decision time .fix., or sell as a non runner

[carlssonaero]

I have posted before about my poor car. It was a great car until the TQ failed or worked loose and toasted the gearbox. In doing so it also wore the crank snout.

I was going to get a a good second hand crank I had sourced but my specialists in surrey say that they cant get new bearings from Audi anymore and they wouldn't put a decent used crank in with out new bearings (My car has done about 92K). So the car has sat in surrey with engine out for a bit over a year so the weather has had a bit of an effect, so will also need a some fettling etc .

My choices it seems are sell as a non runner or patch up and keep by having the crank snout welded up and get a recon box and torque converter from Chester automatics. My specialist says they could weld the crank but they are not sure how long that would last. I suppose my question is should I spend £5K on box and Torque converter and other bits etc putting into a car with a welded crank snout. I am still struggling after a year to know what to do.

I would sell if I could but it is too good and with good history and loads of good things about it to sell super cheap for parts. Help appreciated.

Here is a link to what it looked like before the problem arose

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/oqerpb8y761h ... WPPQa?dl=0

and here is a link topics of the car recently at the garage as it is now. (the aerial was removed so it would not get stolen and the front bumper is in the garage as no point putting it back as the engine was removed and although it is under the bonnet it is not fully installed.

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/33oh34smn9wo ... 5tisa?dl=0

If you might want to buy it I can make arrangements for you top view it in surrey

Julian

[Shoppinit]

That’s horrible luck.

I’d be making super sure that there was no bearing shells available. I bet they’re the same for all the C5 V8s. Maybe even the B7 V8s. Are there any aftermarket ones? Can you get some made?

What about trying to source another engine and bow from a breaker? These engines are generally indestructible even if you’re the exception that proves the rule.

[Mɐʇʇ]

Do you have a pic of the crank snout damage?

I think, if it’s genuinely shagged, I’d be just replacing the engine, rather than fannying about with crank swaps. You really need a proper engine builder with a clean room to contemplate that kind of surgery.

Although, it’s all aggro for you. Step one is deciding if you can be bothered with all the aggro.

Edited to add - does look like it’s the same shells as other V8s as Ben suggests

[rs4wagon]

thank me later

[rs4wagon]

i bought one owner rs6 off forum member form here who never fooking change the oil,look at the state of it my engine was taken apart,every bolt removed,propley cleaned block,rebild heads,turbos and 1000s other stuff,and then all assembled using new gaskets,orings,piston rings,shells etc etc

[IchBautAuto]

double post?????

[IchBautAuto]

That’s horrible luck.

I’d be making super sure that there was no bearing shells available. I bet they’re the same for all the C5 V8s. Maybe even the B7 V8s. Are there any aftermarket ones? Can you get some made?

What about trying to source another engine and bow from a breaker? These engines are generally indestructible even if you’re the exception that proves the rule.

Do this. You would be astounded at the cross pollination of engine parts. All RS engines have a few unique parts but most just come from the common VAG parts bin. There are parts for my RS4 (2.7) that are the same as RS6 items and there are some that are just common VW. On top of that there are aftermarket, particularly the US for the V8.

I wouldn't agree that you need any clinically clean area to change the crank. Any enclosed room is fine, clearly not in the sahara. That said you will need a cleaning tank and air and TIME on top of the right tools and professional grade measuring equipment. You are more likely to encounter line bore issues if you use ARP bolts etc instead of the factory ones. In fairness to Matt, it goes without saying that the person doing the transplant has to REALLY knows what they are doing. If this is what you do, it is easy to forget that not all mechanics are up to the task. There is a world of difference between a gun service mechanic and an engine builder.

Clearly another engine is the best (least work / expense) solution. The costs to button up one of these is pretty high for all the new parts needed (I'm doing my spare RS4 engine right now) so I'd make a rebuild a last resort unless you are a real enthusiast.

Despite it being a good example, anyone in the know will also know how pricey it would be to get it up and running again so at best it is only worth less than the difference between a repair and current market value.

[Gregstv]

No one dismantling an RS6 near you? I am always seeing them being stripped on some of the face book forums.

[srichards]

If Audi don't have the bearing shells then it sounds like a sensible thing to do for the next group buy...

It's a Cosworth meddled engine so there's got to be alternatives.

[carlssonaero]

regrettably I don't have the knowledge to take on sourcing parts much myself and am in the hands of the garage who don't seem to think its worth doing, or at least worth them doing. I think they are scared for me that I could end up paying £10K plus for all the work and not get the result I want.

What do you think a good engine would cost. All i have seen on ebay are what looks like bare blocks for a few thousand quid!!!

[Shoppinit]

Why not give Unit20 a call? Or MRC. Get it trailered up if they can help you. Wouldn't cost much.

Or wait for a RS6 to come up on eBay and get that, take the bits you want and part out the rest. There are a couple on there for 6k but you'd need to make sure the engine is OK, obvs. At least you can test the engine in a car rather than buy one off eBay, install it, and only then find out it's crap. I'd have thought you could make 3k back in parts sales if you can be bothered.

Or cut your losses. Sell the car for scrap and get on with your life. Nothing lasts forever. At this level, these decisions are no longer "brain" decisions but "heart" decisions.

[Mɐʇʇ]

Looks like it's the same bearings as all other V8s from 94 onwardsish.
Interesting discussion about it on motorgeek : https://www.motorgeek.com/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=8621
And it looks KingBearings have done a production run before (I found some references to them elsewhere as well as motorgeek), so might be worth an email to them : https://www.kingbearings.com/

@Tony : As we often do, we've disagreed whilst agreeing.
I view anything properly in the guts of the oil system as a bit like open heart surgery. 1 bit of grit or swarf is enough to ruin the expensive rebuild.
So while I said "clean room", I use those words to highlight that cleanliness is next to godliness when it comes to engine rebuilds, not that specifically, it has to be a hermetically sealed clean room. It's all just risk mitigation to avoid having to do it again and the average mechanics workshop I've been in is not clean enough IMVHO. And since this is the internet and things get quoted, I prefer to overstate rather than understate important things.

[Shoppinit]

Interesting thread. I wonder if the Gallardo bearing shells are in fact the same.

[srichards]

There's a list of king bearing distributors: https://www.kingbearings.com/where-to-buy/

[Mɐʇʇ]

Potentially this is the big end bearings : http://www.king-catalog.com/Catalog/Engine/20049213
However big ends also seem to still be available from audi.

Can't find mains though from King.