boomina4

devastating...

sitting at a red light wednesday and car starts bucking like crazy. pull into gas station, turn off car, pop hood, look down... and all the oil has poured out of the block. got it towed to dealership for diagnostics. ready...

a bolt in my cam tensioner forced its way out and the head was seared off from the spinning timing cam. the bolt itself shot through the tensioner, causing the timing belt to spin much faster than normal. this then caused the oil pressure to sky rocket, and all my hoses burst. the entire driver side of the motor is siezed, and there is a possible crack in the block. dealer says theyve never seen anything like this, nor do they know what couldve caused it. ive got an 02 3.0 with 52k miles that i baby. no explanation.

so, 400 dollars later, they give me a few options. 1 - replace cam tensioner, timing belt, belt cams, timing gaskets, and a few misc. for 3500 including labor, and hope that this solves the problem. option 2 - the prior doesnt solve anything, so a complete cylinder head rebuild needs to be done. full rebuild with gaskets, etc. including labor = 4k, totalling +- 7500.00. option 3 - full swap for new motor. dealer quoted 10400.00 including labor.

ANY suggestions please?! i dont know what to do at all.

after writing this im going to happy hour.

MikTip

2003
Engine
Audi A4 3.0L (DOHC)-(W/D,turns over) 4,000 A M2593 $3500.07 Brims Imports Auto USA-OH(Kenton) Request_Quote 1-800-221-3874 Request_Insurance_Quote


2004
Engine
Audi A4 3.0L, Sed, frm VIN 35001-L TimingCvrx V70235 $3415.14 LKQ - Hunts Point Auto Parts USA-NY(Bronx) E-mail 1-800-221-8151


2002
Engine
Audi A4 3.0L,TESTED TM 88,526 B 9151 $3005 M and K Used Auto, Inc. USA-FL(Orange-City) E-mail 1-800-329-9880<ul><li><a href="http://www.car-parts.com">http://www.car-parts.com</a</li></ul>

QuattroFan02

^^^That's what I would do, let a reputable indy shop handle the install. Save yourself about $4k

MikTip

<center><img src="http://www.eurospecsport.com/Images/engines/078-100-031-RB.jpg"></center><p>
-<ul><li><a href="http://www.eurospecsport.com/enginev6.htm">http://www.eurospecsport.com/enginev6.htm</a</li></ul>

520

the shop he took it to sort of fixed the car but they never told him what happened. His engine never ran right afterwards as I am sure it starved for oil and his bottom end must have been scoured badly.

Also, I remember his driver's side valve cover was cracked - what could crack a VC but some kind of an impact....maybe it was the same bolt but it didn't damage his motor as bad as yours???

Wonder if this is could be a potential common problem.

I would do as Mike says, geta good used engine and have an Indy do the swap unless you can DIY. Its actually not all that hard to swap the motors as long as you are keeping everything the same.

Keep all the good parts off of yours as as pare and/or soon enough you'll probably be able to sell that and recoup some of your costs.

Good luck and keep us posted..

Chalfont

Its the only option worth considering

lawstudenttony

My condolences, man. I'm a 3.0'er so I feel ya even more. Good luck.

OLight:TNG

This after my new mechanic here in San Diego told me how much he really doesn't like the 3.0L.

Step 1: Get job.
Step 2: Get timing belt replaced ASAP.

Not that a timing belt replacement would have prevented this, but I'd hate to end up with a collection of bruised and battered parts where an engine should be...

diagnosticator1

And you should go with the new long block. If AoA doesn't step up and help with the cost, then find a good low mileage used engine and have it installed at an indy Audi shop.

shwndh

Nice link! A 2.7t engine would be awsome in the B6. Is that a short block?