[Biturbos4] S4 Biturbo newbie

[Grant]

Mine's been pretty good.  Very solid car.
The turbos are a costly, fragile part however.  For starters, there are 
two.  They need to be replaced in pairs, supposedly.  Replacement 
requires engine removal, so its costly.  On the other hand, Audi has 
equipped it for longevity. The turbos are water-cooled, and there is an 
after-run pump to keep H2O circulating after you shut it off.

There is no maintenance possible per se, btu precautions that apply to 
ANY turbo car:

1. Easy when its cold
2. Cool it down before shutting the engine off
3. Use synthetic oil, which resists coking at the higher temperatures 
that exist at the turbo
4. Change it frequently, I do it ~5k with Mobil 1

Problem with a used one is "what did the previous owner, who didn;t 
plan to keep it long anyway, do?".  frequently, not much.  Audi does 
NOT pay for synthetic in 6-cyl turbos, so it got regular oil for the 
first 50k, unless the owner carried a bag of mobil 1 to the dealer 
twice a year (like I did).  Did he cool it down?  Warm it up?
You'll just have to feel out the owner and hope for the best.  Do 
listen for excessive whining under load ( a bad sign).

Other than that, the timing belt service is a bit costly, and should be 
done at (let the debates begin) ~75k.  Figure $900-1500, depending on 
who does it, with the water pump, thermostat, idler and tensioner all 
at the same time.

Tie rods fail early, as do some control arms.  Life goes on.

Despite all this, the car has been very solid.  Heavy duty throughout.  
20mpg "normal", with 25+ on the highway.

Oh, yea, tune ups are a bear for the DIY, but do-able. Also, careful of 
the 17" wheels with 45-series tires.  They bend.  You can get 16' on 
for snows, but only a select few 16" will clear the big brakes.

Mine now has 73k, no rattles, burns almost no oil, no major repairs 
save the tie-rods and a couple control arms.  And once done, it drove 
*like new*.

Grant

On Dec 21, 2004, at 10:21 AM, Paul Jones wrote:

> Hi all. I have recently sold my '93 V8 and I am considering buying a 
> '00 S4. Having had no previous experience with turbo Audi's I am in 
> need of some basic info. on the cars. What are the major problem 
> spots? What are the major buyers guidelines? Plus, is there any 
> special maintainence that must be performed on the turbos themselves?
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Biturbos4 mailing list
> Biturbos4 at www.audifans.com
> http://www.audifans.com/mailman/listinfo/biturbos4
>