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

tom at tomwintermedia.com tom at tomwintermedia.com
Fri Jan 11 07:17:37 PST 2013 

Thanks, Wylie, that is also what I saw online, too.

Oh, a few more data points. Car has 118k, Imola yellow paint is perfect with
only one small ding on the rear hatch, interior a 8.5 or 9 out of 10 (its a
daily driver and wasn¹t fully clean when I drove it).

Price would be $7800 including a spare set of 19² wheels with summer tires
(car has all seasons on for the winter with the stock rims) and a few extra
parts.

Cheers,

Tom


On 1/11/13 8:05 AM, "Wylie Bean" <theringmeister at triad.rr.com> wrote:

> 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
> 91 200 <tel:91200> q20v
> 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"  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
>>> >  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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>>> > 
>> 
>> 
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