New Guy from North Jersey. My New "Beater/DD" B5 A4 5M.

[Sideways]

Hello All,

I just registered here and thought it would be good to introduce myself first.

Me:
This car brings a couple of "Firsts" for me, as I've never owned an AWD car, a 4cyl car, a turbo car, a Wagon, a German car, or one with such high-mileage! My "brief" automotive background consists of RWD GM performance vehicles, but I'm happy to be adding this car to my stable.


The Car:
I just acquired a 2000 A4 Quattro Wagon with the 1.8T and 5-speed manual transmission. Additionally, I believe it has 160,000 on it.


The Good:
It will be used as a DD, while my other car retires to weekend/race/car show duty. The Audi is a "Thank You" gift from a friend, for whom I've helped out a few times recently.

The Bad:
The car has been sitting for the passed 12 months, without being started or moved. Either this week, or next, I will have it towed up here and try to get it back on the streets.



With the help of knowledgeable forums and write-ups, I've done all of the wrenching on my cars myself (sans tuning & paint). Local enthusiasts have also been a blessing. Is there a local 'board for New Jersey owners? ...That may prove useful.


Known Issues:

1. Expired Inspection
2. Needs new Cat
3. Tie Rod
4. Neither key fob remote works (Supposedly not battery related)
5. Gas is 12 months old

Game Plan:

• Find a stock cat from someone who changed out for a high-flow replacement
• Drain old gas (Can I siphon it out via a transfer pump? Such as this one here ...God, I hope so.)
• Oil Change (What kind of oil do these things take? Mobil1 Synth? Conventional? How many quarts?)
• Seafoam
• Spark plugs (Anyone know what they should be gapped to?)
• New battery, old one is likely shot.
• New rotors & pads. (Brakemotive sells slotted rotors & pads for $167 shipped for certain vehicle. Unfortunately, this car isn't one of them. Any inexpensive brake alternatives?)
• Find out which Tie Rod is bad & replace it (part can't be more than $25, right? Crossing my fingers & hoping for no rust--Yeah, that'll happen!)
• Not sure what to do about the keys. This is supposed to be a DD that I'm not trying to throw any money into. I can't imagine a new key fob being less than $60, if that's the case, I may just get primitive and manually lock/unlock my doors! [:d] Suggestions?
• Hopefully it won't need new tires. I'll be checking for flat-spots when the car is in my possession.

As you can imagine, I'll be doing some searching in the coming days. Thanks and I look forward to my new experience working on and DD'ing an Audi A4.



-Mike

[Joey]

Welcome, Mike!

You can visit the regional thread below. There are a lot of Audi owners here in the New Jersey area.

Tri-State

A new cat shouldn't be too hard to locate and replace. For a 160K mile car this isn't something unusual. I would definitely drain the old gas. Not sure the best way to go about this as i have never had to drain the gas from a car that i was not parting out.

As for the oil change specifics i would post a question in the B5 A4 section. I am sure they would chime in and help you out. Spark plugs should be pre-gapped when you purchase them.

I feel the tie rod will be a little more than $25. Having a German car you will find out that nothing is relatively "cheap" when compared to parts for domestic cars.

There could be a couple different causes for the key FOB not to work properly. Fix could be very simple or at the most you need a new remote. Start with this...

Reprogram Key Fob for B5 A4

Good luck and let us know if you have any questions! We are glad to help out

[BaconBait]

Welcome! I have the same year A4. Lots of fun stuff you have planned there. Rule of thumb, expect to pay double what an american car part costs.

Since you plan on doing all the work yourself, you need to know where to go for the parts. Here's a couple I use for stock parts-
OEM / Performance Parts for Audi, BMW, Mercedes Benz, Mini, Porsche & Volkswagen - ECS Tuning - shipping price is their primary downfall. They do have good customer service and most importantly, they list the part numbers for everything.
www.germanautoparts.com - Excellent customer service. They sent me the wrong oil pan once and had a new one with a shilling label out the door the same day. They only charge actual shipping and since they're in South NY, ground shipping typically arrives in a day.
Audi Parts - Vw Parts - Audi Parts Vw Parts Kit Company - Blauparts
MJM Autohaus

AudiDIY (Do It Yourself) Article Portal

•Find a stock cat from someone who changed out for a high-flow replacement
-Check for someone parting out an A4 in the audizine or vwvortex classifieds. All the nuts will be rusted and be very difficult. PB Blaster/Liquid Wrench is your bestest buddy. The easiest way to get to the bottom nut on the turbo is from below with 3ft of extensions. A friend is very useful when installing the cat to downpipe nuts & bolts.

•Drain old gas (Can I siphon it out via a transfer pump? Such as this one here ...God, I hope so.)
Not sure on this one, but I'm pretty sure the answer is no. I'll check my Bentley manual when I get home.

•Oil Change (What kind of oil do these things take? Mobil1 Synth? Conventional? How many quarts?)
Most people use Mobil1 0-40 full synthetic. 4.5q with the oversize filter, 4.3q with the standard filter. Primary concern for most is that it meets a certain oil spec and doesn't cause sludging. Make sure to use the MANN oversize filter. Most places sell them in bulk. Move the coolant tank (3 screws) for better access to the oil filter. Be warned that quite a bit of oil will come out.

•Seafoam
Definately a good idea. While you're at it, take the valve cover off and check for oil sludge.

•Spark plugs (Anyone know what they should be gapped to?)
NGK BKR6E pregapped to .028". Be cautious, the wires get brittle.

•New battery, old one is likely shot.
WalMart. 3 year warranty.

•New rotors & pads. (Brakemotive sells slotted rotors & pads for $167 shipped for certain vehicle. Unfortunately, this car isn't one of them. Any inexpensive brake alternatives?)
Adamsrotors sells front and rear rotors and pads for $300 shipped. The front calipers can be pressed in with a C clamp. The rears have to turn as they're pressed in. You can rent the tool at autozone for free (you get your deposit back when it's returned).

•Find out which Tie Rod is bad & replace it (part can't be more than $25, right? Crossing my fingers & hoping for no rust--Yeah, that'll happen!)
Shop around for this. You can get entire front end tie rod+control arm kit for around $200. The control arms either are bad or will go bad. B5's are notorious for them.

•Not sure what to do about the keys. This is supposed to be a DD that I'm not trying to throw any money into. I can't imagine a new key fob being less than $60, if that's the case, I may just get primitive and manually lock/unlock my doors! [:d] Suggestions?
There's quite a few write ups for the B5 since the model lasted from 96-02. The one that worked for my 2000 is on AudiForums.com - Powered by vBulletin in the DIY section. I can't get on the site at the momemnt though. A new FOB is well over $100 and getting the key cut at the dealer can vary from free to $60.

•Hopefully it won't need new tires. I'll be checking for flat-spots when the car is in my possession.
I think you've got this one handled.

I've done just about everything that you're planning on doing (no plans to do a seafoam or drain the gas). If you need any pointers, let me know.

[Sideways]

^^ Um... repped! Hahah

• I keep a spare battery or two on the shelf, just in case. (Was running a Braille mini on my other car, and with the cold, you just never know when it's going to crap out).
• Great news on the oil! I usually have an extra 5qt Jug of Mobil1 around too, so it's good to know it's only 4.5qts & I didn't have to do any additional searching! Lol.
• Any reason why you like the MANN oil filter? I like the convenience of having a parts store less than a mile away from me; They usually cary Wix filters & I've used them on a few cars without any complaints.
• 3ft extension to get to the bolts holding the cat in, huh? Damn, sounds awful. I was planning on just using a torch to soften them up, but if it's that far up, that may not be an option. Luckily, I have Liquid Wrench & PB Blaster on hand. (New Jersey weather has done this to me).
• A friend is giving me his cat for $50--Having scrapped a few cats myself, that's about what they're worth and I'm fine giving him that.
• Thanks for the spark plug info.
• Who'd a thought a tie rod would be so expensive! I'll worry about that once the car is inspected & on the road.

Thanks Joey & BB for the welcomes, and especially for saving me some searching!

[a4spoolin]

Mike I got you on the cat and a frankenturbo and mani if your interested haha. if you want i get get you a bunch of filters for cheap and also any oem part you want from our audi dealer. i got alot of spare parts if you need anything. also when you get the car let me vag it to see what comes up. i can also get a remote and key for cheap. also you might not need a key, i know on the porsches we can switch keys even though usually don't, guess that's why we are called the stealership haha. let me know if you need anything else. o btw boost is more addictive then crack

[a4spoolin]

o yea one more thing, we are doing a timing belt on it asap

[BaconBait]

You can get an Optima battery. The mount has to be modified, but it's pretty easy.

I chose the Mann because I know it works well and it has a nifty attachment on the bottom so you can use a screwdriver to take it off. I wish all oil filters had it. The main thing is to get the oversize filter.

It's not really 3 ft, but it is 2-3 extensions deep. It's not high up. It is that far forward and the engine mount and AC compressor are below it. The size of the nut and the location makes getting the socket onto the nut difficult. 12 point is my best buddy.

The $200 was for a full kit. Individual tie rod ends run about $50.

Since we're walking about exhausts and suspention, I do have an AWE/Borla exhaust, H&R sport springs, and Bilstein shocks sitting in my garage.

[BaconBait]

Adams rotors is 10% off for the next 2 days. Checkout code:ARAZ10%
AR's MERRY CHRISTMAS 2-WEEK SPECIAL!!

[Sideways]

Anywhere I can get an oil filter in person?
I used the link from ECS Tuning that Bacon provided, but they want $11 shipping for a $5 oil filter. That's just silly. All of the A4 guys buy their filters online?

[Sideways]

Oh, and I contacted a company for Rotors and they quoted me the below price for all four corners with pads. I've DD'd their stuff for a year on my other car & I have zero complaints--top notch customer service, good product, great price, speedy shipping-- so I think I'll be putting another order in through them.

front and rear drilled and slotted rotors with ceramic pads available for $155.00 shipped.

[vweater1369]

What company is that Mike?

[Sideways]

Steve-
The company is BrakeMotive. I didn't see these on the website, but I PM'd them on my other forum & they got back to me promptly. Phone number is 855-556-8103 if you want a quote. Ask for Sean.





Now answer my filter question, damnyou! Lol Just kidding, bud. But if you know or can get a hold of Wacker, fill me in

[BaconBait]

I normally buy filters 10 at a time.

Mann or Mahle. Just make sure it's the oversized one. I think VW/Audi dealers have them. They retail for $10.

[Sideways]

10 at a time!? I usually keep stuff stocked but damn, you got me beat there. I'll just contact Jack Daniels Audi if no one else chimes into this thread I suppose, as my local place had no idea what an "oversized filter" was.

[BaconBait]

That way I only have to buy them once a year. I use them for oil changes on friends cars also. Shipping is still $11 for 1, 5, or 10.

Tell ya what, I have 4 right now. Make a $10 donation to the oil filter fund and I'll send you one via USPS.

[Sideways]

BB-
Sure, PM me your PayPal and I'll send you the funds... hopefully before my girlfriend makes me put the laptop away for the night.

[BaconBait]

Stock vs oversize

[a4spoolin]

Steve-
The company is BrakeMotive. I didn't see these on the website, but I PM'd them on my other forum & they got back to me promptly. Phone number is 855-556-8103 if you want a quote. Ask for Sean.





Now answer my filter question, damnyou! Lol Just kidding, bud. But if you know or can get a hold of Wacker, fill me in

yo easy dude. i been crazy busy with work this week, making crazy hours(over 65), haven't been able to get on here much or even communicate with anybody. I can get a filter for much much much lower than ecs and this is for the big boy. Shoot me a text this weekend. I gotta go to audi anyway or some stuff and get a filter for my car.

[Sideways]

I was just messin', Aaron. Didn't realize that may have come off too harsh. After a couple PMs/texts, I found out that BaconBait lives minutes away from where I'm staying this weekend so I'll be grabbing an oversize filter or two off him tomorrow around lunch. I'm sure I'm going to need plenty of Audi stuff in the near future though. I'll text you tomorrow before I go anyway in case you don't see this first.



PS-
That's awesome on the work though. Hopefully the hours will level off to something more manageable, but some extra bank to offset the holidays is probably a good thing in the end. Maybe you can make some additions to your 'xmas gift to yourself' Forged internals in the future!? z0mg!!

[Sideways]

update:


Didn't drain the fuel. It had 1/2 a tank. What I ended up doing was putting a few ounces of StarTron in the fuel & 4 gallons of fresh 93 octane.
Pulled the sparkplugs and poured a 1/2 cap of oil into each cylinder.
Oil & filter change (Thanks for the filters, BaconBait!)
New Battery.
Refilled air in all the tires.
Got all the dog hair out of the backseat using the rubber glove trick.


Registered and insured, Not yet inspected. Drove it around for 10 miles over the last two days. Don't feel any ride discomfort, so I'm not touching the tie rod. Didn't replace the Cat yet. The screen in the gauge cluster is a pixellated so I can't make anything out, but I don't see any warning lights on the dash/rest of the cluster. I hooked up an OBDII scanner via my local auto parts store & pulled the following code, (oddly, there was only this one, nothing for the cat...):


P1568 Idle Speed Control Throttle Position Mechanical Malfunction


A very brief search I conducted says to replace the whole throttle body. Anyone have any experience with this or have anything to share? Looking for the cheapest fix possible, unless the "easier" option isn't much more.

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!

[Sideways]

Update:


Cleared code yesterday. Drove it for ~20 miles today. Went to inspection station in Paramus, car passed. I was freaking SHOCKED. Considering, I was told the cat was bad, but I didn't replace it, so I was expecting to fail. Thanks for the help everyone!


So.... Any one want an OEM cat? Came off a4spoolin's car!

[BaconBait]

The tie rod will make noise when turning. The cluster being busted is required for all B5's.

Good to hear it passed.

[Sideways]

Another update:


That "Idle Speed Control" code never came back after clearing it. Good riddance! However, a code for the Secondary Air Pump, Incorrect/Upward Flow reoccurred a few times. What an annoying, and embarrassing, sound at cold-starts! Good-GOD. Well, Threw it on the lift and found that a hose was completely missing. Well, after finding out that the part was $66+shipping from ECS, because of a fancy clip, I said screw it and just took a piece of rubber fuel line/heater hose (don't remember which it was) off the shelf and cut it to size, and made it fit. The light hasn't come back. Still hear a little whining for a few seconds on cold starts, but not nearly as long. I can live with it now.

Found out the hard way that the heat didn't work, of course! Coolant was low, topped it off. Didn't change a thing. Flushed the heater core, I should have known it wouldn't be that easy. Still blowing luke-warm (at best) heat. Bled the system, still nada. Change the thermostat today, and that showed some improvement, but still not fixed 100%. On the highway/when moving, it gets good heat (not perfect, but good), however at idle, it's not very warm. (Out of the vents). I hate this car But, I know what's involved in swapping water-pumps and head-gaskets in these things, and there's not way I'm sinking that money/effort into a beater! hahaha

Haven't Seafoam'd it yet, going to wait until the next oil change to do that. But, I'm noticing the gas gauge seems to move a little quickly, I usually don't let it get below a 1/2 tank or so, but I'll make sure to run it down to an 1/8 tank and fill back up to see what kind of MPG it's really getting.


Aside from all that, I'm happy with this car as a DD. Let's see what the future holds, and I pray I don't eat those words! Lol.

[a4spoolin]

what about that leaky oil pan huh