From a B5 to a B6: I'll Need Guidance.....

[R490]

Got the opportunity to pick this up from a friend's mother for X. I've been trying to buy this car off them since like 2017, so obviously I'm doing it. I've worked on the car a lot in the past and know it's quirks pretty well... I'm coming from the B5 world, which I'll miss, and probably return to some day.

The Basics:

2005 6mt Nogaro/Nogaro (1/68) with just under 100k. Clean title, well maintained car in my favorite color combination and completely stock.




Right now, I want to keep it stock. I've been less than impressed with aftermarket part durability from the B5. I think I'm going to daily it over the summer when my commute is 5 miles round trip. But most of my mileage is highway during the rest of the year.

Some pictures...











So far, I washed it, clay barred it and waxed it. I'll do a more detailed clean later. Haven't touched the interior either.

[Zolli]

Seems nice to me! Probably a good get.

[R490]

Seems nice to me! Probably a good get.

Hopefully! We'll see where this one takes me.

If it wasn't the right color, I wouldn't have been fine with the price, we'll just say that

[_Sam]

What this car does best is make noise and eat up highway miles.

Having owned two high mileage B6 S4 6MT Avants (150k+) I can say keeping this engine stock is a great decision. One of my cars had the entire JHM catalog short of a supercharger, the other was completely stock sans a Milltek resonated exhaust and some handling mods. The B6 S4 is not and will never be a fast car. The best performance mod for this engine is a nice cat-back exhaust.

My guidance: fix the leaks if it's drinking oil, install a classy exhaust, and leave it alone.

That said, if you want to make it objectively fast and hate having money, I've read that AMTuned can get some respectable power out of these engines.

I should add that I'm absolutely obsessed with the 4.2. I currently own a 4.2 Allroad and have been debating an attempt at buying my old S4 back! If you take care of them, these are awesome cars. Sounds like you've scored a pretty sweet deal.

[R490]

What this car does best is make noise and eat up highway miles.

Having owned two high mileage B6 S4 6MT Avants (150k+) I can say keeping this engine stock is a great decision. One of my cars had the entire JHM catalog short of a supercharger, the other was completely stock sans a Milltek resonated exhaust and some handling mods. The B6 S4 is not and will never be a fast car. The best performance mod for this engine is a nice cat-back exhaust.

My guidance: fix the leaks if it's drinking oil, install a classy exhaust, and leave it alone.

That said, if you want to make it objectively fast and hate having money, I've read that AMTuned can get some respectable power out of these engines.

I should add that I'm absolutely obsessed with the 4.2. I currently own a 4.2 Allroad and have been debating an attempt at buying my old S4 back! If you take care of them, these are awesome cars. Sounds like you've scored a pretty sweet deal.

Yup, I'm not crazy about high power to be honest. More concerned for functionality. I am a little worried about how long the 4.2 will last, but I usually keep cars for only a couple years so I suppose I won't have to get it above 120k.

Think the first thing to tackle is the crank seal and I'll go from there! Maybe Miltek for the exhaust, but I'd like to do chains etc before then. Any suggestions on whether I should just do them now to prevent any future issues, or if I should wait for the telltale signs?

[StarGazer]

If theres no chain rattle or adjuster clack then your safe too hold off for a bit. When you do it though make sure to get the AMTuned kit. Its the most complete and comes with EVERYTHING you need to do a proper timing service. https://amtuned.com/products/amtuned...-b6-b7-s4-4-2l

Also I know you said your not crazy about adding power but at minimum the Jackal Stage 1 tune is a blessing for the B6 S4. https://www.jackalmotorsports.com/product/audi-tune/

[_Sam]

My 4.2 Allroad is sitting at 217k miles with no documentation of chains and/or guides ever being replaced. Unbelievably, it also seems to have good valve stem seals and no cylinder wall scoring. My best guess as to why this specific 4.2 has aged so well is that this car spent most of its time on the highway (high miles, but comparatively few start/stop cycles). For that reason, I'd only be concerned with the engine's longevity if you plan on using it for frequent, short trips. You mention a 5 mile round trip commute. If this engine spends most of its time below operating temp, I bet your engine will fall victim to cylinder wall scoring (at the very least).

Personally, I don't think the chains and guides need replacing until you begin experiencing timing chain rattle during warm restarts. For example, you hear the chain on a cold start, drive the car until it gets to operating temp, shut it off, fire it back up and hear the rattle again. That would be cause for concern. At 217k miles, I think my AR is proof that frequent oil changes and quality oil go a long way. If you only drive a few miles, change the oil more often,

Alternatively, at some point I suggest you replace them for re-sale value. The #1 most asked question when I sold both my Avants was: "have the guides been replaced?" I was also asked for the specific part numbers so buyers could confirm whether the upgraded top guide was used. A lot of people backed out when they found out it was upgraded, but not an RS4, aluminum backed guide. If you're replacing them yourself, it's not actually a bad job so long as you have the space, time, and patience to go slow and be meticulous. Take lots of photos.

The single, most annoying issue with all of my 4.2's has been old composite coolant piping. The upper radiator junction blew on my first B6. The heater core connection blew on my second, and I'm sure one of them will blow on the Allroad. Fortunately, those parts are cheap!

[R490]

Thanks for the info folks.

I probably will hold off for now, I haven't heard any rattle and neither has the owner. It'll definitely get done under my ownership, since it's a rare combination I think it's worth keeping it nice.

This car seems to have done a lot of highway, it bounced between California, Texas and Massachusetts until 2017. Since 2017, it's only been really used for short 5 mile drives, but it's done 10,000 miles since then and hasn't been driven hard at all. Worth noting is that the five mile commute is only for about three months out of the year, the rest of the time it's an hour long highway commute.

[S3NICK]

Seems like a nice car. Internally, it would really come down to any bore scoring, the condition of the valve stem seals, guides, and the cam adjusters which would influence my decision to just do timing or yank the motor and throw in a fully refreshed unit.

[R490]

Yup, that would come down to a teardown/inspection.

Think the price is fair?

[KPack]

It's much better than the price I paid for mine. And yours seems to be in better condition. I'm neck deep in fixing things that weren't apparent when I bought it. I'm fine doing the work, but it's annoying when I paid what I paid.

Knowing what I know now, I would feel comfortable buying the one you are looking at with the expectation that you will need to do timing at some point. If you can do it yourself you save a bunch of money.

[R490]

Good to know, I keep thinking I'm overpaying.... But at the same time a 1/68 color combo that I've always wanted kind of makes it feel much more worthwhile.....

I'll probably give timing a shot myself. I've done multiple timing jobs on the one million B5s I've owned. But obviously never had to deal with the chain or full on pull for the chain, but I have the space.... Luckily, this won't be a DD for me.

[R490]

Grabbed the car.

-No heated seats!

-Clutch pedal makes a slight clicking noise when released, it feels like it's coming from where the pedal connects to the master cylinder. Definitely not driveline.

-Car hasn't actually hit 100k; 99,964!

-Back two wheels are slightly bent, but I'll be figuring that out. The tires are DWS06 Continentals, they have 10k miles on them. One needs to be replaced, I think if they're above 6/32nds I can pull it off.


If anyone has any thoughts, just let me know!

[R490]

Does anyone know what this means?

[Pnflds]

Ignition coil recall was completed.

[R490]

Good to know, thanks.

[R490]

Been driving the car a lot in the past few weeks.

Heard chain rattle for the first time after doing an oil change. It went away in like a second, only occurred on the first start afterwards.

Still chasing the weird popping noise when I press the clutch.

Also decent oil leak on the metal cooler lines at the front of the engine. Not sure where it's coming from, maybe oil cooler or valve cover gaskets. Could be the crank seal as well. Only thing that makes me think VCGs is that there's a slight oil smell on hard acceleration, I've mainly seen that come up from valve cover leaks.





I still think I'll do a paint correction.

[Atomic Avant]

Been driving the car a lot in the past few weeks.

Heard chain rattle for the first time after doing an oil change. It went away in like a second, only occurred on the first start afterwards.

Still chasing the weird popping noise when I press the clutch.

Also decent oil leak on the metal cooler lines at the front of the engine. Not sure where it's coming from, maybe oil cooler or valve cover gaskets. Could be the crank seal as well. Only thing that makes me think VCGs is that there's a slight oil smell on hard acceleration, I've mainly seen that come up from valve cover leaks.





I still think I'll do a paint correction.

Could be the oil cooler or valley pan gasket.

[Rol-co]

Remove the engine cover underneath, if oil puddle at passenger side front its oil filter housing seal trough the valley 9 out of 10.

[R490]

Could it possibly be in conjunction with something PCV related? It's a very inconsistent leak. I just took the belly pan off to pinpoint.

[Rol-co]

Could it possibly be in conjunction with something PCV related? It's a very inconsistent leak. I just took the belly pan off to pinpoint.

Pcv is at the back of the engine.
If its pouring down the front of the block its the oil filter housing gaskets (2).

[R490]

Pcv is at the back of the engine.
If its poring down the front of the block its the oil filter housing gaskets (2).

What I mean is a PCV issue pushing oil out of places if shouldn't be. Original PCV on the car.

Thanks for the info

[Bordom]

Wow nice pick up! Been a while man.

For clutch creaking, I'm going to advise looking around the clutch pedal itself and try lubricating the movement points. The B8s have this plastic pivot pin that creaks when hot. Super annoying.

[Rol-co]

What I mean is a PCV issue pushing oil out of places if shouldn't be. Original PCV on the car.

Thanks for the info

Don't think so, you can test it with oil filler cap. Pcv hose is underneath the intake manifold too, same job and i would open the pcv after taken off the manifold and check if its tearing.
Almost everybody with the S4 has done or have to do this job, they all have the same issue.

[R490]

Wow nice pick up! Been a while man.

For clutch creaking, I'm going to advise looking around the clutch pedal itself and try lubricating the movement points. The B8s have this plastic pivot pin that creaks when hot. Super annoying.

Thanks man! It has been a while, I think both of us have switched platforms like 3 times since the old 12vs Been up to anything on yours lately?

I think I'm gonna do that, it's like a popping noise but isn't coming from the master for sure.

[R490]

Don't think so, you can test it with oil filler cap. Pcv hose is underneath the intake manifold too, same job and i would open the pcv after taken off the manifold and check if its tearing.
Almost everybody with the S4 has done or have to do this job, they all have the same issue.

Ok thank you, I'll take a look. So like you said, it runs down the valley and out the front by the metal cooling lines? the shop that had it a while ago said the crank seal was starting to seep, but I really don't know how to reach that conclusion without service position. It also looks like the oil may be dripping from the valley down.

[Rol-co]

Ok thank you, I'll take a look. So like you said, it runs down the valley and out the front by the metal cooling lines? the shop that had it a while ago said the crank seal was starting to seep, but I really don't know how to reach that conclusion without service position. It also looks like the oil may be dripping from the valley down.

Hard to tell if nothing removed, but most of the time it runs down the block front, if you take of the im and you see this you know.



Blue circle it can't because of the higher ridge, red rectangle it pours down.

[R490]

Thank you for the pictures! I went underneath and it's leaking directly onto the snub mount. Not to the other side at all.

I have also noticed that it mainly leaks when the car is warm. I'll look with my inspection camera so I don't have to service position.

[Rol-co]

Thank you for the pictures! I went underneath and it's leaking directly onto the snub mount. Not to the other side at all.

I have also noticed that it mainly leaks when the car is warm. I'll look with my inspection camera so I don't have to service position.

Don't let it fool you, the belt in front trows it around too.

[Zolli]

Service position really isn’t that big of a deal - no fluids need to be drained. Don’t be afraid of it... or said another way, get used to moving the core support forward those 2” fairly frequently. It makes life a lot easier. Well, “wrenching life” easier, anyway.

All indications suggest you are ready for valley pan gasket, check valve, and oil filter gasket service. If you see any weeping around the edges, you might do valve cover gaskets at the same time. Due to the oil that’s been getting on your snub mount and the accessory belt, you might need to replace those, also. And have a look at the crank seal.

[R490]

I'm just not a huge fan of draining refrigerant for full service position.

I may just do everything I can reach while I'm in there. Valve cover gaskets have been done 3x in the past 15 years, somehow.


Serpentine belt has no oil on it, was replaced recently. I don't like the brand though, Mitsoboshi..... I personally only use OEM parts when it comes to that type of thing.

[Rol-co]

No need to drain anything for service position. Like this.

[R490]

Thanks all, sorry for the dumb questions, I'm just so used to the B5 platform that everything new seems so foreign. Even if it's all pretty similar.

[oasis]

I'm just not a huge fan of draining refrigerant for full service position.

I may just do everything I can reach while I'm in there. Valve cover gaskets have been done 3x in the past 15 years, somehow.


Serpentine belt has no oil on it, was replaced recently. I don't like the brand though, Mitsoboshi..... I personally only use OEM parts when it comes to that type of thing.

I swear I saw someone on here that didn't need to break the ac connections and was able to swing the condenser out of the way like on the b5...

Sent from my motorola one 5G ace using Tapatalk

[Zolli]

Might have been me, and I remembered incorrectly

[R490]

Also anyone have an ACTIVE link for a service manual? I can't find anything, and I've searched extensively. Just don't want to pay $300.

[KPack]

I swear I saw someone on here that didn't need to break the ac connections and was able to swing the condenser out of the way like on the b5...

Sent from my motorola one 5G ace using Tapatalk

That was me. The lines don't need to be disconnected, even if you pull the whole front end off. The power steering cooler will need to come off, and the condenser needs to be removed from the radiator, but then you can hang the condenser out of the way.

[Zolli]

That was me. The lines don't need to be disconnected, even if you pull the whole front end off. The power steering cooler will need to come off, and the condenser needs to be removed from the radiator, but then you can hang the condenser out of the way.

Nice work!

[CONative]

Also anyone have an ACTIVE link for a service manual? I can't find anything, and I've searched extensively. Just don't want to pay $300.

I’ve got the erWin manuals if you’re interested. $35 for a 24-hour subscription, I downloaded every platform just in case.


Sent from my iPhone using Audizine

[R490]

I think I'm going to fix the oil leak and the brakes and move this car along to the next owner.

If anyone is interested, I'll probably have it ready by May. From then I'm leaving the country for a while so I'd like to move it before then. Looking to import an 8L S3 when eligible next year.