My S4 ownership saga...

[zippysedan]

Not namin' names of the wicked but they know who they are. First of all the guy that sold me my 2000 S4 tip (loaded, bose, moon roof, leather, black on black). His mechanic messed up the timing belt job as well as the valve cover gasket job, leaked all over the place, and the timing belt sounded like it was going to break the cover. I got $500 off the car. The alignment was off so I got under it and discovered I needed control arms, I had A4 tie rod ends, snapped springs in the rear, so I got a stock-height street sport suspension. I treated myself to OZ Ultraleggera wheels, 17" in black, so naturally the rack goes, so I had a shop fix that. They never bolted my subframe back together, so my motor mounts are toast, and next a turbo goes. That's what I have been waiting for, a $5000 problem to make all these $2000 problems look like nothing. So, naturally, I got a set of K04's off ebay, some used inlets, Rs4 intercoolers, APR pipes, and poached an Audi tech to do it for me for $1000. I also scored an APR bipipe for $100. Now that it's sprawled out on my garage floor, I figured I would post some pictures of the carnage for you nice folks. If you faint at the sight of fluids splattered indiscriminately on concrete, don't look.

PS I just found out my after run coolant pump has to go as well. This dude is STILL only charging me for the parts. Also, the valve guides leak, he's gonna use compressed air to keep the valves from falling into the engine while he compresses the springs and removes them, replaces the guides, and we move on. You guessed it, all for the same $1000. The only thing that makes sense (I am getting charged about 70% dealer prices for all the new parts, except the oil feed lines which I got for $50) is the dude is five-fingering the parts and then selling them to me. Don't care, he's MY hero that's about all that counts...

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Names pretty unoriginal, I know. The motor mounts are an exquisite example of what happens to these cars when mechanics do shoddy work on them. I will let all inquirers know who did that if they ask, but this thread is not to bash anyone in particular.

[RolledMySTi]

This is why I trust no one and do the work myself. I'd rather learn than find out I hired an idiot.

[zippysedan]

I hear that. However, I figure I could easily do well over $1000 worth of damage to the car attempting a K04 swap alone, and if I got an inkling he was an idiot, I could always fire him; after all, the car is in my garage.

Also, he is the guy that works on my car at the dealer, and I interviewed him before I let him touch the car there. He has done this job enough times that it is second nature, and is teaching me a great deal about recognizing problems and fixing them before they get serious. The valve guides are a good example, as well as all the seals (that I thought had been fixed before, go figure!)

[2ndEngineS4]

That garage floor makes me want to cry. The duct tape on the trunk makes me want to find you and commit horrible, unspeakable, inhumane acts against you.

[zippysedan]

That garage floor makes me want to cry. The duct tape on the trunk makes me want to find you and commit horrible, unspeakable, inhumane acts against you.

Save it for the last owners with the duct tape. Some moron put a spoiler that I think came off a Taurus on the car, 3 pillars, screwed right into the trunk lid. I took it off because it was rotting the lock hardware and leaking water into my trunk, making the dead hookers in there soggy and mildewed. I am replacing the trunk lid.

That floor gets flooded whenever it rains, the garage has to come down but that's home ownership for you. Gotta pick your fights. When I knock the garage down I may bring in a Bobcat to remove all the concrete and pour a better slab. The maple 10 feet from my garage has pretty well ruined the slab though. So, cry all you want, but don't knock me unless you back it up with huge fat wads of cash. I may even let you perform a couple of those unspeakable acts for enough money. Then I can have a fixed car AND a fixed garage.

Wait, is this a garage forum or a car forum?