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A4 tqm bites the dust. Or does it?

kermac

Active member
My trusty b5 has started making a rattling noise from the general direction of the engine. The local mechanic thinks it's a big end and he could well be right. But she's only racked up 460,000 km. Is nothing built to last these days?

Anyway, the question is what to do about her? Probably not worth pulling the engine out and replacing the bearings. A donor engine might be a better option, but either would be beyond my abilities these days.

I'd be sad to see her go. She's top of the range with full leather, sunroof and a pretty fancy set of factory wheels. And she's in pretty good nick inside and out if you ignore the death rattle from the motor. She has been given a number of upgrades over the years such as an ATP GTRS turbo and hi-flo inlet, 3" turbo-back exhaust tapering to a stock muffler, 480cc injectors and Unitronic fuelling, Snow methanol/water injection and Apikol sidemount. Clutch (single plate) was a St 2 or 3 something or other. I'd have to look up the details, but it handled the power exceptionally well without being too heavy on the pedal. Gearbox perfect. She was fitted with Eibach springs and Bilstein shocks but these were destroyed by multiple potholes on our local roads during the 2021-22 rains, so replaced with the original factory sports suspension. A8 front discs with TT calipers and Red Stuff pads. Bodywork is neat and even the Conti tyres have lots of life left. There is a little oil leaking from the motor, and she blows a bit of smoke occasionally. Even with 10W60 synthetic, she gets through a bit of oil these days.

Would this be of interest to anyone? She was pretty quick in her day, and the body is still tight. She spent most of her life on the highway, commuting 100 kms each way to work or 50,000 per year. Brake pads last for ever. She was amazingly economical with the petrol - I often recorded 7 litres (or better) per 100 km on the highway or a remarkable 40 mpg. Could be a good buy for someone who is handy with the spanners and has the facilities to lift out a motor.

PM or email me if you want to know more.
 
Sad news Kerry. Hope you can engender some interest but it seems that many today expect a 25 year old "new" car. Be a great project for someone.
 
Thanks Tony. I know you're right. I wouldn't expect anyone under 50 (perhaps 60?) to show any interest in anything other than a brand-new car with all the latest electronic distractions. However, there are still some true enthusiasts around (people who know what a manual gearbox is) like the very gifted Ian Gonzaga who bought my 2001 TT Roadster - almost perfect except for the hole in the bottom of the engine 😉 and did a wonderful job bringing it back to life.

It's worth a shot...
 
I'll start the bidding.... $50 + a bottle of Johnnie Blue...

There's still a market for these Kerry!
 
Ha ha! Thanks Mike. You still in business? Long time no hear. There would have to be a market as it was a great model. I never grew tired of it and it was amazing for getting past the horse floats and B Doubles on twisty country roads. Until they painted double white lines down the middle of everything...
 
Ha ha! Thanks Mike. You still in business? Long time no hear. There would have to be a market as it was a great model. I never grew tired of it and it was amazing for getting past the horse floats and B Doubles on twisty country roads. Until they painted double white lines down the middle of everything...
If by business you're referring to R&D on the 1.8T - that ship sailed a long time ago. I find I'm owing more time to life than what I am afforded... Still got all the parts, all the pieces, all of the go-fast bits. Maybe one day...
 
sad to hear mate. I think the dodgy airbag stories killed off the b5 models unfortunately.

B5 1.8Tq was my first Audi (ok, I started later than some of you) and I think we've had an audi in the family since...

Sent from my SM-S926B using Tapatalk
 
I didn't hear those dodgy airbag stories, Stu. There were a lot of models from a lot of manufacturers that were forced to send out recall notices for the Takata (?) bags, but I never heard about a big increase in airbag injuries. I think I received three recall notices but after a bit of research I decided against following up as the dealer was over 100km away and the likelihood of failure was low - and more likely to be the bag(s) inflating unnecessarily than failing to inflate in a serious accident. Of course that can cause injuries too.

Or did I get that wrong? Maybe I could take the dealer up on the offer and ask if he would pop in a new big end bearing while the car's in the workshop 🤪
 
I thought all b5's were affected (tarka bags), but some were swapped out with allroad ones (?), and some were bought back/trades in..

I also though that you also couldn't get rego until they were fixed, but I actually don't really remember to be really honest.

Sent from my SM-S926B using Tapatalk
 
I thought you stuck a new(er) motor in it from Drewe a ways back?, if you can limp the old girl out to the hume Ill stick a reco engine in it for ya. Ive got a car transport sailing past each week melb -syd-melb and can get you a cash deal. I dont get down your way often to tow her back myself
 
Thanks for the offer Ed. That sounds like the way to go. The Hume's only 16km from here so that might be feasible. There's a parking bay right at the road junction where the upload could be done.

The other possibility is for me to borrow a trailer and tow it up to your place myself. Any idea of a ball-park cost?

Yes you have an excellent memory. Must be at least 10 years since I bought Drewe's motor but I can't remember whether his motor had 180K clicks on it or whether that was mine. Anthony Costello did the swap for me in Canberra.

She's worth nothing sitting in the carport with a busted motor, so it would be better to have her up and running so at least I could sell her as a going concern if necessary.
 
Kerry,
Re the airbags, I had the recall letter, took my A4 to the Canberra dealer and they inspected it and passed it, put a sticker on included. No cost.
 
G'day Kerry, you'll have no difficulty having the Takata airbag replaced by any Audi dealership. Just call the Takata hotline number and quote your VIN. They'll assign a Reference Number to your vehicle. 1800 856 770
If you haven't had a letter about Airbag replacement, you need to notify Audi Australia. https://forms.audi.com.au/change-vehicle-ownership
There are few people looking at buying and a few selling, who appreciate a well maintained B5 A4 S4 etc. Quattro Manuals are still favoured, and bonus points for an Avant. Many keep their older cars for their children and grandchildren to use, rather than sell them, so that's always an option. I had a young aprentice mechanic travel from Brisbane to Canberra to purchase one of my B5 A4 1.8t quattros, so that's encouraging.

Sent from my SM-S711B using Tapatalk
 
Thanks Dirk. That's very encouraging news re marketability of tqm's. Of course the b5 was quite light (less than 1400 kg), which helped both performance and fuel consumption.
Ed got back to me with more encouraging news about the likely cost of repairs. If it can be fixed up with a reconditioned or donor motor, that would be my preference.
 
We're very lucky to have such a strong network here. Hopefully, the economics and transport logistics will work out for you with Ed at www.quattromotorsport.com.au Repairing or replacing an engine is certainly an economic dilemna, considering the value of the vehicle in the present condition combined with any recent expenditure on parts and maintainance. Obviously, it will hold value if it has a clean bill of health and good maintenance records.

Sent from my SM-S711B using Tapatalk
 
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