Today in poor life choices...

"twochevrons" (twochevrons) 08/01/2016 at 18:27 • Filed to: what have i done, allroad, audi, air suspension, wagon

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I present, without comment, the newest addition to the fleet.

Yes, the air suspension works; though only after a weekend spent chasing leaks and futzing about in VCDS. Watch this space for a review.

Ike > twochevrons 08/01/2016 at 18:32

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Dougs gone this is a safe place now

Honeybunchesofgoats > twochevrons 08/01/2016 at 18:33

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These are such good looking cars.

jkm7680 > twochevrons 08/01/2016 at 18:35

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Awesome! Love it!

They aren't that bad, trust me.

BugEyedBimmer - back in the Saddle Dakota Leather > twochevrons 08/01/2016 at 18:38

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4.2 or 2.7T?

twochevrons > jkm7680 08/01/2016 at 18:43

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I’d be inclined to agree. Once we’d figured out which air strut was leaking (which is hard if the suspension is bottomed out, since it goes into ‘panic mode’ and refuses to even attempt to pump up), it was a surprisingly easy and cheap fix. I’ve always liked that generation of A6, and the offroad prowess of the Allroad is the icing on the cake.

Luke's Dad Sold His 2000TL To Get a Sienna > twochevrons 08/01/2016 at 18:43

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Oppo is like the place where Allroads go when their first owners have left them.

twochevrons > BugEyedBimmer - back in the Saddle Dakota Leather 08/01/2016 at 18:44

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2.7T Tiptronic. I’ve heard a few scary things about them, and it does leak a bit of oil, but it seems to be running well. For a heavy car, it can really get up and go, too!

Dave the car guy , still here > twochevrons 08/01/2016 at 18:50

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You can service the trans pretty easily I’ve done tip services about 10 times. The biggest deal is having something to pump the fluid into the trans. You’ll do fine. I’ve had Audis since 2002 and do most at least 95% of my repairs.

twochevrons > Honeybunchesofgoats 08/01/2016 at 18:50

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Thanks! I’ve always had a soft spot for that generation of A6 Avant, and the Allroad just makes it better. I’ve always been more a fan of low, sporty-looking cars, but with the suspension on the highest setting, it looks like an absolute beast, and I love it. Can’t wait to have some winter shenanigans in it.

That Bastard Kurtis - An Attempt to Standardize My Username Across Platforms > twochevrons 08/01/2016 at 18:51

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Best car I’ve ever owned by a country mile was an ‘01 allroad 2.7T 6mt. Loved that car. Nice buy!

twochevrons > Dave the car guy , still here 08/01/2016 at 18:54

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Good to know. It’s flagging an intermittent short/open on the Tiptronic downshift switch, but it doesn’t seem to have any impact aside from Tiptronic mode sometimes being unavailable. Sounds like that might be a problem with the shifter or steering wheel switches, rather than the transmission itself, though.

Dave the car guy , still here > twochevrons 08/01/2016 at 19:04

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Had that issue too. The magnets that actuate the solenoids rot away. They are that rubbery type magnet material like fridge magnets and heat gets to them . The easiest thing is hit a couple of wrecking yards for shifter assemblies. The magnets are glued to the flap that moves around with the shifter. There’s a sandwich plate of materials on top of the assembly. Its a pain to swap out and the clips on the corners are prone to breaking. I ended up swapping pieces from a used shifter and my own to repair a shifter and it was still good 5 yrs later. Took a few small electronic screws to hold some parts after 2 clips broke but it was likely better after my repair. Took 4 hours of trial and error but I got it working. The other part to check during the repair is the detent roller and spring for the lever being shifted fore-aft or side to side. Best to repair at the same time.

V12 Jake- Hittin' Switches > twochevrons 08/01/2016 at 19:16

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Fellow Minnesota oppo ? We both have stupid unreliable cars ! We're like the same person...

If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent > twochevrons 08/01/2016 at 19:18

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Why is every single one of these missing center caps?

BugEyedBimmer - back in the Saddle Dakota Leather > twochevrons 08/01/2016 at 19:19

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The 2.7T isn’t a bad engine, but they’ve gotten a bad rap because of the maintenance requirements. The good news is that your Allroad is based on the C5 A6 platform and not the B5 S4 platform, meaning there’s a lot more room to work around the engine when it needs it.

Manwich - now Keto-Friendly > twochevrons 08/01/2016 at 19:21

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I look forward to reading about your pain...

:-)

Saracen > twochevrons 08/01/2016 at 19:49

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Just wait until the stock K03 turbos go out (it’s inevitable) and you have to pull the engine to replace them.

Then it’ll be like “well, I might as well upgrade to K04's...”

And then the snowballing (and bankrupcy) begins..

twochevrons > V12 Jake- Hittin' Switches 08/01/2016 at 20:08

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Ha, and it doesn’t end there. There’s a ‘56 MGA, a ‘68 Triumph, and a Volvo 850R in the stable as well!

I’m in the Twin Cities; if you’re going to any car events in the metro area, give me a shout. It’d be great to meet another opponaut in person.

twochevrons > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 08/01/2016 at 20:10

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Heh, this one actually has all but one of them. I just couldn’t be bothered putting them back on after having the wheels off.

They’re a stupid design – they’re pretty much impossible to take off without putting scratches in the wheel, and the clips that hold them in are prone to breaking.

twochevrons > BugEyedBimmer - back in the Saddle Dakota Leather 08/01/2016 at 20:11

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A lot more room? That’s slightly terrifying. I’m used to cars where you can see patches of ground in the engine bay.

V12 Jake- Hittin' Switches > twochevrons 08/01/2016 at 20:14

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Well I have a boat. It’s been in the water since June and I haven’t been able to use it yet because it won’t stay running long enough to drive. Beat that !

twochevrons > V12 Jake- Hittin' Switches 08/01/2016 at 20:15

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The only thing that would make an Allroad look like a sensible choice ;)

BugEyedBimmer - back in the Saddle Dakota Leather > twochevrons 08/01/2016 at 20:22

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Oof. Yeah that’s not a thing with Audis. But the kind of wall to wall packaging in the S4 is what gave the engine a bad rap. Because when Audi did that, they pretty much left dropping the engine as the only choice to do a lot of the maintenance.

Chasaboo > twochevrons 08/01/2016 at 20:24

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May the power of the Rings go with you.

pjhusa > twochevrons 08/01/2016 at 20:29

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Now we get to enjoy 2x the Opposaurus.

If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent > twochevrons 08/01/2016 at 20:51

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Mine twist on and can only be removed with a special giant wrench in the toolkit.

Wagon, semi manual, not brown, turbo because volvo > twochevrons 08/02/2016 at 01:23

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Get an updated skid plate with either a hatch door or a hole for services. Your mechanic or yourself will thank you for not having to remove a bunch of torx bolts

OPPOsaurus WRX > twochevrons 09/19/2016 at 10:53

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i dont know how i missed this

Amoore100 > twochevrons 01/09/2017 at 23:20

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How’s the 850? What mileage is it up to now? Is it still leaking like a colander? Haven’t seen you around for ages!

twochevrons > Amoore100 01/10/2017 at 13:33

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I sold the 850R a while back, though not without great sadness. I kind of let things pile up until the to do list got a bit unmanageable. Never did get that oil leak sorted out

The Allroad is kind of its replacement. More cylinders, more turbos, more driven wheels, and more things to go wrong. It is definitely living up to its reputation. I spent most of my Christmas break sorting a really bad valve cover gasket leak in a very cramped engine bay. There have also been the requisite air suspension issues. But I love it anyway.

I haven’t been around as much lately. I’ve got a couple of long form pieces in the works, but I’ve mostly been busy working on my other station wagon! There’s definitely some posts to be made about that.

Amoore100 > twochevrons 01/12/2017 at 01:27

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(Still my favorite picture of your car, such a sleeper with those plastic caps on basic steelies ;)

Haha, no offense to the big Vo’ but I’m surprised you found a buyer willing to take on the liability that that T-5R presented! Old R cars are just a nightmare waiting to happen for the most part so I’d say you got off mostly easily, although evidently you’re some sort of masochist given that you’ve “upgraded” to an Allroad! Best of luck with that, if you can tame that beast you can tame anything!

As for the Triumph, well, I have no words to say. It is simply astonishing. That is the stuff dreams are made of (well, mine at least). I wish we had something that cherished to be an heirloom in our family (perhaps I should start something once I have kids) but nothing can compare to the majesty of the Triumph 2000 estate. I trust you’ll take good care of it so it won’t succumb to rust up there in Minnesota (as I’m sure most Triumphs have!) I wish you the best of luck and hope to see more Triumph soon!