RS4 engine trouble

Post by **ZeroK66** » Fri Jan 19, 2007 12:49 pm

Strange you say that... the 10w60 is specifically for BMW "M" motors... you saying the RS4 has smaller clearances than BMW? You seem to be the expert though, so Just voicing my thoughts...

Post by **alex_123_fra** » Fri Jan 19, 2007 9:22 pm

Thanks for that Scott. That is indeed quite worrying. Is this a trait of this particular FSI engine? Would this not have been discovered during testing by Audi?

I'm a bit worried about buying a second hand RS4 now as it seems a large percentage of them may have sh@gged engines.

How does the dynamic service interval work. What does the computer do to decide the interval?

Post by **SteveH** » Fri Jan 19, 2007 10:26 pm

Interesting reading... RS6 interval is every 10K. Must admit that I've recently been thinking of getting the next service slightly earlier.

Post by **RI_RS4** » Fri Jan 19, 2007 11:15 pm

Alex, it seems to be a trait of all Direct Injection engines. It may not be quite as large a problem in Europe,because you have better fuel and can run in the stratified mode, which we don't have on this side of the pond. But I suspect it's still a problem there, too. So far the issue has shown up in every direct injection engine over here.

Also, don't be worried about a used RS4. All you need to do is to take an oil sample and have it analyzed to see how healthy the engine is after running it for 500 km, and have an agreement that if it does not come back healthy you will return it.

Post by **simmo** » Sat Jan 20, 2007 11:04 pm

Always a risk of high wear and increased propensity for self destruction with an engine that for all intents and purposes is a cut-down racing engine that will be used and abused by the masses. My view is to treat it like a racing engine and change the engine oil FAR more freqently than the computer predicts. Lets geat real, long life service regimes are for TDi's not daily revved to 8250rpm RS4's.

I was at the dealer yesterday getting my TMC upgrade done and there was another RS4 up on the lift with engine down (sitting on a stack of crates mind) in full glory...I must say seeing the whole engine in the flesh was very interesting. Quite massive with a relatively small gearbox to handle 420 odd horses. Also note worthy was the amount of heatshielding present around the engine bay. The other startling obvious thing was the need for a full engine out for most any ancillary component servicing - it took the dealer 2 days to get the beast out from under the car (probably also due it being the first they've had to do!).

The car had been recovered with a kaput engine due to valve spring failure! An obvious sign of high speed abuse.

Warm up those engines properly boys and girls, change the oil frequently...and sell the car when the warranty is up

Post by **lengster1** » Sat Jan 20, 2007 11:45 pm

Does the b7 get an oil temp gauge like in the b5?It really does take longer than you think before the engine is fully up to temperature,it sometimes 10+ minutes before any sign of the oil temp moving in my b5 but the water temp says all is fine well before!Change the oil in my cars every 5k to me its a no brainer with engines in this state of tune,manufacturers dont help nowadays as long service intervals helps them sell cars easier to fleets etc and make the pence per mile running costs look better,some diesels are on 30k service intervals,the latest oils are good but im not sure THAT good.

Post by **simmo** » Sun Jan 21, 2007 12:06 am

lengster1 wrote:Does the b7 get an oil temp gauge like in the b5?

Sure does. I like to see a steady 95C+ on the oil before getting eager with the right foot.

Post by **ZeroK66** » Sun Jan 21, 2007 12:42 am

Oh dear... not sounding good for the B7!

Post by **LucasK** » Sun Jan 21, 2007 10:18 am

I had one of the 1st RS4s in Sydney, Australia, arrived last April. I jsut swapped the car for the RS4 cabrio last week.

My sedan went through a lot of oil in the 1st 4000km, about 3litres of the Audi long life stuff. I then asked them to do a full oil change, and the engine felt much better. I added an extra 2500km before swapping the car.

I didnt follow the run-in procedures in the manual, I instead i took the car on some long drives and revved it through the range all the time. Audi took the car in a few times to check it out, and there were no problems with the car. I agree you really need to watch the oil and get it changed regularly. Because i let audi look at my car regularly to see how it was holding up we learnt a lot of things about the car, but it didnt cost me anything because Audi looked after it for me.

The other thing, is that the sparks get clogged up, theres another owner in Sydney thats having continuous engine problems because he doenst drive the car much other than to and from work. His car is in the shop every month to get the sparks replaced, he's had so many problems.

Post by **alex_123_fra** » Sun Jan 21, 2007 3:11 pm

lengster1 wrote:Does the b7 get an oil temp gauge like in the b5?It really does take longer than you think before the engine is fully up to temperature,it sometimes 10+ minutes before any sign of the oil temp moving in my b5 but the water temp says all is fine well before!Change the oil in my cars every 5k to me its a no brainer with engines in this state of tune,manufacturers dont help nowadays as long service intervals helps them sell cars easier to fleets etc and make the pence per mile running costs look better,some diesels are on 30k service intervals,the latest oils are good but im not sure THAT good.

I agree, it takes a lot longer than people realise for the oil temperature to reach optimal levels. On my Noble, which is a 3.0 Ltr twin turbo V6 it takes 15+ mins on average (in normal town driving) for the temp to reach 90-95 in the current weather. Water temperature reaches optimal levels within 5 minutes. You have to be really careful not to abuse these cars prior to optimal oil temperature being reached. It is so tempting not to bother as, often, by the time your oil temp is where it should be, you've reached your destination.

I have a nasty feeling Audi are going to be replacing many 4.2 ltr V8s under warranty if any of this is to go by. Very disappointing to have the "bullet-proof" image that I had of this marque so heavily knocked by these findings. If Honda can make incredible NA engines which embarrass almost any other engine manufacturer for reliability and bhp/litre, why can't audi?

Post by **Andyuk911** » Sun Jan 21, 2007 8:33 pm

Lucas,

The spark plugs is a known thing .. you can't stop and start it when cold.. I was warned by the Audi dealer

Andy

Post by **simmo** » Mon Jan 22, 2007 11:38 pm

Andyuk911 wrote: The spark plugs is a known thing .. you can't stop and start it when cold.. I was warned by the Audi dealer

It's a matter of good practice to get the engine warm before shutting it down; just ask any RX-8 owner (or ex owner

) that has accidently flooded their engine by moving the car a few yards, necessitating a trip on the flat-bedder to the dealer to have the plugs cleaned. Many modern engines dump a lot a fuel in on cold startup to get the cat up to temp quickly. Downside of course is tendency to foul the plugs. No biggie and not really a legitimate criticism of the supremo RS4 donk.

Well run in + properly warmed + regular oil changes = no worries

Post by **simmo** » Mon Jan 22, 2007 11:46 pm

LucasK wrote:The other thing, is that the sparks get clogged up, theres another owner in Sydney thats having continuous engine problems because he doenst drive the car much other than to and from work. His car is in the shop every month to get the sparks replaced, he's had so many problems.

Tell him to getting a hotter range of plugs fitted...or move to the central coast

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