Blown Engine- 2010 Audi A6 3.0T

[heycap]

Hi Guys, I'm the unfortunate owner of a 2010 Audi A6 3.0T. Here's the gist. On my way home from work, the warning light came on indicating I needed to add coolant. The car has never given me any trouble. It has 103k miles and just got the 95K service with no issues. I stopped to dealership, they topped of the coolant and I drove off. A mile into the drive the temp gauge goes to hot. I return to Audi and leave it there. After a week I was told that the engine integrity was compromised: i.e. Blown Engine. I tried to get assistance thru AofA. After more than a month, the rep told me that they couldn't provide any assistance. Need your help. I still owe a little over $22K, and its worth no more than 16K or so. Does anyone know of a reputable place to purchase a used engine that comes with a warranty? Any suggestions to overcome this dilemma are appreciated. Thanks.

[boomtime]

I think there was a recall for that if im not mistaken or at least a TSB by vin for thermostat... was it?

[SlickMachine]

It can be done. Indy shop would be the way to go in my opinion. My business partner owns a small used car lot, long story short: he sold an A4 2.0T to a customer, within two weeks he brought it back because it was stalling out, blowing smoke, knocking, etc. Turns out there was a manufacturing defect in an intake valve which caused a chunk to break off and the engine ate it. He did the right thing and bought the car back,, Indy shop we both use located a used 2.0 and swapped it and although I don't remember the cost, I do remember being surprised thinking it would be more than what it was. He then resold the car to someone else, albeit at a lower price but loss was minimized this way. I know this doesn't help that much but thought I'd share the experience.

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[cal3thousand]

I would look at car-part.com or LKQ.com

I've had luck sourcing motors for other European makes 10 years ago. If you're mechanically inclined and have time, order one and do it. $100 cherry picker from Harbor Freight goes a long way.

I've seen some 3.2L on eBay for under 2500... not sure what a 3.0T would run. But a long block without supercharger can't be that much more.

Do you know what kind of damage is 'blown'? If it's a blown headgasket and you didn't warp the head, it's a simple headgasket replacement. Albeit one with a SC on top to remove first. And if the head is warped, it could be rebuilt if not too bad. OR you could buy a head and swap that in. Not sure if the head on a 3.2L and 3.0T are the same, but that would make it more affordable if so.

Overheating the motor is not as bad as skipping timing because the bottom end is likely ok on an overheat. On skipped or broken chain, fuggeddaboutit

[Dutch_A6]

I believe the heads are a bit different since the bore & stroke are not the same. I have looked at car-part.com and they have a number of 3t engines with and without the supercharger, they run between 3500-4500 depending on mileage and with or without the blower.

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[cal3thousand]

I believe the heads are a bit different since the bore & stroke are not the same. I have looked at car-part.com and they have a number of 3t engines with and without the supercharger, they run between 3500-4500 depending on mileage and with or without the blower.

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It makes sense that they are different. Especially since you mentioned bore. I thought they just stroked the motor for less compression and displacement, but the bore is also larger (after some research).

Hey, 4500 for a motor isn't bad. But I would definitely look into a rebuild rather than a straight swap. Well... I guess it would depend on what side of the good/fast/cheap triangle you are standing.

[Dutch_A6]

I think rebuilding would be the least costly option. To be honest I'm looking into doing a swap from my 3.2 to a 3t at some point as I think that will be cheaper than buying a new car as I love mine but need more power and I've seem plenty for less than 4k.

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[cal3thousand]

I think rebuilding would be the least costly option. To be honest I'm looking into doing a swap from my 3.2 to a 3t at some point as I think that will be cheaper than buying a new car as I love mine but need more power and I've seem plenty for less than 4k.

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It may be cheaper.

Also remember that there is a Torsen change in 2009 that went to a 60/40 R/F torque bias for less understeer at cornering limits. Might be worth it to buy a 3.0T car and swap the things you like over and sell your 3.2L

Just some food for thought.

[Dutch_A6]

Well at best it's just a thought right now, it was something I was thinking about if the engine blows but I'm hoping to get a long life out of this car, still have 14 more months till payoff.

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[IbisB8.5S4]

WTF man... this is two engines now that i've heard of in a couple days with coolant problems

http://www.audizine.com/forum/showth...eized-Now-what

[cal3thousand]

WTF man... this is two engines now that i've heard of in a couple days with coolant problems

http://www.audizine.com/forum/showth...eized-Now-what

I just glanced over that thread and the first thing that stands out to me is that the air-to-water intercoolers were replaced recently. Looks like bad repair work rather than a design or build issue.

But, yea... it sucks in any case. I'm going to replace my water pump and plastic-ass thermostat soon, just for piece of mind.

[heycap]

Hey guys I had a guy locate a used engine. It has about 75k miles. What's the shelf life on the replacement of a used engine. btw thanks for the great dialogue

[v8a6]

Hey guys I had a guy locate a used engine. It has about 75k miles. What's the shelf life on the replacement of a used engine. btw thanks for the great dialogue

They expire faster than skim milk. Make sure it wasnt sitting on the shelf for more than a week, or it is trash.

[heycap]

Hey guys I'm back after 6 months. Car still sitting. What are your thoughts of replacing my blown 2010 3.0 with a 2009 3.0. It seems cheaper. Are the engines compatible? I also had a thought of by a salvaged 2010 A6 3.0 from an auction yard. Desperate!!!!

[Dutch_A6]

That should be a straight swap, 2009-2011 used the same engine, i believe tunning etc was changed when the C7 was introduced in 2012.

[boomtime]

Hey guys I'm back after 6 months. Car still sitting. What are your thoughts of replacing my blown 2010 3.0 with a 2009 3.0. It seems cheaper. Are the engines compatible? I also had a thought of by a salvaged 2010 A6 3.0 from an auction yard. Desperate!!!!

Swap it out!

BTW how much they want for that engine?

[JPJ2007]

In for updates.

I'm preparing to buy a 3.2 in the next couple years with 213k on my current motor.
But I want to turn this into my project next year buy picking up a c7 3.0. Kinda scary the issues I'm seeing with the 3.0 c7's

[FormulaElement]

What kind of issues are you seeing. As far as I've seen they have been great engines. The earlier 3.0T's had some problems but most have been extremely reliable.

I'm just curious as I'm planning on buying a C7 in a few months and need a more reliable car than my 4.2 has been

[JPJ2007]

An issue with the valves that was recalled or tsb? Oil Consumption Issues as well. There was a third thing but I haven't payed super close attention because im not in a position to
purchase one yet.

[rayray]

I'm just curious to the outcome as I had a 2010 A6 3.0T

heycap, What's the details of your car? Where bought? How many miles on it when purchased? Any service history known?

[swoboda84]

Hey guys I'm back after 6 months. Car still sitting. What are your thoughts of replacing my blown 2010 3.0 with a 2009 3.0. It seems cheaper. Are the engines compatible? I also had a thought of by a salvaged 2010 A6 3.0 from an auction yard. Desperate!!!!

You should open the cylinder heads before you buy this engine! Did you hear something about the scratches in this engines?

[silver911rdb]

Does anyone know if a 3.0 engine from a 2012+ later a6 will fit into his 2010 A6? I have the same situation right now. I have a cracked block on my 2010 a6 avant. Ideally I would like to buy the lowest mileage, newest engine I could find. Wondering if it was just tuning changes that were made on the later engines. Maybe these engines can be made to work in an earlier car?

[deezputts]

resurrecting this from the dead.

Same story here - 2011 A6 Avant 3.0T .. driving down the highway, coolant light comes on, stop and top off the coolant with g12 at the vw dealer, drive a few miles and coolant light is back on, followed by the oil sensor defective light a mile later.. try to make it to the next exit as i'm in a canyon with no service - bad move. radiator fan breaks apart, punctures radiator and i come to a steaming/smoking halt. $410 tow truck ride later i'm at the audi dealership. they do 1 hour of diagnostic work and quote me $17,395 for a new engine. I've got 113,000 miles on the wagon, bought it for $15k with 89,000 miles on it last may (I know I know, I knowingly rolled the dice) .. so i've been driving it a lot. noticed the auxiliary fan come on a couple times last summer while in traffic with the AC on, and took it in but could never replicate the problem for the dealer or my indy .. so they said it's fine. clearly it was not. during all of this the temperature gauge never moved, so i would have to assume a bad thermostat. wagon won't start, tried this morning at the dealer when no one was around... will need to be trailered to my indy for a second opinion. got a quote for a used motor with 79,000 miles on it for $4700 from engineworld.com. Love this car but kind of over it. all of my audi's seem to hit a wall between 110,000 and 120,000 miles ... hence the reason I leased a 328d wagon for the 3 years before this latest (and greatest) Avant, while i was on a break from audi.

any idea what this car is worth not running? $5k? new tires and brakes on it and everything else working perfectly...

Probably going to bite the bullet and buy a 2016 e250 estate wit h around 35,000 miles on it and get a very expensive 3rd party extended warranty for peace of mind.

Can't afford the $150K the stealership will want for the RS6 Avant next year .. which they confirmed we will be getting and larger numbers than expected.

[christianb5s4]

That's a ludicrous price from the dealer, although it is for a new engine so I'm not surprised. Another few hundred for a tow to get a second quote is the best option as I would assume you aren't included to pay 17K for a car you bought for 15K (I know I wouldn't).

[deezputts]

That's a ludicrous price from the dealer, although it is for a new engine so I'm not surprised. Another few hundred for a tow to get a second quote is the best option as I would assume you aren't included to pay 17K for a car you bought for 15K (I know I wouldn't).

I'm not inclined to put a brand new engine in at the dealership.. going to get it to my indy soon for a second opinion. Fingers crossed but not holding my breath.

[cal3thousand]

Putting a brand new engine in a car this old is not a good idea financially, unless you plan on keeping it forever and the chassis is a rare combo or something.

Used motors are aplenty now. You'd have the opportunity to make any motor nearly new before dropping it in.