I know you said no jokes, but this is real enough I couldn't resist posting it.
(Build thread found here)
I know you said no jokes, but this is real enough I couldn't resist posting it.
(Build thread found here)
NGTD said:No. Don't. Trust Me.
I had a B5. Had to do a complete Control Arm replacement twice in 100k kms (60k miles). The replacement Control Arm kit was, at the time, $2600 CAD. VW Canada loves to screw it's customers. Same kit from FCP Groton $599 USD. Most complicated PCV system, I have ever seen. Funny enough, I never had a coil fail.
FWIW, you can now buy a complete front control arm kit for < $200 USD.
My B5 ownership experience was great actually. Bought with ~50k miles IIRC traded in with 165 (maybe 135)ish? It was a 2.8 car tho.... It was the first car my wife and I bought together.
Did have to do all the control arms. The Screen in the gauge cluster got the dead lines. CEL came on for cats. Leaked a little oil. We traded it in due to high mileage and the trans starting to act not happy.... Tiptronic of that age SUCKED, even with the TCU chip.
I did the oil changes myself, at spec'ed intervals. Replaced tires. Did have to replace the vacuum pump that ran the door locks, but someone makes a rebuild kit for it. No other big issues ever, never stranded us. They don't like dieing batteries....
ebonyandivory said:Dave M said:ebonyandivory said:My definition is not having to call in sick to work because it won’t start or breaks down on the side of the road. My 2006 GMC has needed work but I’ve always gotten there and back.
I’d be buying a manual 1.8t if I was going to bite the bullet. My brain is saying “you need a Camry” but heart is saying “berkeley that, buy something you like.”
So you're planning on going from the most reliable GM truck platform to the least reliable VW platform? Ugh, hard pass. B5s are beautiful cars however!
Well yes, but not the way you’re thinking. I’m giving my truck to my son who’s about to get his drivers license and I’m looking for a cheap-to-buy fun-ish, manual awd or rwd and I’ve always had a soft spot for turbo Audi’s.
Im sure everyone here can identify with my plight.
Cheap-to-buy, fun-ish, manual rwd and reliable you might look for an Infiniti G35
In reply to BlindPirate :
I’ve been pushing G35’s on people too. It’s the manual AND AWD that I’d want. The Infiniti’s AWD are all autos.
In reply to MadScientistMatt :
There’s no way that’s still awd...
codrus said:NGTD said:No. Don't. Trust Me.
I had a B5. Had to do a complete Control Arm replacement twice in 100k kms (60k miles). The replacement Control Arm kit was, at the time, $2600 CAD. VW Canada loves to screw it's customers. Same kit from FCP Groton $599 USD. Most complicated PCV system, I have ever seen. Funny enough, I never had a coil fail.
FWIW, you can now buy a complete front control arm kit for < $200 USD.
And if you tighten down the bushings with the links at ride height, instead of full drooped like most berkheads whose wrenches should be confiscated, the bushings will last 15 years or 300k miles.
I have only seen ONE Audi multilink front end have bushings fail, and it was an A8 with 300k of mostly downtown-Cleveland miles. I assume that the majority of link replacements are done by people who can't diagnose their way out of a paper bag and just throw parts at the car for the hell of it, then install them poorly so that they fail.
Properly replacing the links is a PITA. Any rubber bushing must be tightened at ride height, and on an Audi, this requires installation with the suspension partially assembled with critical parts missing, and then re-disassembled. Most people are too lazy to do this, or too dumb to know that you have to, or too indifferent to give a berk.
ebonyandivory said:In reply to BlindPirate :
I’ve been pushing G35’s on people too. It’s the manual AND AWD that I’d want. The Infiniti’s AWD are all autos.
There is a manual trans swap components group buy in progress on rx7club. I have been told in no uncertain terms that there is no such thing as a manual AWD G35.
Knurled wonders what it would take, besides a hood bubble that would make an AMC Pacer proud, to stick a Skyline GT-R drivetrain in a G35x. Or even one of the lesser AWD Skylines. Surely an RB25DET sounds better than a VQ35.
ebonyandivory said:In reply to MadScientistMatt :
There’s no way that’s still awd...
That's roughly where the engine sits, so why not?
There's a Motorgeeker who installed an LS2 in an Audi RS6. Nicknamed it "Project Judas".
In reply to Knurled. :
Iirc that one burned didn't it?
In reply to Knurled. :
My comment wasn’t as negative as it seemed. It was typed with raised eyebrows and wishful thinking!
In reply to ebonyandivory :
The "weak" 01A trans used in A4s is still stronger than 80-90% of the AWD transaxles out there. The problem with them is that it is so easy to make more torque than they can handle. Heck, that V6 probably makes less torque than some of the engines VWAG put in front of the 01A.
Over 15 years old and yes it will pass with the light on.
ebonyandivory said:In reply to pointofdeparture :
But will it pass Massachusetts inspection with the CEL on? I couldn’t care less about the actual lights on the dashboard
In a swap application, I wonder how hard it would be to use MS or some other aftermarket ECU on the 1.8T in lieu of having the reprogram/trick the VAG ECU to ignore bits no longer part of the car.
My B5 experience was mixed. I had a '98 A4 Avant 2.8 5 spd back in 2002 for about 4 months. It died on the drive home from purchase after a screwed up timing belt change by the seller. After getting the car back (2 months, no cost to me) I never really trusted it again and I wasn't really happy with the low-20's MPG. So I sold it and replaced it with my 2003 TDI wagon. It was a nice car, although I would have eventually needed to do something to reinforce the flimsy rear cargo deck had I kept it. The biggest sadness from the experience was it basically "cost" me the '91 Integra I traded in on it that I wish I'd kept and turned into a track-rat.
I had an 97 1.8t A4 for a while as my first baby hauler. It was dead reliable for me. Besides regular maintenance i think the biggest thing I had to do was replace one of the front control arms due to a bad ball joint. With a tune they are pretty fun, wakes them up quite a bit. I did have the cat break apart but that was mostly due to having the tune and a cutout at the bottom of the downpipe that would make gun shot like pops on downshifts.
There's also a conversion to change over to R8 coilpacks which are much more reliable.
They are also extremely fun in the mud
A buddy just sold his 1.8t Jetta. He works in the auto industry and doesnt mind working on his stuff. He got it for 100 dollars with a broken timing belt. He put a new head on it, replaced a bunch of wear items, and had about 600 bucks into it. At the beginning he said Hey its a 600 dollar car I dont expect much from it. Over the course of the next 6 months, it didnt make it to work numerous times, he was constantly working on it, and his opinion moved to even at 600 dollars this is by far the worst car ive owned and Ill never own another VAG product.
I really like the 1.8T Audis and have considered them for a beater for a few years but his ownership experience was scary
dean1484 said:Over 15 years old and yes it will pass with the light on.
ebonyandivory said:In reply to pointofdeparture :
But will it pass Massachusetts inspection with the CEL on? I couldn’t care less about the actual lights on the dashboard
Is 15 years some definitive cutoff for CELs in Massachusetts? I just got my inspection today and for some reason I feel like I’m on trial waiting for my vehicle to be inspected. And when I do get my sticker, I feel like all charges were dropped. I stress out one time per year and it’s during inspection time.
In reply to Opti :
So he bought a $100 POS, then was surprised it was a POS? Um......
In reply to docwyte :
+1.
German cars will really punish deferred maintenance done with short-cars. VAG turbo cars especially.
In reply to docwyte :
No he bought a 100 dollar broken car, that had 98,000 miles on it. Put a timing belt, cylinder head, entire pcv system, one window regulator, control arm bushings, and diverter valve on it, and it was still such a terrible car it wasnt even worth it at 600 dollars.
He expected a POS, he said it was way worse than that.
This is a guy that daily drove a 200 dollar saturn for years, he has a high pain threshold.
In reply to Opti :
He bought an old, neglected German car. They specialize in emptying your wallet. On any old German car purchase, you're purchasing the seller, not the car. Buy the best seller you can!
My B5 experience was great. 2001.5 Passat wagon 1.8t and 5 speed. Had it for 3 years and 80k with the only issue being a malfunctioning auto window switch. Window still functioned but auto/one touch didn’t work. Sold it to my SIL who put another 50k on it with minimal service and sludged up the motor.
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