Possible new purchase, pretty excited but advice needed

[DivineE]

Hi guys,

I've lurked here as a guest many times, owned a few other Audi's and found great advice. It looks rather likely (almost certain) now that I will be trading my 996 turbo for an B5 RS4 this Sunday

As above I'm pretty excited because until the offer of this part ex came along I was seriously thinking of biting the bullet an buying a god awful diesel! However an RS4 seemed too tempting to miss. I've always had a bit of a thing for the VAG V6 sound ever since my Mk5 R32 (the only car I've ever owned from new) but always felt it needed a turbo to really come alive. The N/a was a bit flat.

I don't know why the thought never occurred to me but it seems owning Audi's close relative the 2.7 v6 turbo would be a pretty good way to get an equivalent v6 turbo that has been built properly by the factory!

My only concern is the 2.7t does have a bit of a reputation in my mind for being made out of cheese in comparison to the older Audi 5-cylinder turbo unit and I do rather enjoy using the throttle. So who is the best specialist I can go to once I've got the car to get a real thorough check over? Maybe take the heads off and check the cams/bores etc? I've had a lot of bad experiences with car specialists in the past and am really looking for a no nonsense, drive in/drive out service where I can trust they know what to look for, wont waste money on unnecessary the 'investigation and trial parts' game and will put it back together correctly so I can enjoy ragging the car in peace and harmony?

An customer recommendations from those that have had similar work done very warmly received.

Regards,

Ben

p.s. Some great clips of these cars on YouTube. Makes tempting watching.

[HEKTOR]

There are a few very good specialists that i would recommend. JJB motors, Unit 20, Bahnstorm etc they really know these cars inside out and will do a fantastic job.

If you speak to them before you buy the car they may be willing/able to do a pre-purchase inspection which could save you buying the wrong car and a small fortune.

Eddie

[lengster1]

Cams are made of chocolate and not cheap to sort,get it inspected,is it modded? Could be a let down after the 996t unless its been sorted

[DivineE]

I'm sure I will extremely quickly regret saying this especially as it's not 100% problem free but I'm pretty mechanically knowledgeable so took a risk and took the plunge this afternoon.

She started from totally cold with the bonnet open and my head right in the engine bay. Purred as smooth as a cat, not a tick or knock to be heard (except the compressor/pumps clicking in after a few seconds). Once warm same story (makes a lovely noise).

My only worry is the temperature gauges stayed worrying cold! It's very very cold here but it only made it to 90* once and that worried me. Could it be someone has intentionally removed the rad valve to stop the car running hot?! Hmmm still no smoke to be seen and very low hydrocarbon count on the week old MOT emissions. So it must be burning fairly clean and I'm not too worried about head gasket.

Also the power steering pump whines. He'd already told me about this but it's pretty obvious it needs replacing.

Other than that she looks in very tidy nick inside and out. Drives and rides very nicely with very responsive controls and no knocks or clunks over potholes and bumps. Feels nice and tight.

So far I'm totally smitten. I've always liked Audi's. I loved my S3 and this is in another league. I love the responsiveness of the controls, it reminds me of an early Impreza only it has really nice interior, a sexy dash and a real engine with torque and power band. My only question is.. really... can it REALLY be this fast standard?!! The previous owner says he's taken it to Audi and they say it's standard standard but it feels insanely, giggle worthily, naughtily fast! It really made me grin.

I don't think it would quite match the pace of my 500 ish hp 996 (which was lighter too) but it doesn't feel too far shy! It really hurls forward! There's no receipt but suddenly I'm suspicious of the MTM paperwork in the history?! The car definitely went to them at 75k miles.

P.s. where would you get a power steering pump replaced down south? Is it a common part to all the V6 engines or specific to the RS?

[DivineE]

http://www.tsr-performance.com/contact/

These guys look pretty on the money. Has anyone here used them?

[graemep]

The car should be the same as your old S3, i.e. get to 90 and stay there, so could be something like the thermostat on it's way out.

Don't worry too much about the whine from the power steering, they all do it on lock. If the fluid level is OK,the fresh fluid might help ease it - i have heard of an additive helping but can't remember where I heard it.

One of the specialists recommended above will be able to tell you if its been mapped, but if it has a receipt from MTM the QSTuning might be able to confirm that one..

Most of all, enjoy the new car!!

[DivineE]

Cheers for that. I will focus my efforts on the temperature issue first then. Get to the bottom of that. I do have some qstuning paperwork for a few bits. No mention of map. I'll call them.

In the meantime I'm a happy guy! I often feel disappointed by fast cars nowadays, having gone from a cerbera to a modified 996t things like m3's just feel a bit lacking. The b5 RS4 appears to be a well kept secret

[PaulR]

I am surprised that no one has mentioned MRC Tuning. They've looked after my car very satisfactorily for the last 5 years or so. They're in Banbury, so it depends where in the country you are located. I agree with what's been said about the thermostat - mine was done last year to resolve painfully slow warmup and never making it to 90 in cold weather and about the PS pump.

And even after 9 years the standard performance never fails to pit a smile on my face.

Paul.

[DivineE]

Hmmm if its a tricky job I might have a go at changing the thermostat valve myself. I have trust issues with specialists not taking the same care an owner would and causing three problems to solve one!

Can anyone point me to where it's placed in the system? Is it at the entrance to the block like an s3 or on the entrance/exit of the radiator?

Many thanks for help so far.

P.s. I heard a few bad stories about MRC, stories of trouble with their re-maps which put me off? Anyone heard anything like those or is it just vicious rumours?

[HEKTOR]

Changing the thermostat involves removing the cambelt, so while you are there you would be well served to do a full cambelt, water pump, rollers and all associated parts service, which is around £700+

[DivineE]

Thanks. Sounds like it might be easier to let someone else do it as a job lot! Now just the decision as to having Audi main dealer accountability (who should do the job right) but £120 per hour labour rates! Or recognised specialist with labour rates that fit the economic market but less to lose in accountability if it all goes up the creek?!

Regards,

Ben

[graemep]

You could turn that argument on it's head though.

Dealer's tend to change the minimum no of items when doing the cambelt service, not items such as water pump, and see these cars once in a blue moon. A specialist sees them a lot more frequently, and will be more familiar with them.

And no problems at all here with a MRC map - have had it on mine for about 4 years, and would happilly recommend.

[DivineE]

Booked with Qs tuning. There are lots of their receipts in my cars history, they are recommended above and they replace all the parts you would do if you were doing it yourself (all rollers, tensioners, water pump, thermostat valve, ancillary belt etc) for the same price as Audi doing the basic job with none of those extras included.

Sounds good so I will report on my experiences after all is done.

May even discover the secrets as to why my car is so fast too!

[DivineE]

I had a very informative conversation with Kim from QS tuning this afternoon. It turns out my car used to belong to the creator of this site, John! Great stuff. I'd love to know if there are any old video clips or old pictures of the car on the net?

Also nice to know my dyno is up to scratch. I thought must be close to 500hp, dyno says 476hp. Built by the original German MTM team when they were over in the UK with hybrid turbos, downpipes and exhaust ..thought it sounded a bit meaty.

Great result. I'm glad to report it's still running beautifully (besides the couple of bits mentioned above) and it has found the right owner. I don't tend to keep my cars a long time but it will get all the TLC it could ever wish for in my care. I'll polish it back up to scratch and make sure it's sound enough for the next 10 years

Regards,

Ben

[DivineE]

Well what a great day. Met Kim from QST who has an amazing knowledge of these cars. He'd summed up a full report on the car within 5 mins of a short test drive and investigations in the workshop only confirmed what he had already told me. I've now discovered the car has a solid flywheel, uprated clutch and mtm manifolds in addition to the other bits I knew about.

The full 120k service has been done (oil flush and change, filters, plugs belts and rollers etc), cams have been inspected and are fine (phew!), two boost leaks were identified and fixed and I am sitting looking at a shiny car with a dyno print out for 498hp

All in all a top result!