Cost effective maintenance as they age . . .
Cost effective maintenance as they age . . .
Just wondering if people are looking into cost effective maintenance options like refurbishment of parts and the like. As these cars get older they will become uneconoical to maintain otherwise. I also feel it keeps values up as they make the car a less scary prospect. A lot of high end cars that have fallen down the price ladder have a good following in terms of user maintenance. I'm looking into the possibility of rebuilding a DRC strut to see if its possible.
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Re: Cost effective maintenance as they age . . .
Certainly some components are silly money when the only option Audi give you is replacement, so rebuilds/refurbishment can drop the costs considerably - but not always. Ancillaries such as alternators, power steering pumps and AC compressors can be rebuilt, sometimes on a core exchange basis if you're lucky, brake calipers too. Audi themselves offer a number of parts on a core return although for some reason a lot of dealers either don't know or won't admit it (although I can't see that a dealer would charge a customer full price for an item and then return the old one to cut their costs - much). For instance, inner CV joints and most belt driven water pumps are exchange items.
If, as appears likely, the turbos are a model used on Imprezas then the CHRAs are pretty much cheap as chips, running at around 1/10th of the 2.5K Audi want for a new turbo assembly.
Having said that, unless you're doing your own maintenance the cost saving won't make much of a hole in the labour cost of a job that requires the engine dropping.
If, as appears likely, the turbos are a model used on Imprezas then the CHRAs are pretty much cheap as chips, running at around 1/10th of the 2.5K Audi want for a new turbo assembly.
Having said that, unless you're doing your own maintenance the cost saving won't make much of a hole in the labour cost of a job that requires the engine dropping.
Re: Cost effective maintenance as they age . . .
Of course some items won't be rebuildable but if things like DRC could be repaired rather than replaced. That would be a big win. What's the script with the turbos?
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Re: Cost effective maintenance as they age . . .
From what I've been able to track so far, the suggestion is that the turbos are IHI RHF55, which are also used on Imprezas and Foresters. As yet I can't get 100% confirmation on that though.
I'll keep digging when I have time although I'm probably going to have to end up either pulling one of mine or finding a wrecked one I can strip before I get an answer.
If it turns out to be correct, there's a ball bearing version of it.
I'll keep digging when I have time although I'm probably going to have to end up either pulling one of mine or finding a wrecked one I can strip before I get an answer.
If it turns out to be correct, there's a ball bearing version of it.
Re: Cost effective maintenance as they age . . .
That would be excellent news and a massive saving. As I say I'm currently looking at the possibility of repairing DRC shocks. Someone must have a stock turbo lying around? What about seeing if one of the tuners has a knackered one?
Re: Cost effective maintenance as they age . . .
that's an option... or another avenue would be breakers (not that many around) or ebay.
2008 RS6 Avant (Monza Silver)
- Stage II MRC tune with gearbox (720PS/850Nm)
- MIJ Powerflow exhaust (non-res)
- H&R ARBs
- Stage II MRC tune with gearbox (720PS/850Nm)
- MIJ Powerflow exhaust (non-res)
- H&R ARBs
Re: Cost effective maintenance as they age . . .
Another item I'm looking at is propshaft centre bearings. Most places can replace the bearing for you for around £200. However often the only issue is the rubber has degraded. I'm going to be trying a fix with a polyurethane bushing making kit to see how that works.
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