Suicide Bobb
5,000+ posts
SPLC Fails
THIS IS A LONG READ, NO CLIFS FOR YOU. Read if you are a car guy...you might find it entertaining.
I hit 140.5 sealed IASCA and won my first competition with her. Could have easily done way better too, I was just bullshitting around. I highly doubt there is any other C4 (generation) Audi S4 that has hit above 140db, let alone one with a subwoofer in it...These are rare, collectible cars that usually aren't owned by bass-head adolescents like me.
She's just too expensive to fix...I got a $4k loan for it, and before even paying a PENNY of that (and 10k miles and 8 months later), I have invested another $4k into it, $2500 which I haven't paid off. I'm going to see a $4k net loss in this car when I sell it for what I paid for it, since it's in the same condition I bought it in (but with new tires, Eclipse deck & alpine amp, and "deleted" rear muffler).
Long story as short as I can make it...a week after I bought the car, the oil pump went out. Subsequently, my promised re-admittance to AT&T as a permanent Sales Support Representative (formerly a temporary greeter through a 3rd party agency, the job ended a week before I bought the car) was postponed 2 months, meaning I was unemployed for that time. My dad told me to take it to Peter's Automotive to get it fixed. $130 tow and $2500 later (and two months out), it was "fixed". A week after, the turbo started to go out. I also noticed a noise at this time, of which I thought was an exhaust leak above 3k rpm, and the suspension got really noisy. I ignored both issues and saved up to replace the turbo. After replacing the turbo, the tires (with less than 10k on them) showed dangerously low tread. Then the auxiliary water pump went out. Then an intermittent check engine light appeared. Brake squeal also appeared, which turned into metal-on-metal scraping. I replaced the tires, the aux. water pump, fixed the seized brake caliper piston and got new pads/rotors, and then got some great news...the exhaust noise was a rod knock, and the check engine light was the cam position sensor (a BITCH to replace). So I ended up getting those fixed as well.
A little fyi...my new mechanic (and myself) fixed the rest of the issues in the paragraph above. He said he has NEVER seen or heard of one single C4 S4 having the oil pump gone out on them. When replacing the rod bearings, he noticed scarring on the crankshaft, which meant I had to cross my fingers and hope that the rod bearing replacement would quiet her down (I couldn't afford $2500+ for the crankshaft AND bearing replacement). Luckily, it did. But when he was taking it apart, he noticed the subframe screws were loose. This was a mistake the previous shop made, which was the cause of my suspension noises! When it came to doing the Cam Position Sensor later, he noticed the cam timing was retarded, another mistake the previous shop made! He also noted that everything was likely a chain of events judging by the damage to the rod bearings...The oil pump threw dirt into the pan, which clogged the turbo oil inlet/outlet and made it go bad, scarred the rod bearings, and likely had something to do with the cam position sensor. In other words, the most unlikely failure that could have ever happened on this car not only happened, but it caused a series of catastrophes that ruined every other expensive internal engine component.
So here I am now...Forced to sell my car because I fear it. I am afraid the rod knock may reappear because of the scarred camshaft, or something else will go wrong. I am too far in debt at this point to risk continuing that debt, I have to take action and sell the car and get something cheaper to work on. This is by far the best car I have ever owned, it was a dream car from the day I saw one. It is one of the best all-around cars imho, combining luxury with performance in a classy q-car bodystyle. I have a severe emotional attachment to this car, and will probably have a hard time sleeping after I sell it.
Hope you guys enjoyed the story...Here are some pics
I hit 140.5 sealed IASCA and won my first competition with her. Could have easily done way better too, I was just bullshitting around. I highly doubt there is any other C4 (generation) Audi S4 that has hit above 140db, let alone one with a subwoofer in it...These are rare, collectible cars that usually aren't owned by bass-head adolescents like me.
She's just too expensive to fix...I got a $4k loan for it, and before even paying a PENNY of that (and 10k miles and 8 months later), I have invested another $4k into it, $2500 which I haven't paid off. I'm going to see a $4k net loss in this car when I sell it for what I paid for it, since it's in the same condition I bought it in (but with new tires, Eclipse deck & alpine amp, and "deleted" rear muffler).
Long story as short as I can make it...a week after I bought the car, the oil pump went out. Subsequently, my promised re-admittance to AT&T as a permanent Sales Support Representative (formerly a temporary greeter through a 3rd party agency, the job ended a week before I bought the car) was postponed 2 months, meaning I was unemployed for that time. My dad told me to take it to Peter's Automotive to get it fixed. $130 tow and $2500 later (and two months out), it was "fixed". A week after, the turbo started to go out. I also noticed a noise at this time, of which I thought was an exhaust leak above 3k rpm, and the suspension got really noisy. I ignored both issues and saved up to replace the turbo. After replacing the turbo, the tires (with less than 10k on them) showed dangerously low tread. Then the auxiliary water pump went out. Then an intermittent check engine light appeared. Brake squeal also appeared, which turned into metal-on-metal scraping. I replaced the tires, the aux. water pump, fixed the seized brake caliper piston and got new pads/rotors, and then got some great news...the exhaust noise was a rod knock, and the check engine light was the cam position sensor (a BITCH to replace). So I ended up getting those fixed as well.
A little fyi...my new mechanic (and myself) fixed the rest of the issues in the paragraph above. He said he has NEVER seen or heard of one single C4 S4 having the oil pump gone out on them. When replacing the rod bearings, he noticed scarring on the crankshaft, which meant I had to cross my fingers and hope that the rod bearing replacement would quiet her down (I couldn't afford $2500+ for the crankshaft AND bearing replacement). Luckily, it did. But when he was taking it apart, he noticed the subframe screws were loose. This was a mistake the previous shop made, which was the cause of my suspension noises! When it came to doing the Cam Position Sensor later, he noticed the cam timing was retarded, another mistake the previous shop made! He also noted that everything was likely a chain of events judging by the damage to the rod bearings...The oil pump threw dirt into the pan, which clogged the turbo oil inlet/outlet and made it go bad, scarred the rod bearings, and likely had something to do with the cam position sensor. In other words, the most unlikely failure that could have ever happened on this car not only happened, but it caused a series of catastrophes that ruined every other expensive internal engine component.
So here I am now...Forced to sell my car because I fear it. I am afraid the rod knock may reappear because of the scarred camshaft, or something else will go wrong. I am too far in debt at this point to risk continuing that debt, I have to take action and sell the car and get something cheaper to work on. This is by far the best car I have ever owned, it was a dream car from the day I saw one. It is one of the best all-around cars imho, combining luxury with performance in a classy q-car bodystyle. I have a severe emotional attachment to this car, and will probably have a hard time sleeping after I sell it.
Hope you guys enjoyed the story...Here are some pics
1500.00 repair. Thats cars for ya. I dont care as much anymore. just get it fixed and hope there isn't anything else to soon, and if there is... I'll fix that to.
