Short Drives Procedure?

**R490** · 01-19-2020 02:54 PM

Before my B5 S4, I had a C5 A6 2.7t with the 6 speed that I sold with just over 100k on it. Only drove it on short drives and it ended up being a very reliable car.

However, my B5 S4 has more miles on it and a lot of my drives are very short. Temp gauge goes to the middle and oil temp goes up to 200 ish.

My question is, what can I do to ensure I'm not causing any excessive wear? I stay out of the boost whenever I drive short distances. It's all stock for the time being.

**vavJETTAw36** · 01-19-2020 03:00 PM

Most wear is going to come from cold start. So good oil. And don’t go into boost until it’s warmed up. That’s al you can do

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**R490** · 01-19-2020 03:07 PM

Originally Posted by vavJETTAw36

Most wear is going to come from cold start. So good oil. And don’t go into boost until it’s warmed up. That’s al you can do

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I've run 0w-40 on both 2.7t's I've had. I might switch to Rotella though, this shits expensive. Oil changes ever 5,000 miles or 6 months usually.

Also, see you're in Woodbridge. I'm in Fairfax, know of anywhere that can change my RMS for a decent price? I've used Eurowerks VA for smaller stuff, but I don't want to spend a whole lot.

**vavJETTAw36** · 01-19-2020 03:17 PM

Originally Posted by R490

I've run 0w-40 on both 2.7t's I've had. I might switch to Rotella though, this shits expensive. Oil changes ever 5,000 miles or 6 months usually.

Also, see you're in Woodbridge. I'm in Fairfax, know of anywhere that can change my RMS for a decent price? I've used Eurowerks VA for smaller stuff, but I don't want to spend a whole lot.

I usually just do fcp euro exchanges on liquimoly. The shipping is usually about 20 bucks.

What would a decent price be for you?

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**R490** · 01-19-2020 03:23 PM

Originally Posted by vavJETTAw36

I usually just do fcp euro exchanges on liquimoly. The shipping is usually about 20 bucks.

What would a decent price be for you?

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I'd like to keep it under $700. I'd do it myself, but that's above my pay grade considering my garage doesn't have a lift.

**vavJETTAw36** · 01-19-2020 03:27 PM

Originally Posted by R490

I'd like to keep it under $700. I'd do it myself, but that's above my pay grade considering my garage doesn't have a lift.

You really don’t need a lift. And unfortunately it’s an engine pull. You’ll never find anyone to do it under 1000 bucks.

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**R490** · 01-19-2020 03:31 PM

Originally Posted by vavJETTAw36

You really don’t need a lift. And unfortunately it’s an engine pull. You’ll never find anyone to do it under 1000 bucks.

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Really? I was told it could be done with the engine in.

**vavJETTAw36** · 01-19-2020 03:32 PM

Originally Posted by R490

Really? I was told it could be done with the engine in.

It CAN be done with just a trans drop. But most prefer to pull all of it together

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**R490** · 01-19-2020 03:35 PM

Originally Posted by vavJETTAw36

It CAN be done with just a trans drop. But most prefer to pull all of it together

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I might as well just swap in an 01E for that price.... Found a guy with a complete swap from an Allroad for that same price.

**vavJETTAw36** · 01-19-2020 05:07 PM

Originally Posted by R490

I might as well just swap in an 01E for that price.... Found a guy with a complete swap from an Allroad for that same price.

Completely agree.

I’ll swap your trans and rms for $1000 labor. I would need it for two weeks

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**R490** · 01-19-2020 05:17 PM

Originally Posted by vavJETTAw36

Completely agree.

I’ll swap your trans and rms for $1000 labor. I would need it for two weeks

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That's a tempting offer. I'm going to try and figure out what else I'd need, since the 01E is out of an Allroad.

**R490** · 01-19-2020 05:20 PM

I also have to figure out if it's the rear main seal, or something else. The oil is dripping down onto the RMS and running down the sides, so I just assumed it was.

**christianb5s4** · 01-20-2020 09:25 AM

It could be a few things besides the RMS. Could be the a valve cover gasket leak, cam plugs are easy to check, or the oil supply T junction which I've circled in red (thank you XLR8 for the clear picture).

**R490** · 01-20-2020 12:21 PM

That's what I'm hoping! I'm resealing the valve covers and everything around them.

**Bordom** · 01-20-2020 02:24 PM

Can't use the Allroad trans in a B5, since there is no applicable rear diff that will bolt to a B5 rear subframe.

4.375 final drive in the Allroad vs 4.11 in a manual A6/S4 or 3.511 in auto variations

**Silverex** · 01-20-2020 02:24 PM

Should be pretty easy to tell if its RMS....at least mine was and I had tons of other leaks. Clean the area up well and while under the car in the upper oil pan there’s 2 holes that oil from the RMS can come through and if you see oil coming out it’s definitely RMS or the input shaft seal on trans....either way its same amount of work. If I didn’t explain it well enough lmk and Ill snap a picture

**R490** · 01-20-2020 03:41 PM

Originally Posted by Bordom

Can't use the Allroad trans in a B5, since there is no applicable rear diff that will bolt to a B5 rear subframe.

4.375 final drive in the Allroad vs 4.11 in a manual A6/S4 or 3.511 in auto variations

Shit! You're a lifesaver, I was about to seal the deal...

Same guy selling the swap is offering a full APB 170k on it that's "blown" for $200 USD. Is that worth buying, just to pull parts off and get more familiar with it?

**R490** · 01-20-2020 03:42 PM

Originally Posted by Silverex

Should be pretty easy to tell if its RMS....at least mine was and I had tons of other leaks. Clean the area up well and while under the car in the upper oil pan there’s 2 holes that oil from the RMS can come through and if you see oil coming out it’s definitely RMS or the input shaft seal on trans....either way its same amount of work. If I didn’t explain it well enough lmk and Ill snap a picture

Ah, gotcha. These are the areas I've noticed the most oil collecting. Last picture is right at the end of the skid. Oil lines? I think were soaked pretty good.

**Bordom** · 01-20-2020 04:09 PM

Originally Posted by R490

Shit! You're a lifesaver, I was about to seal the deal...

Same guy selling the swap is offering a full APB 170k on it that's "blown" for $200 USD. Is that worth buying, just to pull parts off and get more familiar with it?

See of he'll take $100 for it. Lol

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**Silverex** · 01-21-2020 07:04 AM

Originally Posted by R490

]

that hole all the way to left dead center. If oil is coming out of there then you know it’s RMS

**R490** · 01-21-2020 09:29 AM

Originally Posted by Silverex

that hole all the way to left dead center. If oil is coming out of there then you know it’s RMS

The one with the rust in the middle? Looks pretty dry to me. Fingers crossed regardless.

**Silverex** · 01-21-2020 09:39 AM

No the one that’s all the way to left and is half way cut off in picture. Clean everything up and then stick a finger up there after running car and see if it’s wet.

**Silverex** · 01-21-2020 09:41 AM

Could have drawn a better circle around just the one but it’s the one on far left that circled

**R490** · 01-21-2020 10:09 AM

It leaks the most when the car is just sitting, does that sound right? I've been down there before and I don't recall seeing anything.

**R490** · 01-21-2020 10:14 AM

Slightly better picture of it,

**Silverex** · 01-21-2020 10:26 AM

Stick a finger in there and see if it’s wet, highly doubt oil would go up in there unless the RMS is leaking.

When I had issues with RMS it did seem to leak more sitting.....then after I really cleaned it up well and got under it while running I noticed exactly where it was coming from.

Sucks but what I’ve learned is instead of wasting time dicking around with motor in car it’s way easier to just pull the motor off the rip and fix everything. The amount of time I’d waste looking everything over and trying to fix problems with motor in the car I could have had it out and sitting on a stand. Definitely looks like you have a few issues to fix which will probably require a engine pull for at least one of them anyway.

**R490** · 01-21-2020 10:30 AM

Ah, gotcha. I'll have to take another look next time it's nice enough out.

Fortunately, the only real issue I have with the motor itself is this leak and a coolant hose. I'm doing a ton of preventative stuff and once the 5HP lets go, I'll probably just get an 01E going and yank it out.

**Silverex** · 01-21-2020 10:36 AM

Those “only” issues can require a pull unfortunately..... where is your coolant leak? Hope it’s not a turbo

What other maintenance are you going do? FYI doing anything with motor in car takes about 2x as long regardless of how accessible it is....at least for me it is

**R490** · 01-21-2020 10:42 AM

Originally Posted by Silverex

Those “only” issues can require a pull unfortunately..... where is your coolant leak? Hope it’s not a turbo

What other maintenance are you going do? FYI doing anything with motor in car takes about 2x as long regardless of how accessible it is....at least for me it is

Rear coolant heater core hose. It's a very, very minor leak. I already have the part.

I'm doing plugs, accessory belt, valve cover gaskets, cam seals, plugs, thermostat, possibly the timing belt (Depending on how it looks), possibly coil packs as well. Any other suggestions for while I'm down there?

And yeah for sure on the time thing. When I had to do the ABS module on my A6, it had me ready to off myself.

**Silverex** · 01-21-2020 11:41 AM

That hose is kinda a pain but definitely doable I had to replace mine a few months back. Get ready to have a bunch of cuts on your hands. Lol

If your doing all that work including timing belt I’d definitely pull the engine, sorry if I sound like a broken record. I feel like removing the front end is at least half the work anyway and in long run it will save ya time plus you can get a great look at everything and replace whatever looks bad. When I pulled my engine to do RMS it snow balled pretty bad from there and ended up building the motor but at the very least I was going replace every gasket/o ring/ bunch of hoses etc. Check out my build thread and if you have any questions just lmk

**R490** · 01-21-2020 11:46 AM

Originally Posted by Silverex

That hose is kinda a pain but definitely doable I had to replace mine a few months back. Get ready to have a bunch of cuts on your hands. Lol

If your doing all that work including timing belt I’d definitely pull the engine, sorry if I sound like a broken record. I feel like removing the front end is at least half the work anyway and in long run it will save ya time plus you can get a great look at everything and replace whatever looks bad. When I pulled my engine to do RMS it snow balled pretty bad from there and ended up building the motor but at the very least I was going replace every gasket/o ring/ bunch of hoses etc. Check out my build thread and if you have any questions just lmk

Fun, hah.

In a perfect world, I'd just go ahead and pull it. But for the time being, I just want to get it in decent enough shape until I have the cash to get upgraded turbos and the like. I've also got to make my garage a little more comfortable. I do appreciate the input though and I totally get what you're saying about just going for it.

Luckily, I somehow happened upon the previous owner of my cars build thread and he seems to have replaced pretty much every soft hose in there.

Do you have a link for your build?

**Silverex** · 01-21-2020 12:32 PM

Well my PO replaced everything also unfortunately he didn’t do a very good job and once I had it apart I wasn’t chancing it or planned on pulling motor again so I redid everything. Plus ordering from FCP for lifetime warranty had me buying more stuff then I planned.

Here’s my build thread.
https://www.audizine.com/forum/showt...J’s-Stg3-Avant

**R490** · 01-21-2020 01:00 PM

That's true. I ordered all of my parts, except for the axle from FCP.

Awesome build! I've got to read through the whole thing.

**R490** · 01-27-2020 10:12 AM

Silverex, I did what you suggested.

Both of those holes look pretty dry to me. Any thoughts? I had absolutely convinced myself it was the rear main seal, but I'm resealing as much as I can regardless.

**Silverex** · 01-28-2020 05:36 AM

Cam plugs in the back, cam chain tensioner, VC, or turbo oil lines are the only spots I could see oil coming from back there

**R490** · 01-28-2020 05:51 AM

Ya know, that's actually a huge relief. Luckily, I've got all of these gaskets and whatnot to install. Hopefully that'll take care of these leaks.

Fingers crossed it's not turbo oil lines. I'm guessing that warrants an engine pull. What's also really odd is that my oil leak has actually slowed down in the past week, not quite sure how that's possible.

**Silverex** · 01-28-2020 06:08 AM

I’m pretty sure the turbo oil lines can be done with motor in the car it’s the coolant ones that are a PITA

**R490** · 01-28-2020 05:30 PM

Well that's a positive, hah.

**R490** · 01-29-2020 05:02 PM

So it turns out the oil leak doesn't happen at all when the car is jacked up from the front. Not one drop in 24 hours.....

Hopefully even more evidence it ISN'T a rear main seal.

**Bordom** · 01-29-2020 05:25 PM

Jack the rear up. Probably a front crank seal

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