B7 Audi S4 possible timing chain failure

[martin mrt]

Long story cut short I have purchased a B7 S4 Saloon from a chap at work for a small sum, as it has been off the road for a few years due to him falling into a bit of a money problem and the car cutting out and now won’t start.

I “think” it’s the timing chain but I’ll be honest I’ve not looked it over yet as the car was so cheap I couldn’t say no.

If it is the chain what potentially am I looking at cost wise? If it’s too much it will likely be broken for spares or punted as is

Cheers in advance for any input

[Cupramax]

I wouldn’t expect much change if anything out of £5k and 28hrs of labour at a main dealer because you’ll also need to do the clutch and possibly the dual mass flywheel too (pointless not doing them with the engine out). The entire front has to come off the car and the engine completely removed as the chain is at the back and inaccessible in situ..

First thing I’d do is get someone with Vagcom to see what fault codes you’ve got before you do anything.

[Michaelbailey]

martin mrt said:

Long story cut short I have purchased a B7 S4 Saloon from a chap at work for a small sum, as it has been off the road for a few years due to him falling into a bit of a money problem and the car cutting out and now won’t start.

I “think” it’s the timing chain but I’ll be honest I’ve not looked it over yet as the car was so cheap I couldn’t say no.

If it is the chain what potentially am I looking at cost wise? If it’s too much it will likely be broken for spares or punted as is

Cheers in advance for any input

Many questions need answering here. Cutting out? If the chain went while running I believe they make an almighty mess of everything. Does the engine turn freely? Vagcom is a must here and it sounds more like an electrical fault to me whether that's ignition or fuel pump. Could be nothing...

[anonymous-user]

First thing would be to read any codes to see if that gives a clue, as for sorting out the chains. This will be expensive as there are 4 of them along with oil pressure acting tensioners, you are looking at several thousand pounds due to the labour time alone.

Best of luck.

[Dr G]

I got fair money on ebay for a complete, running (just!) S4 with knackered chains recently. Almost a grand more than I thought it would go for.

5k is generally the number for that job but it can easily go higher as you tend to find plenty of other 'while you're in there' jobs.

[martin mrt]

Dr G I have sent you a PM