Just bought a 2002 S6 Avant. What now?
 

Hey all,

Just added an '02 S6 Avant to my Audi collection ('01 A4 TQM Avant). It has about 135k miles and looks pretty well cared for.

I'm not new to Audis but am certainly new to this size of an engine. I'm curious as to what specific issues I should be aware of and what might be different from my 1.8t.

Any pointers?

Timing belt. Make sure it is done if it hasn't in the last 4-5 years or more than 75K miles.

Timing belt is the most important, other than the 4.2L is pretty bomb proof. Transmissions can be an issue, although that was usually on the 00-01 A6 and A8. Front control arms wear and the various valve gaskets and oil seals like to seep. The only one that's really painful to do is the oil cooler seal because of it's location on the side of the engine.

I suggest changing transmission fluid and filter. I bought an 02 S6, 90k, this past June and within 500 miles, trans failed. Don't know if a fluid change would have made much difference, but I didn't even get a chance to service it. Then I rebuilt it because I couldn't find components for a 6 speed swap in time.

I am very happy with the car. It handles very well for a car with a curb weight of 4000 lb. Turn in seems crisp and direct. Acceleration is nice in mid-range and high end, really pulls well. Certainly, one of the coolest cars I've had the opportunity to own.

Good luck.

Yep. Agree on tranny service (not flush). OEM fluid.

Check front control arms and tie rods.

Change oil with relative frequency to avoid lifter or tensioner issues (which generally can be resolved with a gentle cleaner such as rislone, but best not to ever get there)

Grant

Awesome guys - thanks for the suggestions.

Dealer didn't have any records (was bought at auction) so I'll have to check the timing belt. Is the difficulty on par with an 01 A4 1.8t?

I've always had manual vehicles so a tranny service will be new to me.

I do have some oil seepage but it's not bad at all. Not sure exactly where it's coming from yet but it's not a valve gasket.

Also, here are some pictures.

Looks great! Have not seen a black S6 yet on the streets, only silver and grayish.

With no records you just do the tb service. Chances are that's why the car was sold....the guy probably also knew the trans was on its last legs.

Check the inner and outer CVJ boots on the front....the outers tend to go first, but at 135K miles and 11 years, the inners if not the lubricant are often contaminated.

I just dropped the front axle on my 2K4.2A6 because I noticed a little spray from the inner CVJ boot, brownish rather than blackish. Turned out the boot was ok, the clamp was leaking...but the juice was brownish mousse compared to the black stuff in the tube for the inner CVJ (actually it was a triple roller joint but WTF). So I replaced the inner boot after cleaning up the triple roller joint and housing and put it back together. Car had~175K miles on it.

I've only had one of the front CVJ boots (the inner one) go that far...the rears, OTOH, are OEM and I have no intention of replacing/servicing them until/unless they crack or leak.