RS6 C6 V10 - Standard... for now!

[adamfraser]

A brief history of the last 7 years, some utter turds, some not so bad.

1986 Ford Capri Laser - Never saw the road
2001 Citroen Saxo - Got to start somewhere!
1994 Subaru Legacy GT Twin Turbo
2005 Honda Civic Sport
1984 Ford Escort XR3i Convertible, RS Turbo conversion, Magazine featured
1997 Subaru Legacy GT-B Twin Turbo
2006 Audi A6 3.0Tdi Le Mans Quattro
1993 Subaru Impreza STi Type-Ra - 370BHP
1997 Subaru Impreza Turbo 2000
2000 Subaru Legacy GT-B
2005 VW LT35 158 LWB
2008 Saab 9-3 1.9TDi
1990something V8 Eurocar Space framed Race car, Carbon bodied, utter mental thing.
2005 Impreza STi Widetrack, lightly modified!

Was a Subaru mechanic for 8 years, hence the amount of them I have had!

Then you hit 25 and realise that you have spent an absolute fortune on all the above mentioned, wouldn't have it any other way, had fun working on all of them. Especially the RA and the V8 Eurocar, those were just something else. Always fancied an RS6, and when a friend in the trade phoned up with one he had taken in as P/X, i couldn't resist. So off the Saab and STi went..



2008 Audi RS6 Avant, Daytona Grey, 2 owners, 80k, full Audi history. Carbon trim, 20" wheels, debadged, TV, DAB, all the usual goodies. Not much else to say!








So, plans for it? It's booked in for it's interim oil service on Friday. Got a van for during the week so it's not a daily, but it will be used, it's straight off to the Lake District on Friday to serve as a chase/service car for an Evo at the Grizedale rally. No garage queen this one. After that, who knows. IanH's RS6 is a good inspiration, secondary cat delete, filters, MRC Engine and Gearbox map is definitely on the cards for next year, along with AP discs and new pads all round once these ones are getting to that stage. 572bhp just now, 720bhp will be fantastic, and who knows after that..!

Stay tuned..

[adamfraser]

Thanks everyone, loving it so far!

IanH755 said:

Hi Adam, congrats on the purchase matey!

The MRC stage 2 really makes the car feel like a completely different beast to OEM and I would highly recommend it to any owner, along with an aftermarket cat-back exhaust^^^

However, just to worry you a little as not sure if you knew before but there's a few age related issues which have been cropping now for a few years which could cost quite a bit to sort if not caught early and, as a mechanic, you should be able to check these quite easily -

1. Oil Pump seal leak - there's a 70p rubber seal which is perishing which leaks oil at the back of the undertray, slightly on the drivers side. It's a minimum of £1500 to replace (engine in) or over £3000 if you drop the engine (needed if fixing No2 below).

2. Two Coolant pipes in the RH arch between the wheel and the bulkhead corroding - There's no way to find out if these are leaking without stripping the arch liner out but if they fail it can be catastrophic. The engine has to be removed to replace these so it's normal to do the oil pump seal change at the same time too for peace of mind.

^^^personal opinion time - I don't like Milltek etc as they all try to sound too deep, like a yank V8, but but end up being quite muted instead. I think a custom 3in cat back system with no H or X link pipe sounds much better (more "raw" at WOT) and the lack of link pipe has no effect on performance. Again, thats only a personal opinion and everyone is different.

Edited by IanH755 on Monday 21st November 11:05

Thanks for the pointers Ian. Had heard about the oil seal issues, but the coolant one is new to me. I'll strip the arch liner next weekend and have a look at them. Unfortunately the oil seal is one of those, if it goes, just got to do it!

Agreed on the Milltek, having seen some that had been on cars for a few years, it left a lot to be desired! Fortunately a good friend of mine is very handy with that sort of thing, and has been doing exhausts for years. Will pop in and see him before the map.

Thank you for the advice though, i'm sure it won't be the last of the questions haha!

Not Largs, the bungalows are in Ayr. There's a nice bit up the back of Ayr where the photo with the leaves was taken! The coast road is bang on, layby just outside of Dunure.

[adamfraser]

First fix done - went into Audi on Saturday for an AMI cable for my iPhone. Countless cables later, no further forward getting it to work. Looking online, turns out the cables were for a 3G MMI and not a 2G, so 2G cable ordered, AMI update carried out via USB drive, now have full integration with Apple Music.

New wheel nut covers arrived too, the ones on the car had turned white.

Just the interim service on Friday, then a good chance to take it a run to Coniston on Friday for the rally at the weekend!

[adamfraser]

Intermediate service completed at Audi yesterday.

Was noted that there is an oil leak and the coolant pipes are starting to go as well. Looking around, Audi want 27hrs labour + parts to do the job. So, being daft as I am, watch this space as I'll be tackling it. Daft? Maybe. Future values being affected as it hasn't been done by a specialist/dealer? Couldn't care. Upgrades when it's out? No plans, yes it would be the ideal time to do downpipes, turbos etc but that will require a few more overtime shifts...!

So, plan over the next few weekends -

Engine/Box out
Oil seal
Coolant pipe change
Possible rocker/timing case seals - will inspect but any doubt and I'll change them.
Spark Plugs
Air Filters
Clean out intercooler ducts

Plenty of pictures to keep you all entertained along the way. Welcome to RS6 ownership!

[adamfraser]

IanH755 said:

Whipping the engine/box out is a great way to introduce yourself to the RS6. There is bugger all room to work so triple check you've disconnected everything before the drop, in fact quadruple check!

While the engine is out also look at swapping the very soft OEM intercooler pipes to a Forge set. You'll also be able to drain the I/C's of any oil too which should show you the health of the turbos oil seals.

Good Luck!

Thanks Ian. Looking forward to doing it to be honest! As long as we don't find anything else major along the way. Will have a look at the i/c pipes.

Car performed faultlessly over the last two days, even returning mid 20's on the run down the M6. Was sitting behind my mate with the rally car on the trailer right enough!

Might treat it to a wash tomorrow..

[adamfraser]

Yep, engine out planned for next week. Work has got busy very quickly so i'm going to have to leave it in the capable hands of the lads whilst I work some shifts to pay for the bloody thing!

There will be plenty of pictures though, i'll make sure of it. Won't be an easy one for them but i'm sure they will enjoy it once it's out their road!

Nothing else to report, still waiting on the V5 to come through to get the new plates on it. LED bulbs for the number plate lights fitted too. Itching to go get it mapped, need to get this out the road first.

[adamfraser]

I can totally relate to the 'safe' feeling of it. Being so heavy it's a very smooth power delivery, compared to the ferociousness of my old classic Subarus. It's not until you look down at the speedo and you are a bit haha!!

Still no V5 through yet, typical DVLA...

Gave it a quick clean today inside and out, few light scratches on the bodywork but i'll deal with it after winter, not much point with the amount of crap on the roads!

Car is booked in for Monday to get some surgery, lets hope the bits are easy enough to get and it's not stuck on a ramp for 2 weeks.

Could be doing with some tyres soon, i just don't rate the Contis that are on it, and they are getting on a bit. Had SP SportMaxx on my last 3.0 A6, and they were fantastic. Would be good to hear what everyone else has fitted and how they rate them.

Welcome to RS6 ownership, my old Saab cost less than this upcoming repair bill i fear.

[adamfraser]

HybridAero said:

Awesome car, congrats. I remember reading somewhere that a remap transforms the power delivery and it no longer feels safe and smooth, but in a good way. What kind of mpg are you getting, would you ever consider LPGing it?

Cheers.

MRC Stage2 map will take it from 570 - 720ish. Definitely planning it for next year, just the small issue of the upcoming work, and would like to put new tyres and brakes all round before the proper work starts.

MPG, had it down the M6 last weekend and returned 25mpg. Was following the boys with the rally car on the trailer at 60mph so it's not really a comparison. Around the town, i'm getting 13mpg. Run up the back roads, 7/8mpg. Currently running on Momentum99. I know it says you can use 95, i'm just so used to putting 99 in the Subarus, so to have something with twice the power, putting inferior fuel in is a mental mind block! My only experience with LPG was fixing them as part of my old job, to be honest it won't be doing a huge mileage so not too fussed on it. On the other hand, if it was a daily, it would be a different story!

Would anyone be interested in an actual diary of true running costs on these? I'm not shy in showing the numbers, if it helps anyone in deciding if an RS is for them or not, i'm more than happy to do it.

[adamfraser]

So, here's a rundown of the last 3 weeks of ownership. I'll update this post every month with figures.

November 2016 - Mileage 80,535

Number Plates - £31.79
AMI Cable, 20x Wheel Nut Covers - £53
CableJive Dock Extender for AMI - £26.96
Audi - Intermediate Service - £354.98
TPS - RS6 Badges - £47.42
DVLA - Tax - £45.09
Fuel - £306.20

Total for November -
Parts & Service - £514.15
Tax - £45.09
Fuel - £306.20
Total - £865.44

[adamfraser]

Well that's it away to the garage to get the work done, hopefully we won't have issues with parts supplies. The lads are going to get some pictures so will stick them up once I get them. Driveway looking rather empty!

[adamfraser]

Well, it's all good fun. Popped up after work to see how the boys were getting on, and end up having a look for myself...



So, on further inspection, the list grows.

Coolant pipes in Arch are absolutely rotten. Frightening actually. Can't wait to see them out and see just how close they were to splitting.
Thankfully it's only the o-ring that is away, and not the oil pump (2.5k!)

On further inspection..

Slight leak on braided hose from dry sump reservoir to Thermostat. Not worth the risk in my books, so it's getting changed.
2x Water pipes that run under the block to the Gearbox cooler - one corroded on the edge where it meets the rubber hose. Again, not worth the risk so time to change it.
Air fiters are absolutely filthy. So much for a 'Full Audi history'!!
Going to replace all 10x spark plugs.

Can't see anything else so far, but definitely going to have another look when it's all out on the deck. O-Ring must be well and truly gone, was a fair amount of oil underneath and it was only cleaned 2 weeks ago.

IanH or anyone else, has anyone been changing any of these pipes or am I the unlucky first one to discover it?? I didnt get pictures of them on the car.



Hose 7 from Reservoir to Thermostat, leaking at the join on the hose at the thermostat side



Hose 11. Corroded at the edge of the RHS pipe to the rubber hose at front.

The joys of RS6 ownership, 3 weeks in.. Just want it back to enjoy it now.

Edited by adamfraser on Thursday 8th December 16:48

[adamfraser]

ChrisRS6 said:

Miss my V10 RS6

Have. A look at some of my posts on here and also RS246

I was one of the first to suffer the old 70p oil seal....seems a distant memory now....I spent thousands on my car and never regretted any of it.

Once mapped these things are mental....

I'm in C7 RS6 now feels quicker but miss the mid range and top end thump and never ending pull of the V10.

Had a look through RS246 the other night, need to stick a post up. Seems like it is starting to get a bit more common.. but i'm glad I caught it now, would have been catastrophic if it had went.

Glad to hear it's mental once mapped!!

IanH755 said:

Hi Adam,

Tyres - My personal preference for tyres is the Michelin Pilot Super Sport which, as they're a BMW OEM size, will still be made for th next 10+ years.

Pipes - Both of those aren't "common" but these cars are now getting 7-8 years old so I'd expect to find a few minor leaks when the engine bay has been stripped as much as yours (it's even worst if you take the engine/GB out and you get to see the rear of the engine/firewall area!)

Cheers Ian, will have a look and try get some. Had Dunlop SP SportMaxx on my last A6 but it's a different car altogether.

Roll on getting it back, it's going to be a long weekend without it..

[adamfraser]

Well, the engine is out!





Coolant pipes in the arch, the initial cause. Absolutely shocking how much these have degraded in the 8 years since it was built, i'm actually astounded.



On a closer inspection, as soon as the bolts were undone on the clamp, they just snapped clean off. Look how thin the metal is, i am amazed they held on as long as they did!




Unfortunately not is all as seems. It needs a fair amount, rocker cover gaskets for one..



Infact, between the various pipes, gaskets, filters etc, we are into 4 figures of parts alone.

So, new oil, air, pollen filters, 10x plugs, 2x rocker cover gaskets, 2x timing cover gaskets, 2x exhaust clamps, 2x coolant pipes, 1x braided hose, 2x more coolant pipes, oil seals, seals for the braided hose, and a few other bits and bobs... everyone, welcome to RS6 ownership.



At least i'll have it back for christmas.

[adamfraser]

philmots said:

Interesting stuff, I'm sure you'll get the money back (or won't have to sell it on cheap) when you come to sell.

This work is what people will look for.

Are the new coolant pipes actually any different, or is the same thing going to happen in another 7 years.

Well that's the thing, at least it's done now and hopefully not have to be done again!

As far as I am aware they are the same, no design modification but as more of them start to go, I imagine Audi may redesign/coat them.

Oi_Oi_Savaloy said:

Is there something you spray on the new pipes to protect them or can you properly seal the inside of the arch liner at all? Those pipes must see alot of weather (at high velocity perhaps - the old ones are in a shocking state agreed!) Just a thought.

I will be undersealing the whole car, arches as well. Pipes will be undersealed as well. Just such a vunerable place for them to be in.

The car has been in Scotland most of its life to be fair. Totally agree that cars from down south probably don't get it as bad.

I'll be taking it up with Audi, not that I will get anywhere with them right enough, I just think it's shocking for a car like that to be needing so much. Agreed, it's done 80k, but you still don't expect to be dropping the engine out it to replace a couple of seals and pipes. It'll be interesting to see what happens when this issue starts getting more common, I wonder if they will come up with something..

Half tempted to redesign the arch liner, maybe add some sort of cover to protct them. Will just need to sort out wheel clearances, but that's a project for another time.

[adamfraser]

Got the car back!

Was a rather expensive bill , but they have gone through everything and replaced anything that was going to be of concern so at least I know it's right, hopefully thousands of miles of trouble free motoring ahead!

Full writeup tomorrow.

[adamfraser]

Full writeup will happen in due course, just awaiting parts receipts so I can list out everything that got changed.

Back to the garage Tomorrow/Thursday (whatever day is dry) so we can whip the undertrays off it, and make sure everything is absolutely spot on.

Absoultely love having it back, took it a run to the local car club test day today to stretch it legs (not on track!), performed faultlessly.

Other jobs done, cut up the number plate holder, rebonded, filled and painted, reattached to grill and fitted shortened plates. Sets it off nicely.

Tyres on the list next.. When you are pushing on they aren't coping very well.

[adamfraser]

Back to the garage this morning for a look underneath and glad to say, all is well! Absolutely no problems. Think the lads that did the work are relieved

oobster said:

Lovely car, did you used to work for S&S?

Cheers. I did indeed, was there just shy of 10 years!

cannondale said:

Am I right in saying that the meet you were at was Kames? It looks like it anyway.

Been a while since I've been up there. Looks like it wasn't raining as well! Lucky lad!

Spot on with the guess, was just up testing new suspension setup on an Evo rally car. Rare to see it not raining up there! Great day for it aswell.

IanH755 said:

Did they change the oil pump seal whilst the engine was out too?

Tyres - MPSS have been outstanding for me and as it's an OE BMW size (275/35-20) they'll be instock for a while, although the new MPS-4S should be out in the new year and I'm expecting big things from them!

Not that i'm aware of as I know you can't get it seperately - once I get all the invoices back i'll have a look to confirm. At least someone on RS246 has managed to come up with the solution to save people buying the complete oil pump.

Got a good mate who works for BMW up the road on the case for the tyres, be interesting to see what he can come up with.

Any progress with your misfire/smoke issues?

[adamfraser]

Cracking pictures. Mine looked just as bad, seal had turned totally hard and crumbled on the way out.

Hopefully it's something simple to fix, never is though with these things!

[adamfraser]

Few more bits and bobs done today that I have been meaning to do.

Heard some water sloshing around in the tailgate - removed the small rubber bung on the bottom of the bootlid and let it drain out. Will leave it off for now until I get some sealer to do the rear lights and high level brake light - was half expecting it to be the washer hose on the motor but it wasn't. All of a sudden I have no reverse lights since having the tailgate stripped, so that's tomorrows job incase its a fuse, but it might just be both bulbs gone.

Changed the bootlid bulbs to LEDs as I had some lying around anyway.



Cleaned up the rear view camera lens, picture was absolutely shocking before, lens wasn't in good condition at all.



Removed the old wheel nut covers and fitted new ones.






Quite fancy carbon dipping the RS6 and V10 covers to bring the engine bay up a bit..

[adamfraser]

Whoops, forgot this thread existed!

I let it go a few months back, lack of use and forever maintaining it when things constantly went wrong, and it was constant!

In the end up, the drains in the scuttle panel were blocked and water found its way in to the body control module and knocked out absolutely everything - New module and a nightmare coding it, I eventually got it going once more, but the whole ownership was a sour experience and I would never touch one with a barge pole again. DRC started having intermittent faults in wet weather as well.

All in, with engine out, tyres, servicing and repairs I was well over 7k in the end up, and for the 9 months I had it, that’s obscene.

Great car to drive, Power was something else, there’s just a balance on how much you spend versus what it’s worth - unfortunately it’s now getting into the dangerous territory where they are falling into the wrong hands and people can’t afford to maintain them, so there will be some absolute dogs on the market.