[s-cars] 2001.5 S4 avant shifting issues. Ideas ?

Fri Jan 11 07:05:09 PST 2013

IME a bad trans mount or mounts can cause difficulty in finding reverse as  
well.  Just a thought.  Happy Friday!

Wylie Bean
theringmeister at triad.rr.com
90 cq
91 90q20v
91 200q20v
92 urS4
08 Q7

-----Original message-----
From: "tom at tomwintermedia.com" <tom at tomwintermedia.com>
To: Andrew Beckert <abeckert at gmail.com>
Cc: "<s-car-list at audifans.com>" <s-car-list at audifans.com>
Sent: Fri, Jan 11, 2013 09:51:01 EST
Subject: Re: [s-cars] 2001.5 S4 avant shifting issues. Ideas?

Andrew, thanks for your insights.

The short shifter was installed by the first owner. And, as I said, the
second owner has no problems shifting into reverse. I was actually able to
start to do it, but it took some time to figure it out. It's hard enough to
get into reverse that for anyone to just jump into the car and try to back
out of a parking space that they'll have problems doing so.

I'm leaning towards thinking that the short shifter and/or the installation
is to blame. I think a clutch or hydraulic system would manifest itself
across all shifting and gears. It's easy to shift through the forward gears
or downshift while coming to a stop. The more I research short shifters for
the b5 plaform, the more I read about poor installations and other problems
on the forums. Regardless, I'll check out the linkages and do some more
investigation.

Thanks for the links to the videos, too.

Good, also, to hear about your successes working on the car. I'll do some
things myself, and have a great local indy wrench who I trust do the rest.

The car is said to have an MTM stage 1 chip, but no other mods aside from
the short shifter. 

It definitely feels faster and lower than my S6, which is also MTM stage
one, with RS2 exhaust manifold, Stebro exhaust system. The exhaust on the S4
is stock, and if I get the car, I'll look at an upgrade to pull a few more
horses out of the drivetrain.

I'll miss the S6 when it sells, but the body has some rust and is showing
its age and although the car is running like a top at 215k, it just feels
like it has come time to move on.

Cheers,

Tom '95 S6 Avant

On 1/11/13 12:20 AM, "Andrew Beckert" <abeckert at gmail.com> wrote:

> As someone with a 01.5 S4 Avant that just turned over 251k and went
> through a transmission rebuild back around 180k, there are several
> different things that could cause this issue.  I take it the owner
> didn't install the SS?  Did you try double clutching to get into
> reverse, as there is no reverse synchro.  Did you try putting the car
> into reverse with the engine off (clutch/hydraulic issue)?  I would
> pull the shifter boot and check out the linkages before I bought the
> car though, or have a competent Audi mechanic do it.  It's not that
> hard to align if you have the car on a level surface with a decent
> angle level to set the alignment.  I would make sure this is fixed
> before you purchase the car, or you know exactly what is the cause.
> Do you know if the transmission has ever been serviced or repaired
> during the car's life? JHM has quite a few good videos for learning
> about the transmission.
> 
> http://www.youtube.com/user/JHMotorsportsInc
> 
> shifter install/alignment:
> 
> http://www.audiworld.com/tech/int70.shtml
> 
> Having previously owned both a C4 Urs6 sedan and avant, I think you
> are making a good choice.  Although the B5 S4 Avant is a bit smaller
> car, it handles so much better, with better power delivery and still
> has enough room to haul everything.  I really don't find the 2.7t to
> be that bad to work on for routine maintenance.  Although, I wouldn't
> tackle a turbo swap by myself (which I did on my C4's), but my turbos
> haven't given me any problems.
> 
> Andrew
> 
> 
> 
> On Thu, Jan 10, 2013 at 8:03 PM, tom at tomwintermedia.com
> <tom at tomwintermedia.com> wrote:
>> Hi guys, as some of you know from a post earlier this year (or maybe  
right
>> at the end of Dec) I'm looking at moving on from my 95 S6 Avant to a 2.7  
S4
>> Avant or maybe even a 2.0 A4 Avant.
>> 
>> I found a local to me 2001.5 S4 Avant, which drove nicely but I had a  
hell
>> of a time getting it into reverse. The car has a 6 speed manual  
transmission
>> with an aftermarket short shifter, not sure what brand. I like the car  
and
>> it's in good shape, with a price that's right, allowing me to immediately
>> put some more cash into it to sort out any details that might rear their
>> ugly head.
>> 
>> I read some posts on the other Audi forums and it sounds like this may be  
a
>> shifter adjustment issue. From some of the comments, the short shift kits  
in
>> particular seem prone to being installed incorrectly or not working well,
>> but I thought I'd pose the question to any listers who have experience  
with
>> this platform.
>> 
>> I mean, you're not going to blow up the reverse syncho unless do you
>> something really stupid right? All other gears were smooth and easy and  
the
>> car felt very tight. Car owner is selling because he wants a 4x4 truck,  
and
>> has plenty of records, showing a decent maintenance history on the  
vehicle
>> (although maybe not as fanatical as I would be), including a recent  
timing
>> belt service. He has the "touch" and had no problems getting it into
>> reverse. But it's like nothing else I've experienced, even my '75 911  
which
>> needed a complete shifter bushing replacement when I bought it wasn't  
this
>> hard to find the gears in, and those cars have notoriously funky
>> transmissions.
>> 
>> Thoughts?
>> 
>> Thanks in advance for your help.
>> 
>> Tom '95 S6 Avant
>> 
>> 
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