Ditch it, or keep it?

[ValiantSaint]

Hi everyone, as some of you may, or may not know, the first few months of B6 ownership for me have been pretty costly. Here's some background.......

I was looking for a tidy diesel B6 Avant, to use as a daily, and my Father in law found one (03 plate) in September for a decent price, so we went to have a look at it - I was a bit put off by the fact it was a Quattro and it had done 133k. However, it was pretty tidy, FSH and had tinted windows and parking sensors, so we agreed on a price and all was well........or so I thought.

After dropping £600 into the car to fix the rear washer line, temp sensor, thermostat, undertray, boot latch, wiper motor, and headlight (thanks, Nolly!) and various other things, the turbo coughed it's guts up on Sunday, leaving me getting a ride home in a recovery truck and a £700 bill.

Now, I love the car, but I'm scared that if I keep it any longer, it'll sting me again for another huge wad of cash. The garage I got the turbo fixed at, have warned me that the exhaust has taken a hammering due to the large amount of oil it's swallowed, so that's another concern.

I'm hoping to awful MPG I have been getting will be better, and the constant smell of oil will disappear now the turbo's been fixed.......

Do, I keep it and hope it's all ok? Or do I get rid, and go back to the land of PCPs and loans? Many thanks in advance

 

[s4mark]

I've just spent 5k on my s4 even though it's probably only worth 6k but I've spent lots on it and like it. Whats to say another wouldn't have similar issues. Personally I would keep it as you've already put a lot into it so now the turbo but hopefully will be sorted and you cam enjoy it

 

[Gazwould]

Op has experienced normal age related replacement parts .

Modern car replacements are abnormal obsolescence .

When is the cambelt and water pump kit due ?

A4 1.9 tdi Avant quattro , KEEP .

 

[DieselJake]

Give it to me

I'd say if you've spent that cash it's probably best to keep it and hope for the best as you've ironed out some big issues there.

Obviously posting on this forum we'll be a bit biased haha.

Bought my a4 1.9tdi fwd 6+ years ago and since then she's done 70,000 miles and so far I've spent around £2000 on servicing/labour/replacement parts which I think is really good considering I'm no good with a spanner. Probably around another £4000 on mod's but that's another story haha.

 

[pauldazzle]

Keep it.
Bought mine 5 years ago with 160,000 FASH, now on 236,000 with no major failures just the usual wear tear stuff. Serviced every 9,000 with genuine VAG filters & Quantam oil. Brilliant car

 

[Welshquattro]

It sounds like Gaz has said you are replacing parts that are usual for a b6 of that age, ok all in a short time which is unlucky. I would keep it

 

[QuattroCalum]

I'd keep it as well, I have no idea what the garage are talking about regarding the exhaust, any residual oil will burn off in time.


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[ValiantSaint]

Thanks everyone. The cambelt was done last year, so that's a bonus. The garage has told me that the old should burn off - they said a few weeks, though? Is that correct? The blue smoke's still really bad. They've also told me that the 'clutch' for the air con is noisy - something to worry about? Can I just chuck it on auto?

 

[frankc]

The B6 air con compressors don't have clutches, refrigerant flow is controlled by the N280 valve. They are probably referring to the pulley which has a shear mechanism to protect the engine in the event of compressor failure utilising rubber blocks. When they wear some people experience rattling noises.

As said above, you've sunk a decent amount already on mostly age related stuff, you could jump ship and suffer the same again. Keep and start enjoying.

 

[joinerman]

A good blast up the motorway to get the exhaust good & hot will help burn off the oil, second hand air con pumps can be got off eblag at a reasonable price

 

[ValiantSaint]

Thanks. I'd love to have a go at sorting the air con, but a jammed bolt in a 2nd light I bought has foxed me, so a repair of the pump might be out of reach!

 

[ValiantSaint]

Sorry to double post, but today's been a nightmare. The smoke coming out of the exhaust is so bad, I've nearly been dragged out of my car twice by angry motorists! And let's not get into the MPG side of things, as it's now dropped off a cliff - would the oiled-up exhaust cause it? How does 26 to the gallon and 40 on a run sound? And does the air con pulley only rattle when the car's in gear? Something is rattling really badly and no matter what I do to the heating controls, it never goes away. Bloomin' car!

 

[Andy9]

Might be an idea if the smoke doesn't stop to find an exhaust fitter and remove the system and empty it, regarding the aircon you can get a replacement clutch pulley for the pump from a guy on German eBay, think it cost me about £70, it's the rubbers inside the pulley that's shot, keep the car, once you get it sorted you'll be glad you've kept it!!, I bought my 2004 a4 1.9 quattro last year and like you I was plagued with problems usually through lack of maintenance but managed to spanner my way through it and now finally I'm pleased with it, got to say though it's still not as well made as my 21 yr old A4 b5

 

[ValiantSaint]

I took a long drive to the coast at the weekend, but that didn't go to plan, as the low oil warning light came on just after 45 miles of driving. I checked the dipstick and there was no oil in the car - it was bone dry. A quick race to the local Euro Car Parts to grab some oil was needed! 2.5 litres the car took in the end.

Any reason why the oil was so low? A mistake during fitting the turbo? The car was running fine (Averaging 54 to the gallon @70!) My Father In law thinks the piston rings have gone - wouldn't the car run like poo if that was the case? Before the turbo was changed, it never used any oil in three previous months of ownership!

The car's boot also covered in oil splashes - is this because the exhaust is full of it? Or is something leaking?

And the exhaust is still smoking really badly - even after 100 miles at 70 mph on the cruise control. I think I'll get rid of it!

And today I've dropped the car back to the garage to see what's wrong. I noticed that there's about 200ml of oil on the floor outside my house - it looks like it's coming from the turbo side of the engine........

 

[DieselJake]

Sounds to me like the banjo bolt wasn't tightened correctly (and I say that with absolutely no knowledge of Audi turbo's so it could be some other form of bolt holding the oil feed on but you know what I'm saying, this happened on my Starlet). Sounds like it's something to do with the oil to the turbo anyway, can't think how this would have got through to the boot though!? Someone else on here will probably have more of a clue than me but I bet it's something simple.

 

[DrStrange]

All the best with it.

Id have to agree with everyone else. You've spent a lot of bringing it up to speed, and to be honest its just a machine at the end of the day and not human so it breaks down. Replacing parts although costly, gives you piece of mind that you are effetively 'upgrading' your car.
Or at least thats my excuse anyway.

If its any consolation, All my cars in the past, immediately after buying have required £500-800 worth of stuff. Either from bad luck or just the fact that car parts all add up and + labour thats just how much it costs.

Dont be defeated by it all. There will be a turning point and you can finally enjoy it.

 

[ValiantSaint]

Well, I've just got the car back from the garage - they told me that they had to remove and clean the EGR valve, as it was so clogged from all the excess oil from the turbo failing, that it was causing the car to use a lot of oil? (two litres in two days?) They've also stripped down the intercooler and cleaned it out, as well. The smoke's much better, mind you. Still sounds a bit far fetched to me.

This is how I see it; they didn't put enough oil in it when they topped it up/left something loose/didn't clean the intercooler out when replacing turbo. Sound about right?

EDIT: Added pictures of the bare dipstick, and boot covered in oil.......

 

[Darran]

Sound like bodgers to me, once a turbo has blown everything downline from it MUST be cleaned out ESPECIALLY intercooler ,pipes inlet etc, oil dripping after new turbo is a sign that
1 They did not run the car up to temp and check for leaks
2.They don't have a clue and shouldn't be in business, an all to familiar story these days!

The fact they did not clean the intercooler out tells me they are NOT mechanics , even apprentices know if the turbo blows it fills the cooler with oil and if you start the car up with new turbo and cooler full of oil you run a huge risk of the car running on its own oil and and just accelerating into oblivion till you either hit something or the motor goes bang!

 

[ValiantSaint]

Well, the dripping oil has come from a cracked rocker cover. It's pooping oil at a furious rate! It's also still blowing out smoke from the exhausts - it's going back tomorrow for a strip down and clean. Oh, and the air con pump is rattling like a good un! I'll have to get rid of it................