[V8] Missing my V8....now a V8 Avant

[Dave Saad]

The chain driven V8s are something I would be very leery of, but the 2.7T appears to be tough as nails. There are plenty of examples going well over 200K miles with no problems - including no turbo problems.
The transmissions are a little iffy - but the actual failure they usually have is the torque converters (I think only on the earlier models) and drums inside the transmission. 
There is a guy here that has learned how to repair them for about $500 (+ the cost of R&R). All they need is the new drum. He says even the friction material is always still in spec. In fact, there is a youtube video showing how to DIY replace the drum. So overall the transmission is a solid unit that suffers from a part being machined a little too deep on the early ones.
You pointed out the suspension is nothing to be afraid of. I agree. The front suspension eats up rubber bushings pretty fast (about 40K they tell me), but they are all replaceable for not much money (because I do it myself...). No need to replace the control arms each time.
I think this is mostly a result of the extreme travel the suspension must cover.

In short, while I never thought I would ever own an automatic car, the tiptronic in my allroad is a dream to drive on a mountain road, and every bit as effective as my old 5-speed at controlling my descent from the ski hill.
If you come across a nice allroad 2.7T I would jump on it.

dave

-----Original Message-----
From: V8 [mailto:v8-bounces at audifans.com] On Behalf Of Roger M. Woodbury
Sent: Friday, July 1, 2016 1:05 PM
To: v8 at audifans.com
Subject: Re: [V8] Missing my V8....now a V8 Avant

So familiar. Back along the dawn of time when I had an 89 200 Avant and a Porsche 928, my mechanic who was a factory-trained 928 mechanic AND factory-schooled Audi wrench and I shemed a bit about putting an early
928 V8 into the Avant.  We never got much further than scheming on that project but it was a tasty idea, even though the '89 200 was a fine running car by itself.

Now, we have a '94 100CS Avant that has a lot of miles.  I've always felt there was nothing wrong with that car that another 50 horsepower or so wouldn't cure.  We love the Avant, although it is now at the point where it will need exterior restoration soon, and it wouldn't hurt to have the engine pulled and resealed as it does leak. But at 205,000 miles or so, the little oil leaks are unimportant.  The bottom line is the car runs fine, starts every day, and does exactly what it's utility mission says it should do.  Best of all, despite living in Maine for the past 140,000 miles, the car is NOT rusty and every time it goes to the shop everyone remarks about how clean and rust free the undersides are.  
Still and all, sometimes I do feel the absence of those 50 added ponys.

So what about a V8 Avant.  As it happens time has marched on and Audi had the same thoughts I had and has produced many models that I would LOVE to have, all of which are Avants with V8's.  And I came close about five or six years ago.  In the little "sell and swap, yard-sale" type mag that comes out every Thursday (every area has one. Here it's called Uncle Henry's Sell and Swap), I saw someone advertising a V8 allroad. 
That car was a 2004 year so a farily late car.  The ad said the car would not shift into gear and the asking price was $2500.

It was REAL close that one.  Geographically close that is.  I came near to selling something with some value to go and haul that car back to let my mechanic try to fix the trans issue.  But before I could even make a phone call the car was gone.  I've always wondered what happened.

Now, since that time I have continued to wonder about the allroad Avant.  I have learned that the air suspension is NOT the evil monster that it has been portrayed as being and can be fixed to be reliable.  
But what I have also learned is that the real issue with that car is the engine. The engine is installed backward with a nifty chain in place of the timing belt.  In fact there are two different chains and all use plastic guides that sooner rather than later will get old and fail.  The engines make a defining rattle that spells the end, because not only do the chain guides get old, but so do the chain tensioners and the all the assorted parts needed to replace the chains are expensive....I understand on the order of $4-6 grand.

Then of course, the engine must be pulled and the entire process of a chain refurbishment, IF it is done before something catastrophic happens in back there with all those little plastic bits floating around, can result in a little "servicing bill" approaching eight grand. This is why allroads V8's are so cheap. (and the horror stories I have read about the 2.7 twin turbo allroad are just as bad.

So, I guess I'll pass on the entire concept.  The old Avant we have runs really well and needs very little. Eventually it will either get done or maybe just retired.  It goes and is paid for which counts for a whole lot.

Roger


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