]

I'm about to go fit the thermostat I current have now. They are identical, apart from the S3 one is supposed to open 1degree cooler according to my parts website. However, they have different size thermostat gaskets, one is 50mm and the other is 58mm. This seems crazy/stupid to me, I'm going to try fit it and if it doesn't fit then I'll put the old stuff back in for now...

 

[Jenno007]

Ohhhhhh shittttt. Just drove the car in circles with full lock and it was really jerky and then a wheel skipped. Doesn't do it all the time though! Hence why I missed it with the test drive. Having the hand brake up 1 notch doesn't make a difference though :/

 

[<tuffty/>]

Is the hand brake light on at one notch? its the handbrake switch that disables the haldex not the actual handbrake..

<tuffty/>

 

[Jenno007]

Is the hand brake light on at one notch? its the handbrake switch that disables the haldex not the actual handbrake..

<tuffty/>

Yeah light was on. Letting my laptop charge then I will scan for codes. What confuses me is that it doesn't happen all the time. Certainly has me worried though! Also tried turning traction control off to see if that was doing anything but it made no difference (it was flickering on and off during my testing)