New Guy here - Intro: Just another Imola

B6/7 S4/RS4
#1

Hey Guys!

I’m new over here. Heard about this great community through a couple friends and decided this is the right place for me to further my knowledge about my platform. Been over on AZ for a couple years so i’m no N00b to the scene. Car is a 2004 Imola

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/336/18949273590_364c6b9a26_k.jpg

That pic was taken by a friend of the AZ community and i absolutely love it. I’ve had the car for almost a year and half now and have loved every moment of it, yeah right! I mean i love the car but it can be a PITFA sometimes but i still wanna keep it and still wanna pay for it. Anyways got the car decently priced with 103xxx miles on it. Came with APR dps, Custom MagnaFlow Cat Back, APR Tune. Car rips. I’ve done a ton of maintenance on it mainly preventative but some reactive. Did all the seals, valley pan nonsense, Intake Manifold cleaning and some other minor stuff.

Now as it sits has 130xxx miles on it. I put the rims and the adjustable coilovers on it and other cosmetic changes. But really starting to try and do some modding however i was hesitant because i knew it was a ticking timebomb. Well just so recently i got a bad code saying B2 camshaft set-point not reached (Over-Advanced) so i’m thinking my time bomb finally went. So that is actually going to happen in the next couple weeks and then i want to start throwing some go fast goodies like all the JHM LW stuff and Spacers and the AUX rad delete. Possibly work my way up to the SC. We’ll see. I really want to move into an RS4.

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/406/18949381238_0ee4a90ee5_k.jpg

Some More Pics.

https://flic.kr/p/vanxUe

And the day i picked this beast up!

https://goo.gl/photos/qkvCRpWvdpvgXuUp9

Look forward to being part of this great community and learning the most and also giving back when i can.

Thanks!
-Josh

#2

WOW that yellow just pops… The car looks great and after you get the timing stuff sorted out. Its actually a very reliable fun fast car. Espically when you start adding the JHM parts

#3

Hai Josh!

#4

Very nice! My girlfriend scoffed at the yellow. What does she know though, the only cars she’s ever owned have been white Fords.

Like Justin said, you should absolutely prioritize taking care of the timing components. Bulletproof that motor and then JHM the hell out of it. :slight_smile:

The RS4 will make more power in the long run, but you will be able to get more power out of the S4 in the short term for cheaper.

#5

Thanks man! Yeah I’m gonna start doing some investigation this weekend hopefully. I just don’t have a garage so I’m kinda in a tough spot. It’s a quick car for sure but up here at altitude just missing something so… Well see where this next chapter takes me.

Hey Phillllllllllllll

Ha-ha fords! Blah.
I really want an rs4 just because they’re beautiful machines. I’m partial right now to my s4 given no garage and this happening but it was inevitable!

#6

Nice B6 you got there! Love the drop, just perfect. Seems like you’re on a correct path modwise, so you did your homework right :wink:

I can’t stress enough how right this is^ When these beasts are well maintained, they perform flawlessly. It’s truly a rewarding experience.

Btw your last two pictures did not load. The first two - amazing photography.

#7

That roller is sick. Welcome!

#8

Welcome to AR finally Josh. Good meeting you the other weekend. Let me know when you get started and I’ll roll by to help. Pizza is on me this time :wink: the rolling shot looks great. Too bad I can’t stand that photographer.

#9

If I can work it with my schedule I’d be glad to come over and help with things Josh. Let me know.

#10

Thanks guys! I appreciate the replies.

I just don’t get. I drove it around today and it feels great but when I mash it I can feel the timing getting retarded. I disconnect the driver side cam electrical adjusters and no change. Just a cel. Car feels solid except when it wants to advance/retard timing. I really don’t think it’s a skipped tooth but I would only truly know when I pulled the v/c’s to take a look. Something just doesn’t seem right here.

I may have found another engine for the time being in order to build the other block while I can still drive it around. But I would love to sort this out without spending the money on said engine so… Ugh.

#11

At this point you dont need a new motor you just need to replace the damaged adjuster. You need to pull the motor to do that job so it makes sense to just do the entire timing service as the guides will brake over time. Also it is a smart idea to replace both adjusters while you have the motor out to do the service.

I dont think you jumped a tooth yet. If you go long enough you can start to do some damage but if your not seeing missfires there is a good chance you dont have an serious issues yet. At this time it sounds like an easy fix is just to do the one timing kit

#12

Out of curiosity and for my own knowledge Justin, is the bad adjuster you’re talking about the mechanical adjuster or the electric actuator? I’m trying to picture the effect of either of them being bad - maybe a mechanical adjuster with a stuck pin or worn seat in the gear, or a bad electric actuator… what would that do? The little bit of understanding I’ve got tells me a bad actuator would throw misfire or “out of range” codes, but I don’t know. Care to explain?

#13

Your only really going to start to get missfire codes when you have valves hitting pistons. You might get a few from not having optiomal cam movement but thats only when the pin slips out.

The out of range code and the logs show the cams are not adjusting at all. In most cases this that the pin placement location on the adjuster is wollowed out and cant hold in for adjustment. did that make sense

#14

Yes, thank you. I had pictured in my mind that the pin hole being wallowed out would give erratic timing or would allow the pin to slide up the wallowed out part and retract when it wasn’t supposed to.

So what’s the function of the electric actuator?

#15

The electric actuator controls the oil flow. The system uses the oil as a semi hydrolic system. This is why going over 5000 miles on the oil isnt a good idea. You can test the actuator when you remove it. If one wanted to. You can remove the one actuator and place it on the other side to see if there is an issue. Or you can just remove it and test it.

Still after all this its not if the guides and sprockets will wallow out. Its when will they. so pulling the motor to change all the timing parts rebuild the adjusters and chance the sprocket on each side is a great idea

#16

aww not this cheese dick

:wink:

#17

Kick rocks you damn lock ness monster.

#18

I’m just gonna need about tree fiddy

#19

Haven’t been around in a while. Car was stored for a couple months and finally got to pull the engine. Timing tools are coming Thursday so I can disassemble and get further information. I was able to pull this whole engine with literally no help. Ha-ha. Broke a couple things but they were small.
http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/11/03/349ba80c55408108c8d1e4b01c051297.jpg

http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/11/03/2f22753632daba8e4ddb54784852e033.jpg

So far only the lower guide is broken which is standard but I’m anxious to pull the mechanical adjuster off the driver side to see if the pin totally failed… Also pulling the heads to replace valve seals and check cylinder wall integrity.

Do you guys suggest me taking the heads tk get decked before reinstalling back onto the block?? I really want to get them washed. Do machine shops wash them with the valve train still intact minus lifters, cams, and so on…?

Thanks!
I’m excited and overwhelmed at the same time.

#20

http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/11/03/d4c756a50c1b64b50f2a7c6ff36b1c07.jpg

Also this is a pic of my driver side cam slits. Seems as if they aren’t parallel much like the passenger side. I’m starting to think mechanical adjuster failure.