2013 Audi AT 3.0T PCV replacement *pics*

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Hi all-

Thursday morning fun here! This car was brought in by an elderly gentleman with the complaint of a whistling noise at idle when warm. A quick attempt at pulling the oil cap while the engine was running sealed it's fate: extreme crankcase vacuum caused by a failed diaphragm in the crankcase breather. The assembly is located in the valley, underneath the supercharger and all the related plumbing.

Be a mechanic, they said. It'll be fun, they said. It's getting a new thermostat while I'm in there, it also requires all this work and is a common failure. All this, and the car has 32k miles on it. Always remember, friends don't let friends buy German cars.
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Originally Posted by SubieRubyRoo
Gosh, that thing looks TERRIBLE for only 32k! I'll pass on the Audi, thanks!

+1 I think terrible might be a little harsh, but I am certainly not impressed
 
Originally Posted by 14Accent
Always remember, friends don't let friends buy German cars.


Yeah but it pays your bills!
 
Originally Posted by BMWTurboDzl
How old is this vehicle?



I actually realized I made a mistake in the title. It's actually a 2015, so it's 4 years old with 32k miles. The 4/50k warranty expired in July of this year, so the customer just barely missed the cut.

Originally Posted by bdcardinal
Do you still have to put Audis into "service position" to do any major work on them?


Some of it, but not as much anymore since VAG went mostly to timing chains on the rear of the engine. Not much to do out front anymore.
 
Originally Posted by KGMtech
This kind of design is symptomatic of extreme hubris, as in "we know better" and all undone by a cheap component failing too soon.

Germans engineer for the sake of engineering and showing off their technical prowess - but VW does want to engineer to a price point AND show off the same time. The Audi S4 V8 is proof of that - it uses a needlessly complicated chain drive with multiple points of failure. Think of the Ford 4.0L Cologne SOHC V6 and the DOHC version of the GM 3.1L V6 but even more of a mess of chains, guides and other mech to keep things in time.

Mercedes is somewhat better between BMW and VAG - not so much the newer models but the older ones were designed to be mechanic-friendly.
 
Audi cant seem to get the PCVs right lately, we do them all the time on the 2.0 and 3.0t. Just a word of caution for the owners out there, if they neglect this repair and the crankcase is allowed to be pressurized, the weakest seal is the rear main. Most are between 8-13 hours of labor.
 
UPDATE:

This thing was a NIGHTMARE. First, after getting the lower intakes reinstalled I barely noticed, out of the corner of my eye, some orange peeking out from down one of the intake runners. BUGGER! One of the gaskets rolled on installation, and I didn't notice until after I torqued it down. So off that came, ordered a new gasket, all fine.

I got her buttoned up this morning and it ran great. Put about 10 miles on it, and the CEL pops on. BUGGER AGAIN! It ran fine, so I figured it was something little. I got back to the shop and pulled code: Bank 1 and bank 2 intake runners stuck closed. Ughhhh.

Off comes the supercharger AGAIN, and I find that the intake runner flaps have gotten hung up on the "airflow guides" that are in the cylinder head. Picture #1 shows the heads with the "guides" (the thin slats across the ports". The intake runners are built into the lower intakes, as seen in the last photo. For some reason, Audi couldn't design the flaps to stop just shy of the runners. Nope, when removed they pop open just FARTHER than the guide, and get hung up if you don't flop them inwards while dropping the intakes down they get caught.

Terrible job of explaining, but annoying nonetheless. Anywho, she's back up and running with a fresh fill of G12. It's actually a decent car with good power, but I wouldn't touch one with a 10 foot pole.

Oh, total bill for the work for those curious was a hair over $1,700 all in. To replace a $125 part.
 
Lots of short trips.

I don't mind this kind of work myself. I would have cleaned up those intake ports personally. This engine has some really nice performance characteristics.
 
Originally Posted by antonmnster
Lots of short trips.

I don't mind this kind of work myself. I would have cleaned up those intake ports personally. This engine has some really nice performance characteristics.


Definitely a short trip car, what with only 32k miles on it at 4 years old. Older gentleman, I'm quite sure this thing never sees over 3k RPM.

I tend to agree on the performance, although it's truly wasted in the A6. It doesn't feel fun OR fast, although it's no slouch. Just a boring, difficult, forgettable car altogether.
 
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