The Thorn in my Side.

[himself26]

Hi Lady's & Gent's I'm new here & could really do with some help please.

I've always had performance car's from learning to drive around the time the wheel was invented...lol
I've also always fancied an S3 since my boss bought one when they were first released & now I finally got one.
However I'm already starting to regret buying it as it is the bane of my life at the moment....

The car is a 2002 S3 8L. I Hate it with a passion !!!
Here's the story so far.

I bought it around 6 weeks ago knowing it had a couple of issues.

Main things being the alternator wasn’t charging & it had a bad timing chain rattle.

So fitted new alternator & that’s fine.

I then did my homework on the rattle & most info pointed to a blocked oil pick-up. So new pick-up bought & thought well whilst the sump is off may as well treat it to a new oil pump so I bought a good quality Truck-tec pump fit the pump & new pick-up pipe Whooo-hoo happy days no timing chain rattle.....

However soon the smile was soon wiped off my face when I noticed the ploooooom’s of smoke spewing from the exhaust gutted was an understatement.

Due to the fact the engine now has some oil pressure it’s highlighted the turbo is also screwed.

Anyway I’m not one to be beaten so old turbo removed & bought a new turbo new main intake pipe (silicone) & a Forge B.O.V. correct recirculation one. This has all now been installed (what an absolute nightmare of a job by the way) flattened two good charges in the battery with the coil packs disconnected so the new Snail was properly primed before actually starting the car then off I went on a test run.

Drove around 4mile very carefully keeping the turbo out to get the engine up to Temp then gave it a bit of toe.

It pulled like a train for about 4seconds then went pop (the B.O.V. like released twice) it spit the dipstick out & lost its boost.

Any one here have an idea what would cause this ? As I’m at the point where it’s going to end up getting some major modification with a 12lb mel-hammer…

Any help would be greatly received & much appreciated.

 

[<tuffty/>]

Hi...

First thing to do would be to scan for fault codes preferably using VCDS... this will give some clues as to what could be happening... sounds odd I guess but these engines are all about sensors and faulty ones will cause the engine to run badly...

If its blowing the dipstick out then you could be getting a lot of blow by on the rings... would suggest a compression test and leak down test to establish the condition of the engine... see lots of worn 1.8t's at varying ages and mileage... if its had bad oil pressure for a while then its plausible that its accelerated wear in the engine

Need to also see what boost is doing when it goes pop as it could be over boosting for a number of reasons... this could be through logging in VCDS but will only see a max of 22psi or preferably a boost gauge of some description

<tuffty/>

 

[Tj 0785]

Like tuffty says dipstick popping up most likely blow by I had this problem compression test shown low compression on one cylinder cars bern parked up since waiting for a engine rebuild, as you have found out buying the car is the cheap bit hope you get it sorted soon

 

[himself26]

Thanks for the replies. It's the 225BAM Engine & has 127k on it. Done a compression test & results were as follows. From timing belt side No 1 = 155psi / No 2 = 156psi / No 3 = 155psi & No 4 = 154psi don't know if these are a decent result ?

 

[<tuffty/>]

Bit on the low side tbh.... consistently so though...

Get a leak down test done too if poss

<tuffty/>

 

[himself26]

Bit on the low side tbh.... consistently so though...

Get a leak down test done too if poss

<tuffty/>

What should they be ? As if no good I wont mess about with it & will either just get rid of it or do an engine build ? Thing is the car is very clean so maybe worth an engine overhall opinions please ?

 

[Tj 0785]

Should be around 180 I think, depends what your willing to spend on it a rebuild would be a few k depending if you can do the work and if your looking for more power more pounds

If you hate it with a passion already throwing thousands at it won’t make it like it anymore. I love mine so I’m happy to spend thousands on it that I won’t get back

 

[himself26]

I'd guess the compression test figure to be on the low side as the test was done on a cold engine & the throttle was closed. I assume the test results would be better on a warm engine with the throttle fully opened ???

 

[<tuffty/>]

Try it... but see this result quite a bit... leak down would be more revealing as it shows how much of the compressed air is retained

<tuffty/>

 

[Stuart B]

I knew an old lady who swallowed a fly....


Welcome to the top of the range Audi 2001-2003 1.8t 225 model powertrain.

After every weak component is replaced the next component will fail, you are doing what most owners go through, the question is do you persevere or give up? There's no shame in either road.

 

[Tj 0785]

Most seem to do the second with the amount of them ending up on eBay for parts

 

[hydro s3]

Just rebuild it and get it back on the road. You will soon forget about the troubles you have had once you get out for a good drive in it.

 

[silestanix]

I guess it really depends on your budget, time, and most of all, patience.

I had my W202 for 4 1/2 years, and it cost me a lot of money... Over 9k in that time. But, I loved the car, the way it drove, the grunt and noise of the 5 cylinder engine, the fact it never ever left me stranded even when in dire straits.

I think in a situation like this, you've gotta sit down and think, pros and cons... Cos otherwise, your heart will overrule your mind and you'll end up spending on a car that you've fallen out of like with a long time ago.

Good luck man.

 

[JonnyDerv]

I hope it’s not but it sounds like blow by to me. I had the same issue when my oil pump seized and totalled the engine. I wouldn’t keep driving it, you’ll just cause more and more destruction on parts. All I could salvage was the rods.

But you really need to look at S3 8L ownership with your eyes wide open. It’s very unnerving when something hasn’t broke in a while, which just sums it up.

 

[silestanix]

I hope it’s not but it sounds like blow by to me. I had the same issue when my oil pump seized and totalled the engine. I wouldn’t keep driving it, you’ll just cause more and more destruction on parts. All I could salvage was the rods.

But you really need to look at S3 8L ownership with your eyes wide open. It’s very unnerving when something hasn’t broke in a while, which just sums it up.

Summed it up perfectly.

Plus, they're no longer new cars @Tj 0785 , they're performance motors so will have spent a fair amount of time being driven hard. Things like this are part and parcel of owning an older performance car, not just Audi but BMWs, MB, etc.

 

[Tj 0785]

Summed it up perfectly.

Plus, they're no longer new cars @Tj 0785 , they're performance motors so will have spent a fair amount of time being driven hard. Things like this are part and parcel of owning an older performance car, not just Audi but BMWs, MB, etc.

Yep very true I traveled the country with mine doing 24000 miles in a year with work with boot full of tools (have a van now so won’t be doing that again) and drove it hard and love’d every minute of it that’s why I’m happy to throw thousands rebuilding it when it’s money I won’t get back

 

[silestanix]

Yep very true I traveled the country with mine doing 24000 miles in a year with work with boot full of tools and drove it hard and love’d every minute of it that’s why I’m happy to throw thousands rebuilding it when it’s money I won’t get back

Ha, yeah I'm a high miler too man. Fair play!

@himself26 this is the kinda love you need for your motor to spend money on it... Unconditional lol.

 

[Tj 0785]

Yeah the wife goes before the s3 goes put it that way

Ha, yeah I'm a high miler too man. Fair play!

@himself26 this is the kinda love you need for your motor to spend money on it... Unconditional lol.

 

[Stuart B]

Yep very true I traveled the country with mine doing 24000 miles in a year with work with boot full of tools (have a van now so won’t be doing that again) and drove it hard and love’d every minute of it that’s why I’m happy to throw thousands rebuilding it when it’s money I won’t get back

I used to drive my S3 around with a boot full of tools too, and a spare ECU and a greenflag card and a sleeping bag just in case.