3 months from HELL!!!!!!! How my engine blew up and my best guess as to what caused it......
07-31-2007, 05:52 PM
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3 months from HELL!!!!!!! How my engine blew up and my best guess as to what caused it......
This all happened starting in October of 2005 and ending in Febuary of 2006. Its takin me a long time to feel comfortable talking about this without the thought of it all happening again. I now think it has been long enough to tell the story of the horrible events that happened to me in the first month of owning my 2001 A4 1.8T QMS.
My brother leased the car in Sept. of 2001. I told him I was gonna buy it from him the second I saw it. I was in college at the time and knew by that time I should be out and have a job. So Sept. of 2005 rolls around and the new B7 has just come out. My brother loves the look and is set on getting one when his lease runs out. Everything is going to plan. 2 weeks before his lease is up and i am to buy the 2001 when a solid check engine light comes on. Go to our buddys shop. Code reads..."engine lean, bank 1"...something along those lines. (side note: at the time didnt know much about the car other than the few A4 articles I read about in eurotuner. didnt know about AW. I knew the cars potential and I loved everything about it, and knew i wanted it regardless).
As it all worked out my brother warrenty had ended about a month before. He brought it to the dealer and they said it was a broken vacuum line and a MAF sensor. The quote was $400, no joke. (At the time the only thing my brother had done to the car was an APR exhaust and a K&N panel filter.) He was kinda broke saving for the down payment on the new car and kinda prob didnt care cause he knew he was getting rid of it in a few weeks. Also $400 was way too high, sounded kinda shady.
We decided to look for ourselves to see if anything was staring us in the face. Didnt notice it for a few days but there was a small tear in a vacuum line that connects to the bottom of the intake manifold. (closest to you when you pop the hood). It was torn right at the nipple. I cut it a hair shorter, just after the tear, then reattached it. Everything looked clean and happy again. The CEL went off and we thought that was it.
I bought the car a week later. I loved it and was starting to plan all the parts I was gonna buy. About a week into owning the car the CEL came back one day. Stayed on for a few minutes then went away driving on my commute to work. Nothing for a few more days then, again, on a few minutes then gone. Only maybe 4 or 5 times in the first 2 weeks. Looked at the vacuum line. Looked fine. Was due for an oil change in a few hundred miles so I made the appointment with my buddys shop to look at the codes too.
Never made it to that oil change. A few days later I had a business trip to attend. It was only about 100 miles each way so I wasnt too worried. Drive up was fine, other than getting pulled over in NH (no ticket), the drive home was not. I was maybe a half hour from my work when I was cruising along down 91S in MA towards CT. I was going maybe 75mph in slight but moving traffic. I was in 5th gear at maybe 3000-3300rpm, something like that. Then i press the gas and the car kinda shakes a little. I look at the CEL and nothing. I press the gas again and more shaking. Look down and flashing CEL. My car sounds okay just feels weird. I come to a stop on the side of the highway and it sounds like a go-kart at idel. I shut it down and get towed to the dealership thinking it must be a coilpack. A few bucks or maybe free.
Got a call from the dealership the next day. They asked if I was sitting down, never good. Told me they looked found a chunk of my head was missing. Broke off and bounced around the engine. New head would be between $4000 and $5000. Or whole new engine would be $8000. I sh*t my pants!!!! Freaked out for a few days. My buddy that owns a shop told me to bring it down he could fix it for much much less.
He did it on his free time so it took a while but he saved me some big loot.
Our best guess is that a valve seized from the dirty air coming in the broken vacuum line. There was a chunk out of my head and right next to it there was also a big chunk missing from the valve. On piston #1 there is a noticable imprint where the valve and piston made contact. There is shrapnel peak marks everywhere on #1 and #2. Piston #1 looks like swiss cheese from above. He got it in early Nov. 2005 and I got it back Feb. 3 of 2006. Grand total was $5356.55. A machine shop did the head and valve job. My buddy did the block and pistons. Did my water pump/timing belt while it was all apart. I also got some new all-season tires.
At the time of exposion the car had 67,264 miles.
Its been over a year and a half. Car has been great since, knock on wood. When I got it from my brother had just and APR exhaust and a K&N panel. Everything else in my signature I have had done since. Put the chip in a few months after I got it back.
I have since found out the turbo should have been replaced too. Although it spooled okay there wasnt exactly any wastegate left. Felt perfect with stock program. Once I started doing stuff I noticed mine still wasnt as fast as a friend of mine's with similar mods. I ran the crap turbo til I got a boost gauge and saw only 13psi. DING! New turbo, 21psi, real fast.
Wow, that was long. Dont really know what im expecting to hear in responce. Kinda just needed to vent to people who care and see if anyone has a worse story or maybe something similar. (no i did not search for engine explosion to see yet)
Part of me still wonders if it was the vacuum line or that strange lemony scent my car used to emit. haha
pistons 1 2 3 4
<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/126505/cardeath1.jpg">
#1 u can see the mark from the valve slap
<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/126505/cardeath2.jpg">
#2
<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/126505/cardeath3.jpg">
#3
<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/126505/cardeath4.jpg">
#4
<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/126505/cardeath5.jpg">
THE valve
<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/126505/cardeath6.jpg">
mark of death 1
<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/126505/cardeath7.jpg">
mark of death 2
<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/126505/cardeath8.jpg">
THE valve and a very carbonized valve.
<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/126505/cardeath9.jpg">
Bill
<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/126505/cardeath10.jpg">
Total
<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/126505/cardeath11.jpg">
Friends, evil evil friends
<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/126505/cardeath12.jpg">
carbonization of the valve
<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/126505/cardeath13.jpg">
There is a whole other wierd story in the middle of this dealing with the guy at the dealership i dealt with. Lots of shadyness went down at the dealership. Had other salesmen pull me aside and tell me "I wouldnt trust that guy u r working with. I got some friends that would be very interested in your car if you didnt want it" Gave me a business card and walked away. Part of me wonders if all of the damage i had happened on the highway or at the dealership. I will never know.
This is how she stands now!!!! Naomi (as in the supermodel, Naomi Campbell) Really black, really sexy, really a bitch sometimes!!!
My brother leased the car in Sept. of 2001. I told him I was gonna buy it from him the second I saw it. I was in college at the time and knew by that time I should be out and have a job. So Sept. of 2005 rolls around and the new B7 has just come out. My brother loves the look and is set on getting one when his lease runs out. Everything is going to plan. 2 weeks before his lease is up and i am to buy the 2001 when a solid check engine light comes on. Go to our buddys shop. Code reads..."engine lean, bank 1"...something along those lines. (side note: at the time didnt know much about the car other than the few A4 articles I read about in eurotuner. didnt know about AW. I knew the cars potential and I loved everything about it, and knew i wanted it regardless).
As it all worked out my brother warrenty had ended about a month before. He brought it to the dealer and they said it was a broken vacuum line and a MAF sensor. The quote was $400, no joke. (At the time the only thing my brother had done to the car was an APR exhaust and a K&N panel filter.) He was kinda broke saving for the down payment on the new car and kinda prob didnt care cause he knew he was getting rid of it in a few weeks. Also $400 was way too high, sounded kinda shady.
We decided to look for ourselves to see if anything was staring us in the face. Didnt notice it for a few days but there was a small tear in a vacuum line that connects to the bottom of the intake manifold. (closest to you when you pop the hood). It was torn right at the nipple. I cut it a hair shorter, just after the tear, then reattached it. Everything looked clean and happy again. The CEL went off and we thought that was it.
I bought the car a week later. I loved it and was starting to plan all the parts I was gonna buy. About a week into owning the car the CEL came back one day. Stayed on for a few minutes then went away driving on my commute to work. Nothing for a few more days then, again, on a few minutes then gone. Only maybe 4 or 5 times in the first 2 weeks. Looked at the vacuum line. Looked fine. Was due for an oil change in a few hundred miles so I made the appointment with my buddys shop to look at the codes too.
Never made it to that oil change. A few days later I had a business trip to attend. It was only about 100 miles each way so I wasnt too worried. Drive up was fine, other than getting pulled over in NH (no ticket), the drive home was not. I was maybe a half hour from my work when I was cruising along down 91S in MA towards CT. I was going maybe 75mph in slight but moving traffic. I was in 5th gear at maybe 3000-3300rpm, something like that. Then i press the gas and the car kinda shakes a little. I look at the CEL and nothing. I press the gas again and more shaking. Look down and flashing CEL. My car sounds okay just feels weird. I come to a stop on the side of the highway and it sounds like a go-kart at idel. I shut it down and get towed to the dealership thinking it must be a coilpack. A few bucks or maybe free.
Got a call from the dealership the next day. They asked if I was sitting down, never good. Told me they looked found a chunk of my head was missing. Broke off and bounced around the engine. New head would be between $4000 and $5000. Or whole new engine would be $8000. I sh*t my pants!!!! Freaked out for a few days. My buddy that owns a shop told me to bring it down he could fix it for much much less.
He did it on his free time so it took a while but he saved me some big loot.
Our best guess is that a valve seized from the dirty air coming in the broken vacuum line. There was a chunk out of my head and right next to it there was also a big chunk missing from the valve. On piston #1 there is a noticable imprint where the valve and piston made contact. There is shrapnel peak marks everywhere on #1 and #2. Piston #1 looks like swiss cheese from above. He got it in early Nov. 2005 and I got it back Feb. 3 of 2006. Grand total was $5356.55. A machine shop did the head and valve job. My buddy did the block and pistons. Did my water pump/timing belt while it was all apart. I also got some new all-season tires.
At the time of exposion the car had 67,264 miles.
Its been over a year and a half. Car has been great since, knock on wood. When I got it from my brother had just and APR exhaust and a K&N panel. Everything else in my signature I have had done since. Put the chip in a few months after I got it back.
I have since found out the turbo should have been replaced too. Although it spooled okay there wasnt exactly any wastegate left. Felt perfect with stock program. Once I started doing stuff I noticed mine still wasnt as fast as a friend of mine's with similar mods. I ran the crap turbo til I got a boost gauge and saw only 13psi. DING! New turbo, 21psi, real fast.
Wow, that was long. Dont really know what im expecting to hear in responce. Kinda just needed to vent to people who care and see if anyone has a worse story or maybe something similar. (no i did not search for engine explosion to see yet)
Part of me still wonders if it was the vacuum line or that strange lemony scent my car used to emit. haha
pistons 1 2 3 4
<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/126505/cardeath1.jpg">
#1 u can see the mark from the valve slap
<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/126505/cardeath2.jpg">
#2
<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/126505/cardeath3.jpg">
#3
<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/126505/cardeath4.jpg">
#4
<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/126505/cardeath5.jpg">
THE valve
<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/126505/cardeath6.jpg">
mark of death 1
<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/126505/cardeath7.jpg">
mark of death 2
<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/126505/cardeath8.jpg">
THE valve and a very carbonized valve.
<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/126505/cardeath9.jpg">
Bill
<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/126505/cardeath10.jpg">
Total
<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/126505/cardeath11.jpg">
Friends, evil evil friends
<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/126505/cardeath12.jpg">
carbonization of the valve
<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/126505/cardeath13.jpg">
There is a whole other wierd story in the middle of this dealing with the guy at the dealership i dealt with. Lots of shadyness went down at the dealership. Had other salesmen pull me aside and tell me "I wouldnt trust that guy u r working with. I got some friends that would be very interested in your car if you didnt want it" Gave me a business card and walked away. Part of me wonders if all of the damage i had happened on the highway or at the dealership. I will never know.
This is how she stands now!!!! Naomi (as in the supermodel, Naomi Campbell) Really black, really sexy, really a bitch sometimes!!!
07-31-2007, 06:04 PM
#2
Keeper of the Cash
I've seen better UFO sighting pictures than those close ups. Did you even check the pictures
before you posted?
At any rate, you must've been missing an entire hose because I've never heard a leak letting in so much dirt that it causes catastrophic damage like that. My guess is you had many more problems than just a boost leak on your engine.
Then again, further proof that K&N filters will really fvck up your engine.
At any rate, you must've been missing an entire hose because I've never heard a leak letting in so much dirt that it causes catastrophic damage like that. My guess is you had many more problems than just a boost leak on your engine.
Then again, further proof that K&N filters will really fvck up your engine.
07-31-2007, 06:11 PM
#6
Keeper of the Cash
So does mine. :)
I can completely understand why you don't have the money for a new one right now.
I'm actually impressed you didn't throw in the towel like most others would have.
I'm actually impressed you didn't throw in the towel like most others would have.
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07-31-2007, 06:25 PM
#10
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Sounds to me like the timing belt tensioner was on the way out...
belt skipped a few teeth, valves meet pistons, and you know the rest. It's a common issue, and for this reason most replace the timing belt AND tensioner at 60K intervals rather than Audi's rediculous recommendation.
I see nothing that substantiates the dealer's claim that "part of the head broke off". Where is this self disintegrating section of the head??
The busted vac hose had nothing to do with this.
I see nothing that substantiates the dealer's claim that "part of the head broke off". Where is this self disintegrating section of the head??
The busted vac hose had nothing to do with this.