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You can save time by simply catheterizing yourself with hot welding rod while burning fistfuls of money. All the experience without insurance, tags or taxes!
The timing chains are known for failing well before 100k, and get this: they're on the BACK of the engine, against the firewall. 
pointofdeparture wrote: The timing chains are known for failing well before 100k, and get this: they're on the BACK of the engine, against the firewall.
A small example of what Audi thinks constitutes a "timing chain" on the back of a engine with about a dozen things that will break as you try to get at it that will cost more then the car to replace.
I count four chains. What are the odds that one of them gets replaced off by a tooth, necessitating restarting the process?
Or buy it for challenge money. Drive it till it pops and part it out. Aluminum chassis should actually be worth money at the scrapyard.
Nicest riding/driving car you'll ever own.
Mitchell wrote: I count four chains. What are the odds that one of them gets replaced off by a tooth, necessitating restarting the process?
If I'm doing the job? 100% ^ 4 
THIS ENGINE HAS TIMING BELTS ON THE FRONT NOT CHAINS ON THE REAR!
Been researching the hell out of these engines recently. The newer ones have the nightmare fail prone timing chains. This one has belts on the front. 07 and newer A8s have chains and it is a completely different engine (other than the obvious displacement similarities)
We have now exhausted the area of this car I have any knowledge of. 
In reply to wearymicrobe:
Is it residual emotional trauma from the war that causes the Germans to do things like this?
Get it, the 2002's aren't as bad as people make them to be.
Furious_E wrote: In reply to wearymicrobe: Is it residual emotional trauma from the war that causes the Germans to do things like this?
Not sure but for all there talk about engineering prowess they have an awful lot of examples of doing things the wrong, or at least more complicated, way. I think personally they are all riding on the tails of BMW in terms of cars, and some historical Benz's. You could not pay me to take a modern VW or Benz out of warranty.
If my memory is correct (My brain has tried very hard to remove the year I spent as a tech at an Audi dealer in the mid 2000s) the timing belts require special tools to lock the cams and crank. There are no timing marks and the cam gears are taper fit.
Once you put the front in service position it isnt the worst job on the car.
One of the A8s required removing a bunch of stuff underhood to access the oil filter but I don't remember which year or engine.
In reply to Flight Service:
Apparently you are right. I Googled "Audi 4.2" remembering the S4 horror stories and teh Googles seemed to indicate they were all the awful chain setup. My bad!
In reply to pointofdeparture:
Yeah, I would have had the same comment if I hadn't been investigating them for a future project.
This engine seems to fit where V6s go, has about the same or little better HP, much better torque and a noise that is sweeeeeeeet, has the common 944/924/911/986 bell housing pattern which makes it a nice swap there. And you can get complete motors for under a grand.
Makes engines swaps very doable as it will fit places the LS needs a sawzall to fit and you will spend triple the engine cost saving on making it bolt up.
Always remember the old saying, "If a German built a hammer, it would have three moving parts."
Streetwiseguy wrote: Always remember the old saying, "If a German built a hammer, it would have three moving parts."
My old shop foreman was fond of saying, "If you throw a German engineer in a hole and give him a ladder, he will engineer a shovel and dig his way out".
logdog wrote:Streetwiseguy wrote: Always remember the old saying, "If a German built a hammer, it would have three moving parts."My old shop foreman was fond of saying, "If you throw a German engineer in a hole and give him a ladder, he will engineer a shovel and dig his way out".
Unless he's an Audi engineer, in which case he'll make an elevator. :)
The 4.2 used in the C5 A6/S6 and D2 A8/S8 (and I think the D3 as well, although I'm not sure) had the timing belts on the front. AFAIK the rear-mounted chains are only on the 4.2s in the B6/B7 S4, the S5, and the R8.
The internet would like you to believe that all 4.2s have the chains fail at 80K miles, which is just not true. Yes, they do fail, and yes, it's expensive to fix them if it happens, but it's a long way from being every car.
The back of that engine looks like an old Times Swiss pocket Watch. Far too much going on.
This is why I will forever buy Japanese. They are the standard for correctly built engines.
An American engineer will fix the problem for as cheaply as possible. A Japanese engineer will fix the problem correctly. A German engineer will fix the problem with the most complicated solution under budget. Now if the Koreans are said to copy everyone else, imagine how much of a clusterberekeley the 5.0 in the new Genesis is
iadr wrote: After 6 years as a dealership parts manager, I wouldn't know. Literally. Nothing ever goes wrong with them, to the point where I can't recall every opening that part of the parts catalog even once. Hyundai make Honda and Toyota look like a low production Italian make as far as reliability go.
Huh. Maybe our Sonata was a Monday or Friday car. There are rattles from all over and tons of wind noise.
iadr wrote: After 6 years as a dealership parts manager, I wouldn't know. Literally. Nothing ever goes wrong with them, to the point where I can't recall every opening that part of the parts catalog even once. Hyundai make Honda and Toyota look like a low production Italian make as far as reliability go.
Hyundai or Genesis's? Because one of those I call bullE36 M3 the other is "really?"
I know the Genesis is supposed to be their luxury branding "beginning" (I think it is the 3rd attempt but the first one that can be taken seriously)
In reply to G_Body_Man:
The Koreans mostly copy the Japanese, and often do a better job of it.
Trackmouse wrote: The back of that engine looks like an old Times Swiss pocket Watch. Far too much going on. This is why I will forever buy Japanese. They are the standard for correctly built engines.
I agree. They can build a car that's 90% a match for the snooty Germans at 50% the price that's 200% more reliable. OK, I just made that up.
In reply to Feedyurhed: the only gripe anyone has ever had about Japanese engines is the "lower than everyone else" power output. Which is easily remedied by "overnighting parts from Japan" 
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