[s-cars] Seeking advice on '94 S4 purchase

[Kevin Day]

Thanks for the heads-up on the transmission.  Is this a manufacturing
defect, or are the replacement pinion bearings the same as original?
I.e. if it was fixed once, is it likely to need repair again?

Can anyone recommend a good Audi mechanic in the Boston area?  I might
want to have someone with a practiced eye check this car out.

-Kevin

On Wed, Oct 01, 2003 at 09:12:18PM -0700, Sean Douglas wrote:
> Turbo failure is not that common (maybe some long time listers can add
> to this), but I haven't heard or read this failure. A new turbo is ~$1k,
> not a lot compared to other parts. The big ticket is the transmission
> which can be know to fail, here is a write up from s-cars.org:
>
> 6. The drive line: A survey of the S-Car Registry has revealed that a
> fair number of early S cars (1992-1994) exhibited transmission failure
> brought on by worn pinion bearings. The number one symptom of this is a
> car that makes a whining noise while rolling. The noise will be there at
> any rpm and will change pitch with your speed. It will occur whether the
> clutch is in or out. In my opinion, this is the one weak link in an
> otherwise bulletproof car. If the car you're looking at does have noise
> coming from the drive line, be aware that replacement runs between
> $3,000 to $8,000 dollars depending upon who does the work! If the car
> makes the noise it better be priced accordingly.  Don't be afraid to
> walk away if you don't have a good independent mechanic who can handle
> the transmission swap. With the transmission warnings aside, most cars
> at this point have had the issue addressed.  I don't hear of many
> tranmission failures any more aside from those that get 'well used' in
> highly tuned cars.  ;-) If the driveline itself has a lot of slop or
> play in it (forward/backward slack when on or off throttle) you may be
> looking at worn engine or tranny mounts or bad CV joints on the drive
> shaft. The center bearing on the drive shaft can also wear out over
> time.
>
> As you mention, t-belt is crucial and ditto the water pump. You don't
> want this to break on 20v motor and the repair can be very expensive.
>
> Good luck.
>
> Sean
>
> Sean Douglas
> 1997 Audi S6 - MTM Stage 1+
> 1990 Audi 90Q20V
>
>
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: s-car-list-admin at audifans.com
> > [mailto:s-car-list-admin at audifans.com] On Behalf Of Kevin Day
> > Sent: Wednesday, October 01, 2003 8:21 AM
> > To: s-car-list at audifans.com
> > Subject: [s-cars] Seeking advice on '94 S4 purchase
> >
> >
> > Hello all,
> >
> > This list seems like a great resource.  Hope you don't mind a
> > few questions from a prospective owner.
> >
> > I'm going to look at a '94 S4 this weekend.  I don't know
> > much about the condition at this point, but it's got rather
> > high mileage (~170K). Other than the usual (records, t-belt,
> > etc.) is there anything specific that I should watch out for?
> >
> > I understand that the turbo has an auxillary cooler that runs
> > after the car shuts down, which should be good for turbo
> > life, but this might be my first turbo and I'm a little wary.
> >  If one had to be replaced, how traumatic would the price tag
> > be?  (I see that Porsche has some applications for the same
> > unit.  That's... not really all that encouraging :)  Any
> > (other?) high-ticket repairs that I should look out for?
> >
> > Anyway, any advice, pointers, etc. would be appreciated.  Thanks.
> >
> > -Kevin
> >
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