$4 AVANT V8

[Rallyman]

Im looking at replacing my B5 QTS Avant with a later shape B6 S4 Avant. I've seen a few 54 (ish) plates varying in price £6-£10K.
OK - what should I be looking for - apart from the "normal" suspects?
What is a good spec vs price ?
How many miles are these engines good for ?
Are these engines FSI ?
What type of MPG do they return ? I complete a 40 mile round trip on Dual carriage ways, with a bit of "normal" stop start traffic and some b road blasting
When do the engines require cam belts ? And how much Do the stealers want for changing them ?
Anything else I should be worried about ?
Thanks!

 

[Broken Byzan]

chains are a huge expense, around 800 for parts alone, and becoming common for 100k milers now to have strecthed chains, pads missing causing all sorts of issues

 

[dualmono21]

s4,s dont suffer with stretched chains at all
the problem is the pre tensioners on the chain go weak and this allows the chain to rattle
this in turn breaks the timing chain guides and then chain has too much slack

most important thing to ever remember when buying a v8 s4 is to listen to it when its clock cold and if it rattles for anything longer than a second on initial start up walk away and find another

the engines are not fsi engines

if looked after properly these engines are easilly capable of 200,000 miles without being rebuilt
the correct oil is very very important for a standard motor 5w30 fully synthetic for something which has been modded 5w40

the engine is chain based so has no timing belt as such ... keep the oil and tensioners in good condition and audi reccomend 300,000 miles you should change the chain for wear

mpg wise your looking at 30.0 driving like a nun on motorway round town between 15-18 and if you really give it the beans
down to 4-5mpg round a circuit

cam covers leak , auxillary belt and tensioner can fail , air conditioning and alternator are unique to car so any failure can be pricey
most cars have been recalled for the coil packs spontaneously failing or setting on fire
gearboxes are good on both manual and tiptronic , clutches can be weak on manuals (some later s4,s have a device fitted to stop you from dumping the clutch )
diff oil and gearbox oil should be changed at 60,000 intervals
top arms are weak point some owners tend to change all the arms at the same time and then have an alignment done

options wise there was quite a bit ... nappa leather was an expensive upgrade , cruise control was an option as was sat nav
generally your looking for something with not too high a mileage with evidence of a service history ideally receipts for items
or garage bills , its too easy to fake a dealer history now you can buy the ****** stamps they use on ebay

 

[Broken Byzan]

cold rattle proves nothing, i'd not touch one that hadn't had the chain and tensioners replaced

 

[dualmono21]

start up from cold proves the condition of the tensioners and guides ... theres no way of getting round a broken guide or lazy tensioner

to replace the chain and guides you are looking at a minimum of £600 for the very bare minimum kit and that doesnt even replace the tensioners and guides a full kit with tensioners guides and chain is nearly £4000 both these are without labour which unless you are capable of doing this job yourself is also going to be very expensive ... i doubt there are but a handfull of people capable of doing this job on the forum
how many people are gonna pay that kinda money for a car that can be picked up from anywhere from £6000 to £10,000 secondhand

one of the best mods for longevity of these engines is the pressurised pre oiler , with this fitted there is no rattle from the chain each and everytime you start the car

 

[Rallyman]

Thanks for your detailed reply - much appriciated

Wow Ok ?! So we have the "usual" engine service dramas involved, I didn't realise that they could be sooo expensive.... ZOIX! 8-0.....
SO I take it having the chain done at a stealers is an eye watering experience then???

The pressurized pre oiler - do you have any info on these?

How do I identify a "new type" coil pack ?

How do I know if the car has an ACDD - anti clutch dumping device ?

Just for future reference, regarding service stamps, if you contact your local Audi dealer, they are able to call up the service data on your car so you're able to validate the service book !

 

[the_cueball]

I never had any major problems with mine (saloon version).... but the build quality isn't as good as I thought it would be.

the glove boxes never seem to work.

I used quite a bit of oil - but I did have a stage 2 remap.

I had a new clutch and fly wheel put in, and still couldn't smoothly get the car into first gear - something Audi said was OK and was made that way.. (yes really)

the windscreen washer bottle is prone to cracking as well.

apart from that, the car was amazing.... regretted getting rid of it... lol...

 

[dualmono21]

to have the engine removed and a new timing chain and gear assembly put in is probably more than the car is worth

some engines use oil others use no oil at all ... its not related to tuning either as my own car is in a high state of tune and doesnt use a drop
without dropping the clutch and seeing if the pedal comes up immediately or is delayed i dont know any other way of telling them apart im afraid

 

[Rallyman]

Thanks thats great - I'll start looking for one soon looks like im going to be either travelling or be really picky locally - no pressure thr qts is only at192, 000 miles at the moment