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Thread: Audi S4/A6/SQ5 3.0T Question

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    Default Audi S4/A6/SQ5 3.0T Question

    I picked up a 2013 Audi A6 3.0T for a winter beater and have some questions for those knowledgeable with this engine. The car has 98,000km and so I was planning to have the intake runners and back of the intake valves walnut blasted. To do this they will obviously have to remove the S/C, so what else should I have done at the same time?

    - PCV
    - Thermostat
    - S/C Belt
    - Accessory Belt
    - S/C Oil
    - Temp Sensor
    - Oil filter stand gasket
    - Fuel injector seals
    - Water pump

    I budgeted a couple grand for preventative maintenance on this thing but if do all of the above it gets a bit insane.

    From the reading I've done the 2013+ 3.0T engines have some improvements over the previous versions of the engine so should I still be concerned with the T-Stat and PCV or were those revised? What about the water pump? What else changed for 2013+?

    I was also going to have the transmission fluid and filter changed out. Is there anything else I should really be looking at doing around this mileage?
    Last edited by 94boosted; 08-21-2020 at 10:54 AM.

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    Scheduled interval for S/C belt is 80k, so you might want to check if it's been done before, as it may have been recently (I assume you already have looked at this, just throwing it out there). I bought my car with 100k and full dealership service history, and this item was overlooked somehow so I did it when it was in for an A service. This is also one that you can do anytime and is cheap, so no urgency to do it while the engine is apart.

    I believe the T-stat is still occasionally problematic on those engines. I don't recall reading anything about the PCV being unreliable though. I would def do S/C oil, t-stat, water pump.

    Curious how you compiled that list? I have a '13 S4 and looked into this stuff, but didn't come across things like Fuel Injector Seals and oil filter housing gasket. My other question is: isn't it a little early to require a walnut blast? I thought this was more of a ~150k thing.

    Lastly, if you are going to winter drive it, might be a good time to have someone slap on an oil pan heater. They don't come with block/oil pan heaters from factory.

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    Walnut blast is more expensive than the value it provides if you don't have a noticeable problem.
    Quote Originally Posted by killramos View Post
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    You realize you are talking to the guy who made his own furniture out of salad bowls right?

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    Quote Originally Posted by cjblair View Post
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    Scheduled interval for S/C belt is 80k, so you might want to check if it's been done before, as it may have been recently (I assume you already have looked at this, just throwing it out there). I bought my car with 100k and full dealership service history, and this item was overlooked somehow so I did it when it was in for an A service. This is also one that you can do anytime and is cheap, so no urgency to do it while the engine is apart.

    I believe the T-stat is still occasionally problematic on those engines. I don't recall reading anything about the PCV being unreliable though. I would def do S/C oil, t-stat, water pump.

    Curious how you compiled that list? I have a '13 S4 and looked into this stuff, but didn't come across things like Fuel Injector Seals and oil filter housing gasket. My other question is: isn't it a little early to require a walnut blast? I thought this was more of a ~150k thing.

    Lastly, if you are going to winter drive it, might be a good time to have someone slap on an oil pan heater. They don't come with block/oil pan heaters from factory.

    Thanks CJ I've reached out to Audi Canada to get a copy of the service history and they told me they can't help me. I bought the car from a third party dealership (Weissach). I thought doing the S/C belt and accessory belt was just a no-brainer as they're <$100CAD for both new belts.

    I read about the PCV being a potential problem here: https://www.shopdap.com/blog/post/co...-engines1.html

    The injector seals I thought should be changed any time you removed the S/C

    Regarding the gasket for the oil filter stand it was a reputable mechanic that knows these engines that told me it's a good idea to also replace this at the same time but like you I haven't ready anything regarding this.

    I have a heated garage at home so I'm not overly worried about frequent cold starts especially seeing as I won't be daily driving the car.


    Quote Originally Posted by ExtraSlow View Post
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    Walnut blast is more expensive than the value it provides if you don't have a noticeable problem.
    I personally did the walnut blast on my N54 of a 335 I used to have at ~75K KM's and there was an insane amount of carbon build-up that I removed.

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    I just sold mine, but had a 2011 A6 with the 3.0T for seven years. I would say yes to PCV, my friend who bought it from me had to do it in the first month. The thermostat is under the supercharger, so if you are replacing the supercharger belt you might as well do it at the same time to save some labour.

    Not sure if the walnut shell blast would take care of this, but the other big problem I had was secondary air ports. They are a bad design and carbon off if you tend to more city than highway driving. Leads to low cat temps. It is a known issue with this engine (although maybe fixed by 2013) and Audi did have an extended warranty process for it for the S4/Q7 3.0T. After a letter to Audi Canada and some waiting, I had it covered for my A6. It is $$$ otherwise, I think they need to remove and replace the engine to access.

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    Quote Originally Posted by JPB View Post
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    I just sold mine, but had a 2011 A6 with the 3.0T for seven years. I would say yes to PCV, my friend who bought it from me had to do it in the first month. The thermostat is under the supercharger, so if you are replacing the supercharger belt you might as well do it at the same time to save some labour.

    Not sure if the walnut shell blast would take care of this, but the other big problem I had was secondary air ports. They are a bad design and carbon off if you tend to more city than highway driving. Leads to low cat temps. It is a known issue with this engine (although maybe fixed by 2013) and Audi did have an extended warranty process for it for the S4/Q7 3.0T. After a letter to Audi Canada and some waiting, I had it covered for my A6. It is $$$ otherwise, I think they need to remove and replace the engine to access.
    Thanks JPB, good to know.

    I'm leaning towards the PCV, belts and T-Stat. And chance it on the water pump as from the little bit of reading I've done the water pump can be replaced without pulling off the S/C so there is limited overlap in work.

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    Can you post back once you've done it with any issues/successes/advice from mechanic? I'm interested to see what you learn. Additionally would love to know what you wind up spending on it, if you are comfortable sharing that!

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    These items you guys are talking about... Do they apply to the 2012 S4 with the 3.0L engine too? Because I'm looking at one with 75K on it

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    Quote Originally Posted by cjblair View Post
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    Can you post back once you've done it with any issues/successes/advice from mechanic? I'm interested to see what you learn. Additionally would love to know what you wind up spending on it, if you are comfortable sharing that!
    I've reached out to a few VW/Audi specialty shops and am awaiting quotes. Will post about my experience once done.

    Quote Originally Posted by ricosuave View Post
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    These items you guys are talking about... Do they apply to the 2012 S4 with the 3.0L engine too? Because I'm looking at one with 75K on it
    It would apply to any Audi 3.0T motor me thinks, though at 75K you probably wouldn't have to worry about it for quite some time.

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    Quote Originally Posted by ricosuave View Post
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    These items you guys are talking about... Do they apply to the 2012 S4 with the 3.0L engine too? Because I'm looking at one with 75K on it
    Short answer: yes.

    If you can swing it at all, you should consider 2013+. Aside from the aesthetic facelift, there were improvements in reliability of DSG and sport diff, some sources say better design/update timing chain tensioners, as well as infotainment updates (primarily bluetooth streaming - couldn't do this on pre-2013). Just food for thought.

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    Awesome, thanks for the info. I'm a VW guy, but haven't been following the hows/whys of Audi.
    Last edited by ricosuave; 08-25-2020 at 03:44 PM.

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