My new C5 S6 Avant - V8 family car

[Super Ron]

As you saw in the previous update one of the exhaust flexys had fallen apart so I temporarily fixed it with a bit of pipe.

The whole decat area was a bit of a bodge, it was already done before I bought it, varied from 1.5inch to 2.5 inch, one corner actually went down to 1.25inch.









So instead of just getting the flexy replaced I took it to a local powerflow to have some replacement decats made up. 2.5 inch all the way through to match the rest of the system



Much better



I also had a remap put on the car by Palmer Performance at the same time, the engine management light had always been on because of the decats, so got that mapped out, and secondary air injection pump got rid of too as it was pointless now. He removed the speed limiter too the power was upped from 344bhp to 365bhp which is ****** impressive on a normally asperated car, the the torque went up from 320lbft to 340lbft.

It has transformed the car! The throttle response it the biggest difference, is so responsive it's unbelievable. It pulls so much harder, the torque is much more useable, and it's always been fast on the motorway, but now it ****** flies!

Very happy, it's given the car a huge new lease of life!

 

[simo79]

Looking ace Ron.

That’s interesting about the decat performance. Sounds like I would rip out the cats before doing a manual conversion to mine. As much as I love the v8, I was always feeling a little out of love the the auto box is holding this car back a bit. It’s good and swift but I think if they sold the s6 as a manual in the UK, they would have sold much more of them.

As always, your thread is a fountain of knowledge for as s6 lovers.

Decat here I come.

Any issues when it comes to mot season or does the lpg mix cover the emissions test?


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[Super Ron]

The car passes the emissions test on lpg without the cats. Strictly speaking because it 'can' run on petrol it should fail because it can't pass without cats on petrol. But I get it tested on lpg, it passes at the time of the test so is all good

 

[Super Ron]

Another thing I got sorted was the passenger side front door had the C5 common problem of sitting on the second latch. It's actually been doing it for the last 2 or 3 years , but I got divorced 2 years ago so no one really sits in the front :lol:



I got new catch off eBay, unbranded but £19.99



Got it out



And solved the problem straight away all this time people have been jumping in and never being able to close the door, 20quid and half an hour it's fixed :lol:

I gave this task a little go at vlogging and editing to see how much hassle it was



Didn't come out too bad

 

[Gazwould]

Nice one , it's daft how we sometimes put off some of the cheapest fixes .

 

[simo79]

Good wee video blog. Good steady camera positions.
Nothing worse when watching theses vlogs and the the camera is being tossed around the motor as he (or she) scrambles for an angle.
Didn’t realise the door cards were so easy to come off. I have been putting of replacing the window ref for ages.

Nice one Ron


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[Super Ron]

Something else that needed attention was the drivers side front wheel bearing. It had been getting noisier and noiser to the point where it over droned the exhaust, and that's saying something on this thing, we had a camping trip in Norfolk coming up so wanted to get it done before the journey.

Got onto TPS for a new wheel bearing.



And rolled the Audi in the unit



Strip down







It all pretty much fell apart without a lot of effort



Grinded the inner race off



And tapped the new bearing on



All went really well untill..........



I did up the pinch bolt and it suddenly went loose, I thought it'd snapped the bolt, but turned out it had cracked the leg itself





Years of it coming on and off on and off had finally taken it's toll!

This put me in a real shitter, I was supposed to be off on holiday in a few days, and I knew S6 parts were hard to get hold of at the best of times

I did a bit of research and part number goofing to see what else the legs were fitted to, I know there was different types as Euro car parts sent me arms with the wrong size ball joints before. It looked like the S6 and RS6 get their wide body track from wider wheel bearings, it shares the legs them selves with other V6 quattro A6's. And the part numbers confirmed this.

So got on to eBay and there were a few V6 alloy legs, but hundreds of pounds and miles away! But then spotted a A6 3.0 quattro breaking about 40 mins away, quick message and he said he still has it for £40! I sent my dad on a little road trip while I was at work and he returned with this



So stripped everything down, luckily the wheel bearings are bolt on, so could take the new ones off





The V6 A6 hubs compared to the V8 S6. So that confirms it, the wide body get their extra track from the hub flange.






Something I remembered from when Jordan fitted the 18z Porsche 6pots was he had the shave down the caliper mounting lugs a few mm as the offset is slightly off.



The new leg



The old leg



And he had to shave a bit off the leg for disc clearance at the bottom



Like so





Then on to the offset problem, here you can see how much over one side it is, it's actually touching the disc



A lot of filing and measuring later, as these need to stay dead flat




And we have clearance both sides again



And back together




And made it to camping



And a trip to London as well, stayed in good company

 

[Super Ron]

With a big car show coming up locally I wanted to spruce the Audi up as it is my daily it does get used and abused everywhere and anywhere.

First off I had caught the wheels a couple of times, nothing bad, but still annoyed me



So a good mate of mine has just opened a wheel referb shop so I paid him a visit to get them sorted



And then it was time to sort the paintwork. Even though it was only re sprayed a year ago, it sits at my work down the docks for 12hours 4 times a week getting covered in fallout. Diesel pollution, dust, and bird ****. It wasn't scratched or scuffed any where, but quite rough to the touch

Taped it all up



Here's the roof, this is still the 18 year old audi paint, the reflection is ok, but a bit fuzzy



After a hard cut with the machine polished and a buff up and I had the desired effect



Next I flatted the headlights down





And machine polished up





Then it was time to do the rest of the car!



Stage 1 complete



And then a waffle



Which took a long time :lol:



And complete



Wheels and brakes cleaned inside and out



Also got some new number plates as mine had gone a bit off white



And then the next day it was the Low Collective show




















I'd forgotten how black it was :lol:

 

[simo79]

Looking well smart. Just out of interest, what’s your polish of choice and what’s your system that you use? I.e clay bar first the build up, or straight cutting and polish with a wax glaze or something?


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[Super Ron]

Looking well smart. Just out of interest, what’s your polish of choice and what’s your system that you use? I.e clay bar first the build up, or straight cutting and polish with a wax glaze or something?


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I'm body shop bread so I learnt on 3M stuff so that's what I use. 3M green fast cut with the machine polisher them 3M rosa or finesse with a waffle mop on the machine polisher. Then usually I give it black colour magic by hand.

 

[Super Ron]

After a long trouble free time enjoying the S6, as always it has come to a brief end. The last week or so I'd noticed a little bit of a chain rattle on start up, only for about a second, and a bit of rough idle, then it was fine. I'd put it down to the weather suddenly turning colder.

HOWEVER.... started it up the other day and it was rattling and clanging like an old rotorvator! I knew straight away what had happened. Long term readers will remember 3 years ago I had the drivers side cam chain tensioner let go. Followed by a whole load of problems with the wrong side cam tensioner being supplied, oil cooler water pipe leaking and a whole load of drama, it deserved a thread of its own really!
Back then I did removed and inspect the passenger side tensioner too and inspect it but there was hardly any wear so I didn't replace it at the time.
So I knew what to expect, and unfortunately I knew the price of the parts.

It still ran so I drove it down to my unit.



Stripped off all the LPG and everything else to uncover the cams



And sure enough greeting me was part of the slider



And metal on metal on the chain



Slid the front out to gain access to the cam belt



Still had the locking bar. My dad had modified it for when he did the cam belt on his 2.8 V6 4motion Passat. The V6 and V8 are almost identical but the V6 is a few mm narrower than the V8 so we had to put in an extra pair of holes.



And it slotted straight in, no resistance at all which is reassuring after 3 years hard use.



The fan was a bit ****** tight to get off, had to wind a old belt around the pulley and get a extra pole on the already big 32mm spanner





Had to get a bit of extra leverage on the cam belt tensioner too as was very tough!



With the cam belt off I could then get the cams out



Revelling the chain has made quite a groove in the head whilst rattling around!



Last time I remembered most of the cam guides ended up in the sump so I dropped that off



And sure enough



I'm fairly happy I've recovered all the bits



So next to get the bits Monday! I remember last time the tensioner alone was about £500!

 

[voorhees]

Dammitt I feel for you

 

[Rich81]

oh no, not good! I occasionally get start-up rattle on mine but I can't see me putting that level of work and money into the car should they go... yours is worth saving though hats off to you for all the level of dedication on looking after it so well.

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[Gazwould]

****** hell Ron

 

[Super Ron]

Doing the job stripping half the engine doesn't really bother me, it's the parts bill that's the killer! I reckon it's going to be pushing on £800 with oils. thank God I don't have to pay labour!

 

[Super Ron]

So this is what £700 looks like



Apparently it's the last tensioner in the country so I was lucky :lol: I'm still waiting for the cam seals but they should be here tomorrow, but of a pain as they are pretty much the first thing to go on.

Got the other bits prepped ready as I couldn't crack on.
Cleaned up the sump, but of a pain as i'd only had that off 6 months ago to reseal it.



Cleaned all the sealer out of the bolt threads




And clean!




Fired up the old steam computer with elsawinto remind me the torque settings



And refitted with new audi sealant



A problem I remember having last time was when torquing the cam caps down (about five times in a week ) the threads started pulling out of the head, so I had to helicoil a few.



I wasn't going to mess around this time so I helicoiled the lot in preparation

Masked it all up



And I still had the helicoil kit from last time



Drilled them out



Tapped them out



And wind in the insert



Wallah



Got this far but couldn't do any more as I couldn't get the drill in




Quick trip to screwfix




And could carry on



I got them all done apart from the very back bottom two. I've cleaned out the threads so hopefully they'll be fine



I whipped off the other rocker cover as it was seeping at bit at the back, and I had the good sealer out from the sump



The other tensioner is still looking good 3 years later



Took the end core plug out





And sealed it all up with the sump sealer. This is how tight it is, this is the biggest thing you can get in the bottom bolts. Luckily the torque setting is an angle one.



Like I said, hopefully I will get the cam seals tomorrow and can crack on after work

 

[Super Ron]

Got the cam seals (£50 for the pair!)



Got elsawin back out



And could get the cams in, glued up the core plug this side too



And got the tensioner in





Popped the other side pully off



An could time it all back up



New seals for the cam cover



And started putting it back together



I found one of the aux belt idlers had a knackered bearing, which is what the annoying squawking it used to chirp was, so got a new one of them



All built up, and you can't even see the £500 tensioner





And do finished



While it was up in the air I whipped the front pads out as every now and then I have to take the burr off the edge or they start to squeak



Quick rub over



Pads don't last long on this thing, or that might be my driving :lol:



As I live in the countryside black cars don't stay black for long do I just leave it dirty





Wheels were filthy



So as they were off I gave them a good clean





And then the rest of the car





And it's BACK!

 

[Super Ron]

Whilst carrying out the previous repairs I noticed a bit of coolant staining on the head and it was wet around the seam of the header tank



I couldn't find an aftermarket header tank anywhere so had to go back to TPS again for another £50



The leak had got quite a bit worse at the seam



But now good as new



Everything wet as i gave it a hose down because everything was sticky with antifreeze

 

[dandam]

Just to say thanks for the door lock video, I have just had to replace the drivers side lock on my c5 and your you tube effort was massively helpful.


Also stunning car, love the detailed updates

 

[Super Ron]

Just to say thanks for the door lock video, I have just had to replace the drivers side lock on my c5 and your you tube effort was massively helpful.


Also stunning car, love the detailed updates

Glad it was helpful. Makes it worth the effort

 

[quattrojames]

Your thread is as good as ever! The car looks so good I have to say, for the new RS's etc you can beat the C5 shape I don't think.

And solved the problem straight away all this time people have been jumping in and never being able to close the door, 20quid and half an hour it's fixed :lol:

I gave this task a little go at vlogging and editing to see how much hassle it was

Didn't come out too bad

I need to change my drivers door latch as the microswitch is playing up. Did your ebay special come with the switch? I didn't see you changing it over in the video?

Great video, I've seen others where people have taken the whole mechanism etc out and all sorts which looks a bit daunting!

 

[Super Ron]

Your thread is as good as ever! The car looks so good I have to say, for the new RS's etc you can beat the C5 shape I don't think.



I need to change my drivers door latch as the microswitch is playing up. Did your ebay special come with the switch? I didn't see you changing it over in the video?

Great video, I've seen others where people have taken the whole mechanism etc out and all sorts which looks a bit daunting!

Thanks very much. Yes the door latch came complete, I just plugged the new one straight in.

 

[dandam]

Your thread is as good as ever! The car looks so good I have to say, for the new RS's etc you can beat the C5 shape I don't think.



I need to change my drivers door latch as the microswitch is playing up. Did your ebay special come with the switch? I didn't see you changing it over in the video?

Great video, I've seen others where people have taken the whole mechanism etc out and all sorts which looks a bit daunting!

When I did the drivers side it was really straightforward, the only difference being that you need to remove the door handle / lock too (due to the key barrel) but that is moving a slide across and the whole piece then comes lose. The engineering on the c5 is still impressive even though it was a design launched over 20 years ago, I love mine and rate them highly over the c6.

 

[Samuel c5 Q]

You're some trooper Ron.

 

[myth]

so today was thermostat d-day. i took the car down the unit yesterday and biked home so it would be a cold start on it today. Finished a 12 hour shift at work and peddled back down there to make a start.

[...]

tried to put the pin in the cambelt tensioner to get it back on but this thing is sprung to ****! snapped 2 allen key bits and big grips were unsuccessful, had to whip it off and in the vice

I have read this whole thread and I have to say, nice work!

Also, when you want to press the timing belt tensioner back in, you are supposed to apply firm pressure on it for 1-2 minutes. It will slowly go back in. You broke 2 allen bits because you were in a hurry

 

[Super Ron]

I have read this whole thread and I have to say, nice work!

Also, when you want to press the timing belt tensioner back in, you are supposed to apply firm pressure on it for 1-2 minutes. It will slowly go back in. You broke 2 allen bits because you were in a hurry

Ahh thanks for that, even now every day is a school day.

 

[Super Ron]

No updates lately as it's been good but the MOT was coming up so it was time to get some jobs done.

Took it into work





I was getting a vibration from the front under hard acceleration and tracked it down to inner cv joints, for ease i wanted to put two driveshaft but couldn't find a o/s one anywhere so had to get inner and outer cvs to build.



I got GKN LOBRO ones as that's who make the original ones, and sure enough they even gave the audi stamps on



So got it up



Stripped the one I had to build



Hey presto



Next was the rear end, one of the camber adjustment bolts were sieezed in the arm so got a new bolt and an arm in preparation I case I needed it. As per usual I had to get a genuine part as they're different to a normal A6...



Lucky I did get an arm as I had to destroy the old one to get it out



And all in



Next front end off



The aux tensioner as getting noise so got a replacement



I'd had a couple of engine management lights pop up saying coolant temp sensor high input intermittent, so got a replacement which solved the problem



With all the suspension now adjustable i took it for a wheel alignment and got everything straightened up, was just the camber out of spec as it's so low, but drives so much better now



Next was new tyres, I'd always had Michelin pilot Super sports on this but my mate with the tyre business suggested trying the new Michelin pilot sports 4S.







Had my handy helper out







First impressions are these are a great upgrade over the Super sports, the only downside is the side walls are alot bigger so they do rub a bit on lock now but certainly grippier!

Next was back to autoshack to fit some rear discs, they are the 335mm audi W12 discs with S6 calipers and pads, and last time the pad only swept 2 of the 3 drill holes and looked a little odd, so got them just to drill 2 holes this time



I took my apprentice with me




















And the swept area



And finally the MOT, which flew through



So had a celabratly wash!

 

[Super Ron]

A guy I know was scrapping a A6 so I grabbed a few bits I needed before it went. First was my load cover had stopped retracting so grabbed that Also the button for the alarm had never been there since I bought the car so grabbed that out Was time for new wipers too Just in time for the rain... instantly Keeping a black car clean in the countryside.... So got the suds out again Still shines up well!

 

[Super Ron]

The last few weeks progress. Back in at autoshack I checked the front brakes when I did the rears and found they were shot too so ordered some up from mtec again They do have a hard life on this two ton hot hatch! And new parts fitted Flushed the calipers out as the fluid does get a bit hot in there It was sitting in good company Next thing on the service list was the cambelt. The book says every 80'000 miles, and this has only done 31,000 miles since the last one. But it also says OR every 5 years, so it was due. So got a full kit And was time to open her up! This must be the 4th or 5th time I've had the cambelt off now :lmao: And water pump replaced And all on and timed up Got to use my flasy new torque wrench And finished Living in the countryside and always blasting the B-roads the rear arch lip had got a bit chipped up so we sanded it down and painted it all up The thing you have to remember with the MTEC discs is the whole thing is painted, so the pad wears it's own slot, meaning the first run always clogs up the pads But a quick sand and good as new And the discs are perfectly protected And all looking pretty pucker So some of you might already know, all this was in aid of the fact this is actually now SOLD! It went to it's new owner at the weekend. It wasnt for sale, and I hadn't planned on getting rid of it, but I was approached by the guy who actually bought my old white Audi at the beginning of this thread 4years ago! He wanted it and offered me a very good price so away it went! I spent last week taking loads of gopro footage so will get it altogether and make a cool YouTube video on the life of the S6! Question is now what to get next?? Currently car-less :lol:

 

[Samuel c5 Q]

Mobility scooter with a haybusa engine and Audi alloy wheels. Shocker. Has to happen at some stage. At least it went to a good home. My 6k5 Cordoba went on a slow boat to China in the form of a cube.

 

[Super Ron]

well.... the replacement is here... tune in for the start of another fun packed diary!

https://www.audi-sport.net/xf/threads/my-c5-rs6-daytona-avant.389686/

 

[simo79]

Well that’s me hanging up the rope!. Had the very same model (colour but grey interior) before selling it and getting the s6. Still cry in my pillow at selling it. I named mine Brutus as i could find another word to sum it up.
They are poles apart from the s6, but even tighter to work on.

Well done mate, it looks lovely .

Dare I say,, so what’s the plan?


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[Super Ron]

Well that’s me hanging up the rope!. Had the very same model (colour but grey interior) before selling it and getting the s6. Still cry in my pillow at selling it. I named mine Brutus as i could find another word to sum it up.
They are poles apart from the s6, but even tighter to work on.

Well done mate, it looks lovely .

Dare I say,, so what’s the plan?


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It's amazing, you'd never believe they share so much with the S6.

The plan is to fix all the problems, tidy it up and enjoy it. At this stage I'm gonna keep it all standard, even most probably get rid of the touch screen stereo for the standard rns-e and enjoy it, until it breaks, then repeat lol

 

[Samuel c5 Q]

That’s dirty boy. They don’t take to mapping much as the auto box doesn’t like the torque much or so I’ve gathered not actually having owned one myself. Very nice, enjoy.

 

[simo79]

That’s dirty boy. They don’t take to mapping much as the auto box doesn’t like the torque much or so I’ve gathered not actually having owned one myself. Very nice, enjoy.

This is true although the auto box is the same as the s6 but I think the ratios and clutch plates are different, having worked and repaired boxes on the s6 and the rs6. I have managed to find a donor car for my s6 and will be looking to convert it to a manual.

I have read a few posts on some rs6 conventions but I here it much more straight for to do on the s6.

Ahhh well, since Ron has converted to the dark side, it’s looking like us old faithfuls Sam will need to prop up the C5 sections.

He’ll be back when the faults starting coming through. (Not jealous at all)

I actually found my rs6 pretty realiable. The gearbox fault wasn’t actually the box but the ecu. (Managed to pic a second hand one for £70).

I also see people re map them but I thought what was the point as your hitting, well we will say 70, in a few seconds.

Over taking was effortless and I found that I drove it on the low end torque more than revving the tits off it. You find yourselves running out of road very quickly.

God,,, I miss mine. But like yourself doubt I will ever have the budget for another one. Like yours Ron I picked it up with an intermittent fault (gearbox) at a steal of a price. Fixed it and doubled my investment. couldn’t really knock that back.

F Y I, I have a spare solenoid loom if your looking for one.

Looking forward to seeing your new thread. Any plans for an Lpg?


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[Super Ron]

I'm still in a C5, its just the RS owners seem to get a VIP section

i completely echo everything Simo has said, its got so much low down torque i barely go over 2000rpm just driving it around, the S6 spent all is time up in the 5-6k's! this is deceptively fast, you really have to watch the speedo, you only just touch the throttle and the speed goes up in 20s! no cravings for any kind of remaps or tuning at the minute. it is mental!

i love it! fueling it is becoming a noticeable though, it is doing a couple more mpg than the the S6 did, going to and from work its getting 15-16mpg, but the S6's lpg was about 55p/litre so it wasn't a worry, filling this up with VPower is £1.40/litre!!

i have thought about LPGing it, it is possible, but with the battery being in the spare wheel well theres nowhere for a tank, unless you put it in the boot, but then you cant fold the seats down and use it as an estate. i think im probably going to get something cheap like a Golf TDi just for going to work and enjoy the RS6 for what it is

 

[simo79]

i have thought about LPGing it, it is possible, but with the battery being in the spare wheel well theres nowhere for a tank, unless you put it in the boot, but then you cant fold the seats down and use it as an estate. i think im probably going to get something cheap like a Golf TDi just for going to work and enjoy the RS6 for what it is [/QUOTE]


How a bout an s6 saloon on an lpg as daily. I know one where you would get a good deal on. ha.

I found the RS246 forum pretty good for the rs, but I’m sure you have already been on there.



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[Rich81]

Congratulations on the new car. Interesting how different you've found it to the S6, I would love a C5 RS6! Sounds like you got a bargain on that I look forward to see the thread progress!

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[Samuel c5 Q]

I have started work on mine again. Get it running right and then tune as much as she’ll go. I good scrub as well. So the thread will be getting an update soon.

In the meantime I’ll just nosey on over to the rs section to check this big 6 out.

 

[6UiLE]

AWESOME work mate, i just read page 1 while at work. looking forward to reading page 2 tomorrow. keep it up, excellent thread the way they all should be...