scalper

Hey everyone, found a 2k S4 with 48k miles.
Has regular maintenence by pro shop and is in very nice shape.
Dino oil, not synthetic (not sure if that causes problems down the road). No big red flags so far.
My questions are 1) turbos - what kind of expense to replace (when they go out) and is it a "DIY task" for a newbie ? 2) what other weak spots on the car that I need to pay attention to . I can piece together some things from the forum posts like tie rod ends, control arms, etc but looking for any additional insight. 3) how durable are these motors (I hear the 1.8's are not the best in comparison) ?
Maintaining the car is not a monetary issue nor a problem - I am very maticulous and spare not expense on my vehicles, but I do not want to step into a 'money pit'. I think the turbos cause me the most concern esp after reading about all the replacements being done on mid-life mileage cars.
Any feedback is greatly appreciated - thanks.

quickaudi:STFA

dino oil is bad but not something that will murder your car, but I'd swap immediately

1. $2k a set, probably, and not a noob DIY unless you have a LOT of time
2. weak spots on a 2k are aluminum uprights, F-hose, and smaller turbo oil lines.
3. dam durable

Daryl@Tantrumwerks

The turbos & associated hardware themselves cost from $2K to $2.5K. The labor is 16-18hrs depending on which way to access the turbos. You either drop the subframe or pull the motor to R&R the turbos. Hope that helps.

scalper

Thanks for the responses. Very helpful.
The 16-18 hours of $100+ per hour shop time is the killer. Did not know that.

quickaudi:STFA

it ain't pretty

S4_Cinci (I S'edTFA)

you will have problems. If you don't get into heavy boost with the oil cold or shut down the engine while the turbos are still spinning, you should be OK. I would highly recommend synthetic oil from now on.

The oil lines were updated in 2001 (mid year, thus you'll see a 2001.5 model refered to in the archives) and thus that does amount to a de facto admission of a potential problem with the oiling of the 2000 MY turbos. But remember that most people didn't have an issue with sludge in the 1.8T engines either, only those who pushed the envelope regarding maint.

Odds are those turbos will last the life of the engine if you treat the car with some TLC and use common sense - don't have to baby it; just don't abuse it. Also, make sure that the intake system doesn't have any leaks. A leak downstream of the turbos can cause them to overspin trying to keep the boost pressure up and such a condition does not always throw a CEL. I feel this issue contributed to some turbo killings as many dealer techs think that any problem will always throw a code and/or a CEL. But that is not necessarily the case. Many people have had bad BPV's without the engine diagnostics picking this up.

Bimmer Needs Reverse

is that the oil supply lines from the factory were too small, and when you couple that with with a journal bearing style turbo (such as the KKK K03s) that if the turbos are not warmed up & especially cooled down properly, the small amount of oil in the journals will cook and ultimately coke with all of the excess heat, causing the turbo to fail. Many have had their stock K03 equipped cars chipped for 75K+ mi with no problems. The impossible thing is to predict when the K03s will fail. There are measures that can be taken to prolong the life of the turbos, but there's really no known catalyst for them to fail.
Other failure prone items: the Throttle body boot. Stockers blow holes in themselves causing a boost leak. Can be improved with the Samco silicone TBB, or corrected all together with the APR BiPipe. (about $350) Also, the '00 have what's known as the "F" hose. It looks like an F....obviously. That can be fixed by visiting www.vastperformance.com and buying their brass one. I can't remember how much but < $100. Cam seals ALWAYS leak...it's a part of life.
To answer every question you could ever have about the B5 S4 and more, google Edy Jun. His list has all the answers. You should definately buy that car w/ 48K mi. They're hard to find in that condition. I bought mine in '05 with 35Kmi, chipped it the next day, and have had ZERO problems with mine. It's getting stg 3 treatment in June. Good luck!!

quickaudi:STFA

I figured the real reason for turbo failure was massive amounts of heat warping turbo components.