Just got an 01 A4 Quattro 2.8 V6 Auto, with 167k on body, tranny rebuilt 3 yrs ago. Body and interior in showroom condition.

I'm told it has a blown engine. Wife drove it out of coolant, and then some, so I'll take a look when I get it to my place on Wed.

I was a domestic mechanic for 5yrs, but now I'm a design engineer for Honda, and all my wrenching is for charity. In fact, if I get this thing running and reliable, it will replace an unfortunate woman's old Pontiac.

Anyway, I'm not afraid of some engine work, but I found a 2.8L engine with manual tranny on Craigslist with 115k for 400 bucks. Tells me it ran great, car got rear ended, and they pulled the engine.

So I got some questions:
What should I know about these cars? Any common problems? My Audi tech friends say that the 2.8L's are notorious for timing belts, but that's its.
Will any 2.8L be a direct swap, or do I need to match up engine code? Again, Audi tech says that different wiring harnesses for different engine codes, even though same engine.
Will this car be worth the trouble? Or will I be resurrecting a nightmare? Remember, this is for a nice lady that doesn't want to see a mechanic every month.

Thanks in advance. Feels like I'm starting over on a new forum.

 

From what I've seen and done on those motors I would reseal it, vc gaskets at the very least , plugs, wp, TB, tstat & housing, also there is a pipe under the intake that has oring seals- I'd suggest that is much easier on the bench than installed, temp sensor. Pretty much if you do that stuff you should be able to go 60k+ assuming a clean cooling system and hoses.
Better check the fan - the motors burn out. Be sure you solved the overheat problem 100%

 

Good call, I do need to get to the bottom of the overheating issue. Hopefully I can get more information out of the previous owner. So you are mostly worried about seals and gaskets, rather than replacing parts?

I planned on doing the timing belt on the bench, just because it should be easier than in the car.

 

Mostly seals are easier, but the water pump and tstat AND housing since it's plastic. Easier now than later and having to put it in 'service' mode.

 

Thanks. I'll do those too.

Anybody know about the engines being different? or am I pretty solid with any 2.8?

 

There is no thermostat housing on a 2.8 - it mounts behind a channeling plate directly on the block. You will need an ATQ engine since the car is drive by wire. If you source an AHA cable-drive you'll have a lot more work, and a 12v AAH would be more still. An ATQ will drop right in with your existing ECU and harnesses.

 

Great, that's exactly what I was looking for.

So how can I tell if the engine the guy has on Craigslist is ATQ?
Or what can I ask him to look for that will tell me it will be a drop and swap?

 

There's a stamping on the head with the engine code. ATQ engines were used in all 200-2001.5 A4s and Passats (and I believe as far as 03-04 in the Passat), as well as the 99.5 facelift A4. Best way of course is to look at the stamping.

 

ATQ and AHA are basically identical, everything different between them can be easily swapped from the old motor. I'm talking sensors and stuff, nothing internal. Auto or manual doesn't matter either.

 

Agreed, except that using an AHA means having to dick around with that swapping. ATQ drops in brainlessly. That was my point in the post.