[Biturbos4] Buying a 2000 S4

[Brent Henry]

Hey Jonathan,

That type of information is simply invaluable... your tip is greatly appreciated.

I have owned urS4's and urS6's for years and I have all of the best websites saved (and printed) and continually rely on them for assistance with my home maintenance regiment.

Thanks again,
Brent.
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Jonathan Conta 
  To: Brent Henry 
  Cc: biturbos4 at www.audifans.com 
  Sent: Sunday, March 05, 2006 4:06 PM
  Subject: Re: [Biturbos4] Buying a 2000 S4


  Brent,

  In addition to Keman's incredible base of knowledge (without which this board just wouldn't be the same), I would suggest perusing this site:
  http://homepage.mac.com/edyjun1/S4/index.htm

  A guy named Edy Jun has put together a hell of a list of FAQ's, fixes, install guides, etc. from AudiWorld and compiled them by subject.  99% of all of your potential questions (and you will have many in the next couple of years) have probably already been asked and answered and can be found there.  A wealth of knowledge.

  I hope your inspection goes well, and welcome to the club.

  JC


  ----- Original Message ----
  From: Brent Henry <thehenrys at sympatico.ca>
  To: Rohan Singh <rohanj_singh at yahoo.com>
  Cc: biturbos4 at www.audifans.com
  Sent: Sunday, March 5, 2006 12:36:46 PM
  Subject: Re: [Biturbos4] Buying a 2000 S4


  Hi Rohan,

  Yes, the feedback from Keman was exceptional (and greatly appreciated).  The
  prices you listed for the timing belt and turbo's are from the dealer... I
  probably would not use a dealer to do those job's (couldn't afford those
  prices).  I have an excellent mechanic that specializes in Audi and is less
  then half the cost of the dealer.  I can do many of the easier repair work,
  so those things don't bother me -- but the turbo's are a concern for sure...
  without being able to speak to the previous owner (maybe I can ask the
  dealer to call him?) I won't know how good he was with the warm-up cool-down
  procedure for the turbo's.

  I am really hoping that I will find that this car has been well maintained
  and many of the common service items have been dealt with already!

  Thanks,
  Brent.

  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: "Rohan Singh" <rohanj_singh at yahoo.com>
  To: "Brent Henry" <thehenrys at sympatico.ca>; <biturbos4 at www.audifans.com>
  Sent: Sunday, March 05, 2006 12:17 PM
  Subject: Re: [Biturbos4] Buying a 2000 S4


  > Hi Henry,
  >
  > If there is anyone who seems to know about this car,
  > its Keman whose advice has been invaluable to me as
  > well. I have a 2001 S4 which I bought used in in
  > Toronto in 2004 with 78K kilometres (About 50K miles).
  > I now have 115K kilometres and no issues except for
  > basics such as:
  > 1. Rear bearings had to be replaced
  > 2. Oxygen sensor replacement
  > 3. Rear bose speaker had to be replaced
  > Definitely follow the warm up and cool down
  > instructions. Its frustrating to have people whiz by
  > you impatiently as you're waiting for the oil
  > temperature gauge to go up but you can always catch up
  > later! The dealer in Toronto recommends that the
  > timing belt and water pump be replaced at 128K
  > kilometres and says it will cost around Cdn $1,500. I
  > asked about a turbo replacement in the unfortunate
  > event that it ever happended to me - it's around Cdn
  > 8K.
  >
  > Good luck with yours! I plan to keep mine till it
  > dies. Its runs beautifully and every drive is an
  > exhilirating experience!
  >
  > Rohan
  >
  > --- Keman <keman at interwolf.net> wrote:
  >
  > > Hi there Henry. Welcome to the biturbo s4 mailing
  > > list.
  > >
  > > i'm one of the lists resident (but somewhat dorment)
  > > ex audi techs, and I
  > > used to have an '01 S4 Avant. I would recommend you
  > > check the following:
  > >
  > > 100k issues or points of notice:
  > >
  > > timing belt (and water pump) .. if it's not done
  > > now, do it. While I've seen
  > > them go 130k, I would do them every 60-80k miles. If
  > > it does slip or break,
  > > you'll experience the pain of replacing a lot of
  > > intake valves on top of
  > > pulling the engine and turbos, as that's the only
  > > way to get the heads off.
  > > If noone can tell you if it's been done or not, peer
  > > at the belt by prying
  > > back the timing belt cover a few mm and look at the
  > > belt with a flashlight.
  > > If it looks fresh and new and black, it's new. If it
  > > looks worn and old,
  > > well.. it's not.
  > >
  > > coolant: Right now it should be fresh and bright
  > > pink, not brownish or
  > > orangish. Don't base it off the coolant overflow
  > > bottle, as it will be
  > > somewhat discolored by now. But, those are only $28
  > > at the dealer and I
  > > recommend replacing them as they come with a new
  > > cap, if/when you do the
  > > coolant flush. It's long life coolant, but 100k
  > > miles is a long time and
  > > that's when it should be flushed. The only drain is
  > > the block drain, located
  > > between the trans and engine directly underneith
  > > looking straight up through
  > > the bellhousing. It's an 8mm green hex key bolt, it
  > > will be very tight and
  > > need an 8mm hex driver and breaker bar, and needs a
  > > new O-ring (available at
  > > the dealer) once removed. You need a vacuum coolant
  > > filler to put coolant
  > > into these engines properly, so either borrow one or
  > > pay the dealer to do
  > > this job for you.
  > >
  > > Coolant leaks: Inspect for any pink crustys.
  > > Particulary look into the V of
  > > the engine from above once the middle engine dress
  > > cover is removed, peering
  > > in at a 45 degree angle through the small gap below
  > > the throttle body. If
  > > you see any pink in there, your afterrun pump or
  > > coolant hardline is
  > > leaking. Also look in back of the engine on the
  > > passenger side. Any pink
  > > crustys = leak.
  > >
  > > Battery: If it looks old and original, the cells
  > > probably need topping off
  > > with distilled water. It's a maintanence item but
  > > few actually know that
  > > it's supposed to be topped off regularly. Just twist
  > > each cell cover off and
  > > there's a little MIN/MAX bar on each one.
  > >
  > > Diverter valves: While looking for coolant leaks,
  > > start the engine up and
  > > reach normal operating temperature. Put your hand on
  > > the two black roundish
  > > looking valves, roughly 3" in diameter that point
  > > towards the throttle body.
  > > There will be small vacuum lines running to each. If
  > > you feel either
  > > "vibrating" or making fluttering or honking noises
  > > at idle, it might be
  > > shot. To look further, if you pinch off one of the
  > > vacuum lines with a pair
  > > of pliars and it goes away, that valve is shot. They
  > > die often, aftermarkets
  > > that don't break (they use a piston instead of a
  > > diaphram) are available for
  > > a couple hundred bucks. Highly recommended as I ate
  > > through about 4 sets of
  > > the updated TT ones by 96k miles. They decrease
  > > strain on the turbos when
  > > you lift off the throttle, so.. when they're dead,
  > > well... there's more
  > > strain = wear and tear.
  > >
  > > Oil leaks: Check the rear passenger and front
  > > drivers side of the V of the
  > > engine. Any wetness would be the legendary timing
  > > chain tensioner gaskets.
  > > They'll almost never leak so bad as to create a
  > > steady drip of oil, but they
  > > will start to leak and get wetter and wetter, making
  > > some mess as mileage
  > > goes up. These can be spendy to have replaced, with
  > > dealers charging around
  > > 8 hours of labor for both sides. If you've not done
  > > it before, I wouldn't
  > > try it yourself as you can drop tiny bits into the
  > > engine. I used to use a
  > > small magnet to catch them. Valve covers- these
  > > start getting wet at 100k
  > > miles. Loosening all the 10mm nuts that hold them on
  > > and then re-torquing to
  > > 115 INCH/lbs working from the center nut outwards in
  > > a clockwise pattern,
  > > slowly but surely, they may stop leaking forever. Or
  > > you can just change
  > > them.
  > >
  > > Spark plugs: Even though they're double platinum the
  > > engine still eats them
  > > like candy. Misfire codes are a telltail sign. I'd
  > > swap them every 25k miles
  > > if you like to get on it.
  > >
  > > Oil: 5W-40 synthetic is a good idea. 0W-40 German
  > > Castrol is nice too, 0W-30
  > > works alright. Basically, anything synthetic is
  > > great for this engine, and
  > > non synthetic is bad. You can tell what it's had all
  > > it's life by looking at
  > > the oil fill cap. Take it off and look inside. If
  > > it's shiny metal, it's had
  > > synthetic all it's life. If it's crusty and caked
  > > and brown, it's not. The
  > > more gelatinous cake under the cap, the less
  > > synthetic oil it's seen in it's
  > > life.
  > >
  > > Interior: The dot matrix display is a common
  > > failure. New gauge clusters
  > > have bugfixed designs that don't drop dots or lines
  > > (usually) but fetch a
  > > high price, $750 or so (remanufactured, which is
  > > good cuz it's bugfixed).
  > > I'm a big fan of Stabilant 22 and CAIG's DeOxit D5,
  > > but I've not read of a
  > > success using it on this problem. It does resemble a
  > > connection type of
  > > problem between the display and the driver board, as
  > > mine used to drop a
  > > line but only when it was really cold out. The gauge
  > > cluster comes out
  > > without touching the rest of the dashboard, it's
  > > held in with a couple of
  > > torx screws accessable by popping the top steering
  > > wheel trim off. You'll
  > > have to reach in behind once the cluster is out a
  > > few inches and pop the
  > > spring-cam-lock connectors (all three) on the back
  > > kind of blind to get it
  > > all the way out.
  > >
  > > Speakers: If they rattle with bass, they're probably
  > > in need of replacement.
  > > The Bose Symphony audi system doesn't take kindly to
  > > aftermarket
  > > replacements (it ends up sounding like crap) and the
  > > factory replacements
  > > are around $90 each. In a sedan, the rear speakers
  > > are accessed from above,
  > > not below. Kind of a pain. The door panels are much
  > > easier to remove.
  > >
  > > Stereo: If it changes channels on you, it's
  > > posessed. They do that
  > > sometimes. If it stops working, it'll need
  > > replacement. They've gotten MUCH
  > > cheaper last I checked. < $200 at the dealer now for
  > > a reman if you provide
  > > your old one as the core.
  > >
  > > Rear diff: Sometimes the seals on the output shafts
  > > get a little wet.
  > >
  > > Wheel bearings: They'll be either freshly replaced,
  > > or needing it soon. They
  > > like to abandon ship at 100k miles. But they do so
  > > rather gracefully, giving
  > > you 10-15k miles of warning with a steady increase
  > > in rattling noise.
  > >
  > > O2 sensors: These don't like to live forever. There
  > > are 4. The rear 2 are
  > > easy. The front 2 ... well. Only easy if you've done
  > > them before.
  > >
  > > Coolant temp sensor: These get flakey. They're easy,
  > > check out audiworld for
  > > instructions. If the temp display is anything but in
  > > the middle at normal
  > > operating temps, the sensor is toast.
  > >
  > === message truncated ===
  >
  >
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