The intro post.
Project from the grave. Some of this was spoken about in this post.
http://audirevolution.net/forum/index.php?topic=3194.0
This is meant to be an ongoing series, broken down into phases’ The idea is to break the information down like this.
Pre intro
Intro and first look over and diagnosis. Part 1 and 2 - This thread
Phase 1 - motor removal and inspection
Phase 2- look over all the needed replacement parts and their intended replacement thoughts
Phase 3 replacement and install tips
Phase 4 motor install and first start tips and checks.
Phase 5 drive test drive
Phase Test or testing of new old ideas.
Phase Test. Try to get the car to the track.
[QUOTE]Project from the grave. Everything you need to know, if you’re a new B6 B7 S4 owner or if you’re a current owner looking for some direction. This is a super long read. I would like to think if you own or are excited about your B6 or B7 S4, this will be a good read.
The idea here was to get a high mileage S4 that had never been touched. Buy the car and show everything that has broken or been worn-out over time. Lots of owners are in the almost over 100,000 mile range or over. Even more owners have these cars and might not know what is truly needed and what is just a waste of money. The project is for us, the excited people about their B6 and B7 S4 cars. It’s like the peoples project car. I thought this would be fun and helpful. This is the first in a long line of threads getting to the bottom of the B6 and B7 S4. Showing what works what doesn’t and helping to dispel myths and create excitement about a great car.
[/quote]
This and all the following threads are meant to be both fun and educational. I’ll show every step of the way and try to show more than you have ever seen in another build thread. If you don’t see something just feel free to ask. If you ever thought you had the worst luck with cars or your projects just enjoy reading this. Things tend to be even worse than you can imagine when you actually set out to find a car with as much wrong with it as possible.
The search
I missed my original B6 S4 every since I sold it. I planned on getting another one when the time was right. It seems like the time is right as, I was seeing more and more cars getting parted out, I felt that it was a waste and that most of the same cars could be saved. Knowing that, I didn’t need anything too crazy and I really didn’t want a mint condition car. I wanted a car that most people would find if they were getting a used S4. Actually, I wanted to find a good example of the bad side of what people would find when looking for a used S4. The same kind of car that in the past most would have parted out or sold to get away from all the possible issues.
usually, you’re on the search for the best car, this was the opposite of that. I actually found a few cars that I said “I’m sorry, your car is too nice. I was hoping it was in worse condition.” That’s usually a shocker when you tell that to the seller of a car. I did actually have one guy try to convince me on how bad of a condition his car was in. Strangely enough, he didn’t do a good enough job.
After months of searching, I found a good candidate. The car was a 04 just over 100k with almost original everything. Even the clutch was original. The big thing that I wanted to see was the dreaded camshaft position fault with multiple misfires. Just months before he put the car for sale, the owner sent the car to Audi to get the original issue with the camshaft fault fixed. They replaced the passenger side camshaft mechanical adjuster. That may have fixed one of the issues, but there was still clearly others.
The car wasn’t in the greatest shape. A few parts were missing but, for what I wanted to do it would be just fine. I looked at the car very deeply and told the owner all that was wrong, and that I couldn’t pay what he was asking but would be willing to take the car for an adjusted price. He knew something was very wrong with the car that was going to require serious work, he just didn’t know what and how much work was needed. I gave him some time to think everything over and he came back with a reasonable price. I took his offer and paid him for the car.
Since the owner knew the car wasn’t in good shape and he shouldn’t drive it, he left it in the parking lot at his work. Later that night I came back to get the car and drive it home. On the drive home. you could tell there were some issues and that the car definitely needed a good amount of work. The car definitely had one foot in the grave, I almost started to second guess driving the car back to the house rather than putting it on a trailer. After limping the car home, it was obvious that the car hadn’t seen much if any maintenance. as I said even the clutch was original and it was showing signs of it. Whenever I pushed in the clutch pedal I would hear a whining noise that clearly wasn’t supposed to be there and wasn’t good. Well, that was just the beginning.
The closer inspection
The drive home told me the car wasn’t in good shape. Now, I just needed to see how bad it was with a deeper inspection. The codes [ put in codes] were those of a failed timing component somewhere. The big issue was any potential damage done that was going to cause a repair to the heads. I popped the hood and gave a listen, you can hear a bad ticking noise, that clearly isn’t supposed to be there. http://youtu.be/PgjcG--nEkE
The overall inspection left me with an understanding that the timing system needed to be repaired, the interior needed a few new pieces, broken headlight tabs, clearly something wrong with the clutch, body had some missing pieces, a few bumps and bruises and that was the beginning.
Here is what everything looked like.
Interior
https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7586/17007170585_496b1a308b_z.jpg
https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8644/16585889678_f7a729bef0_z.jpg
https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7628/16586059700_92a0bc1296_z.jpg
https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8738/16820967979_d8a2a924e3_z.jpg
https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8714/17007170805_fdce03a3a8_z.jpg
https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8811/17073563445_eb90840862_z.jpg
The exterior
https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7616/17007171515_d48ae4bd40_z.jpg
https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8671/16587307929_432bb2ef80_z.jpg
https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7609/16820969229_b8633dc1e7_z.jpg
https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8703/16453421423_d580689bf5_z.jpg
If you know anyone with that lower front grill piece let me know. I’ve been on the hunt for one.
I’ll be keeping a list of everything I needed to change on the car or, that was broken or missing on the car.
The next thing I started looking at was under the hood more. With that… Here we go… Its a long crazy ride.
The list
All found in first post.
Missing lower grill
Broken headlight tabs
Headlight switch