[Elf458]

Well, I should have done this a long time ago! Here's my B8.5 S5 summarised up to date:

Aug 2018 the car was dropped off with 6k more miles than advertised. Slough Audi in England had to give me a cash sum or take the car back obviously... good start:

Had to go back for four wheel alignment and centering the steering wheel as it tracked all over the shot under heavy braking. Also a fault in the MMI needing an update.

It also then went back shortly after to try and sort the dead animal smell in the HVAC system. They found nothing.

So finally I started to enjoy the car, albeit without using aircon.

Firstly, because I have a soul, it must always be fundamentally necessary to lower the car and sort the stance out. So some H&R springs, 20mm and 25mm spacers and a morning wrenching:

I did at this point notice the rear beam was way out of whack.

Off she went back to Audi again...

Returned exactly the same told that its 6mm out, which is the limit of tolerances in the build. Told to deal with it and it cant be adjusted. Fantastic I felt like Audi really cared and valued my existence. Cheers guys.

...Tried to sell the car (luckily it didn't sell)...

Soon after, the famous leaking water waterpump bearing! Booked in to Audi again. 10 week lead in period and no courtesy car again. So, sod the disruptions and delay, changed the water waterpump for a genuine new part.

Turbulent 2 months but at least by then it was all sorted...

...at least I thought

 

[Elf458]

New years eve 2018... engine management light, misfire and god awful engine rattle... I knew it was bad. I tried to drown myself in alcohol to fix the problem, not sure what I did wrong but for some reason it didnt fix it? Strange.

Ran a few tests, VAGCOM gave a readout that might as well have said earth's polarity had made a U Turn. I couldn't work out what wasnt throwing a code!

Some old school physical diagnostics found this:

[email protected]€k mine... out comes the camera

It actually took me a few mins to work out what I was even looking at. A mixture of disbelief and denial. Where the truck did piston 3 go?????

Supercharger off, found most of the piston on top of the inlet valves... the other half was later found in one of the cats 🤯

So booked in with Audi again...

HOWEVER! In a truly predictable turn of events. Audi gave the car back saying the waterpump had been changed and was likely the root cause of the problem! Warranty void.
😬🤔🤐🤬💀

 

[Elf458]

Still not 100% sure what happened as absolutely nothing was in a salvagable condition so it never got fully stripped and diagnosed. But we do know that one supercharger cooler had hairline fractures and fed water into the bores, hydrolocked cylinder 3 and the piston exploded... whether or not that was the start of the chain of events will forever remain a mystery.

I DO KNOW THAT THE WATERPUMP TURNED FREELY AND VAGCOM CLARIFYS IT NEVER OVERHEATED OR LOST WATER PRESSURE! [email protected]€K YOU AUDI 🤣🤣🤣

Cue the realisation that I owned 25k of scrap. A supposed bent chassis and a bag of bolts for an engine!

At this point, january 2019, it was almost impossible to buy a used replacement engine...

Eventually a few months later I found a numberless engine the other side of Europe that was never fitted to a car and had only been ran for 7km (yes, seven kilometers!!) on a bench by a company that does work directly for Audi... Win! 🥳

Here you can see my savings account at this point:

A few weeks of work up on a ramp...

By march 2019 it was back on the road!

Huge thanks to RED OAK GARAGE (Maidstone, Kent) for helping me through this.

From the first press of the key, this engine has been a world different to the last. Its had so much new oil:

50 miles,
200 miles,
500 miles,
1000 miles,
5000 miles,
Then onto a 7,000 mile service plan I maintain with only genuine parts and quantum longlife oil.

Happy motoring!

 

[Elf458]

Once happy with the engine, I got a bit of tuning time at APR for the gearbox and engine 🤙 what a difference that made. I had to drop plans for airbags, big boy wheels and a full pulley upgrade (due to the above) but nevertheless the S5 is a fun car once opened up.

In true S5 fashion. It was a question of what will happen next... and when will next be...

August 2019:

A plank on a bike thought 80mph into the back of an audi waiting at traffic lights would do it. Luckily skimmed the roof and survived. He owes his life to lowered cars:

Note the bent rear panel. I knew what was coming...

Complete write off. Full payout.

On a positive note, I went and spoke to the engineer who did the assessment and valuation. He confirmed that underneath the body is straight. Rear quarters absorbed the impact. So its recorded as a NON STRUCTURAL write off.

Considering the engine and the attention that went into it to this point, I figured I'd buy it back and hope that I can address the twist in the body that has been evident since its original build...

So I got it back home, stripped it all back and sourced all the needed parts:

...tbc

 

[Smokey Joe]

Jeez that's some real bad luck.
I've never heard of an S5 going pop like that.
What mileage was it at? Did it have good service history and was it on a stock tune?

 

[Elf458]

Once all exposed I sourced the panels from a black S5 to help the paint guys get the best colour match.

Also managed to get hold of a B&O full soundsystem and wiring loom, factory rear radar boxes and lane assist ready side mirrors 😉 ... now its sounding more like the build thread it was always meant to be!

A huge thanks to the genius pros at Beautiful Bodies in Kent!!

Amazing work they have done! Here's a few shots from the process:

Undeniably its finished to a better standard than it left the factory that is for sure!!

So before its first MOT, it had a new engine and a new registration document 🤣
(for anyone outside of the UK, after 3 years we have an annual inspection)

 

[Elf458]

Jeez that's some real bad luck.
I've never heard of an S5 going pop like that.
What mileage was it at? Did it have good service history and was it on a stock tune?

Tell me about it! Love the car, but wouldnt wish any of the Audi experience on my worst enemy.

Was on 30,000miles. Service was by Audi under the service pack and an additional service as part of the sale to myself. Stock tune, nothing untoward at all. 100% a defect/material defect in either the piston or the charge cooler.

The revised 3.0tfsi had a heavily engineered new charger and cooler cores because the popping water fed cores was a recurring problem Audi saw on the early 3.0tfsi. But they never ever saw it happen on the new revision. So my guess is piston or maybe even block or crank defect led to the free piston. Charger popping or piston exploding is a bit chicken and egg...

 

[SimonRoma]

Wowowowow amazing story thanks and good luck. Sound like you have not been a 100% lucky fellow, to say the very least. Hope things get better from here mate.....

 

[Elf458]

Finally looking smart.

So I've wired in the B&O soundsystem. Deeply unimpressed, I really cant tell the difference between the concert system and the B&O so I've pulled it back out and put it back up for sale. Working on manually upgrading components. Already sounding much better incorporating some Inphase competition kevlar speakers I pulled out of a previous car. Still using OE amp, as its within a good RMS range.

...

My next problem was the GPS going way out of sync and thinking I was about 50miles from actual location.

Traced this back to the roof aerial antenna. Condensation was getting inside the antenna - notice the white water residue:

To get to it, rear seat had to come out. Then rear quarter interior panels, then parcel shelf, then roof lining down.

I did have the rear seat lock seize and snap. Had to cut it out... extremely carefully I might add! New lock fitted.

From there I wanted to make the car less boring as I was struggling to fall In love with it - everything was just reactive maintenance, not fun.

So exhaust centre section was cut out and binned. Got a friend to fabricate me a crossover pipe to bring about a bit of V6 glory sound... worked a treat except it didnt get rid of the annoying raspy note the S5 makes at 3,000rpm... and was ever so slightly too much drone, albeit less than expected.

Thanks are due for Autoworks (Wingham, Kent). Always happy with the finish on your welding.

I drove it like that for a month or so. But it was always an experiment really...

Managed to get my hands on a damaged Scorpion full system for peanuts. Took a little bending and tweaking but it fitted up great and sounds much better:

Now by this point its 2020 and I'm starting to enjoy the car more... BUT

Time to address the elephant in the room. It cant be ignored any longer. Its make or break ... it still squirrels all over the road under heavy braking! The rear end is not straight!

It gapes! Oh its disgusting!

I wrote a 'how to' on A5OC if anyone else has this issue. I found no description in the net for the b8.5 (plus Audi and others claim this cant be done on the tubular subframe of the b8.5)...

I dropped the subframe an inch or so, built some swinging weights and aligned the rear end, bolted it all back up. Hey presto! What the flick took me so long!!!! 🤦‍♂️also, shame on Audi for not doing this in the factory... or their techs not knowing about the fix!

Spacers back on, as I dont have to hide the offset [email protected]€k up anymore...🤙

Now I'm set. I'm fully in this. IM BACK BABY!! The love is right here:

Also knocked up a little resistor loom for the rear lights to add a delay to the outer indicator lamp. I'm sure you've all seen this a million times before.

Currently trying to work out coding for the auto reverse radar sensors, auto braking and wing mirror lights. I want this to be fully coded in and registered against the VIN of the car, which is whats taking me so long. But we will get there.

Thanks for reading.

More to come

 

[Elf458]

Wowowowow amazing story thanks and good luck. Sound like you have not been a 100% lucky fellow, to say the very least. Hope things get better from here mate.....

Thank you. See the new post bringing it up to date. Things are looking goooood from here on in 😉

 

[Dippy]

Interesting post - thanks for sharing.

There's a safety recall for that engine in case you didn't know. I believe there is a very low risk of leaking from the low pressure fuel rails, but enough for Audi to have issued a recall notice (eventually).

 

[Elf458]

Interesting post - thanks for sharing.

There's a safety recall for that engine in case you didn't know. I believe there is a very low risk of leaking from the low pressure fuel rails, but enough for Audi to have issued a recall notice (eventually).

Indeed there is. I haven't dealt with it yet though. In two minds whether I should do it myself or book it in.

 

[Dippy]

I have strong doubts that it is actually necessary other than to meet UK legal requirements for the sale of the vehicle. In case you don't have it, the procedure is attached.

 

[cadguy77]

Wow what a journey you've been on.

Sub'd for further updates.

[Sent from a mobile device (like you even care)]

 

[Mr.wreckless]

That's some bad luck, but kudos for being brave both sticking with it and going at it yourself, some great work you've done that I wouldn't have dared myself.

Enjoy in good health

 

[Elf458]

In perfect form for this car... a small job turns into a big one!

But that does mean big things are happening soon...

Decisions decisions 🧐🤔

 

[Rossco14]

Well, I should have done this a long time ago! Here's my B8.5 S5 summarised up to date:

Aug 2018 the car was dropped off with 6k more miles than advertised. Slough Audi in England had to give me a cash sum or take the car back obviously... good start:

View attachment 177664

Had to go back for four wheel alignment and centering the steering wheel as it tracked all over the shot under heavy braking. Also a fault in the MMI needing an update.

It also then went back shortly after to try and sort the dead animal smell in the HVAC system. They found nothing.

So finally I started to enjoy the car, albeit without using aircon.

Firstly, because I have a soul, it must always be fundamentally necessary to lower the car and sort the stance out. So some H&R springs, 20mm and 25mm spacers and a morning wrenching:

View attachment 177660
View attachment 177661
View attachment 177662
View attachment 177663

I did at this point notice the rear beam was way out of whack.

Off she went back to Audi again...

Returned exactly the same told that its 6mm out, which is the limit of tolerances in the build. Told to deal with it and it cant be adjusted. Fantastic I felt like Audi really cared and valued my existence. Cheers guys.

...Tried to sell the car (luckily it didn't sell)...

Soon after, the famous leaking water waterpump bearing! Booked in to Audi again. 10 week lead in period and no courtesy car again. So, sod the disruptions and delay, changed the water waterpump for a genuine new part.

Turbulent 2 months but at least by then it was all sorted...

...at least I thought

Jesus and I thought I have bad luck with cars! Feel for you mate.
what H&R springs did you go for? 25 or 35mm drop? Is yours on 19” to?

 

[Elf458]

Jesus and I thought I have bad luck with cars! Feel for you mate.
what H&R springs did you go for? 25 or 35mm drop? Is yours on 19” to?

Haha, well whatever breaks, make an improvement. So currently I'm very happy at how much better than factory spec this S5 is...

It's on 35mm H&Rs. Imo the 25mm is what should have come out the factory and 35mm is just a subtle tweak. I don't think anyone would guess its lowered without it being next to a standard s5... plus it goes over speed bumps while on 19s. I've finally got the 20 inch on and now think it really needs coilovers to go down another 10-15mm to make it look spot on. If your considering what to do yourself, I hope this helps your decision.

 

[Elf458]

In perfect form for this car... a small job turns into a big one!

But that does mean big things are happening soon...
View attachment 178015
Decisions decisions 🧐🤔

Didnt choose any of these. Oh the anticipation is intense

 

[Elf458]

Picked up a steal on a poorly refurbished and corroded set of Rotiform monoblocks in 20x10 with a decent offset.

Annoyingly I couldn't get the tyres to seal and hold air because there was so much surface corrosion not just on the bead but all over one wheel. Also the rear faces were painted so the seal on the hub made me uncomfortable. So ultimately I decided to send them off to be refurbisbed:

Sunbeam gold over a white primer...

Didn't turn out as mad as I was hoping for. Not really a fan of white, but happy with how the violet hides in the shadows and the gold explodes in the sun.

Sometimes its white, sometimes silver, sometimes violet, sometimes gold.