Kim Strobeck

Hi All, I am coming to you as a sad Audi owner. Last year after a lengthy search my wife and I found a 2003 A4 3.0 a perfectly maintained car with great service records, looked brand new. It had 59,000 miles and checked out mechanicaly. this summer the top end of the motor started to make a light ticking noise. We had it check out and the mechanic said it was just the injectors, so we continued to drive it. Jumping to the end, the ticking became louder, we took it to a Audi dealer here in Portland OR. When the opened the cam covers they found all of the hard chrome had come off the exhaust cam on the passenger side of the motor and two of the lifters were worn to the point where you can see inside the lifter. needless to say there is metal shaving every where. I have two reasons for coming here, one to find out what to do. Warrenty? Motor? Rebuild?
Thanks for reading.

cheeba

Welcome to the forum! Sorry it had to under such crappy circumstances...

Before you decide what to do, I would inspect the rest of the engine and ensure that there isn't other damage. You need to determine the cause of the premature wear! If it's due to neglect (improper oil, inappropriate OCI, etc.), you don't want to waste your time trying to salvage the rest of the engine.

Is it just the one head that's bad? I saw your other posts, and I wouldn't bother buying an entire new engine when your 100,000KM block is still (presumably) good. I'd just Google until I found a used head to swap on. I'm sure with some work you could find a good used head for <$500, and swapping a head is not a difficult task; although, I wouldn't recommend doing it on your own if you're new to mechanics. You could also rebuild the head, but since you need a cam and lifters, it would likely cost a fair bit more than just buying a used head.

audimontreal

Welcome on board!
You have visited an Audi dealer and at least what is your problem and I guess they gave you a rough estimate
I would now consult an independent German mechanic and I am sure you will save quite a bit vs. the dealership
Keep us posted!