Hey guys, coming over from the a4 threads, and had a couple questions for all you a6 guys. ive been looking at the 4.2 a6's lately. the avants in particular, and was thinking about finding one i can trade my a4 in on. Whats anyones opinion on them? im not looking for a racecar, i have a different car for screwing around with. im just looking for something a little more powerful than my 2.8 a4. How reliable are they? ive heard good things about the 4.2 but never owned one.

How are the transmissions? Im a die-hard clutch guy, and going to an automatic is a hard concept for me to grasp, but i feel if the car has enough power to make it seem worth it i can deal with it. I drove an automatic a6 about a year ago, but it was a 2.8. The automatic transmission was doggy and in "select-shift" it was unbearably slow and unresponsive. Is the transmission behind the 4.2 a little more... fun? has anyone mated a manual tranny to the 4.2 in the a6 platform? Was a manual transmission ever offered from the factory in the a6?

any information on these is appreciated really.

thanks in advance guys

 

The 4.2L is a good and reliable engine when maintained right. I don't think that there was an option for a stick shift from the factory (not 100% sure on this) but a 6-speed swap is possible. Here is the kit: 00-02 Audi s4 TIP to 6 Speed Transmission Conversion Swap Kit
Check out the c5 a6 section on audizine, there are a few people that have done that swap on there. A lot of people just drive their automatic till it dies and swap the 6-speed then.

 

^^^^
pretty much this

the 4.2 is regarded as one of Audis more robust engines. As long as it has been properly maintained it should last...well...forever.

the transmission is another story. IIRC it is the 2001 and earlier tip transmissions have issues handling the torque from the 4.2. torque converters tend to wear out prematurely.

 

C5 or C6?

Kinda threw me off when you mentioned the 4.2 Avant. If you're talking about the C5 Chassis, then that would be the S6 (the only Avant with the 4.2 motor on that platform).

I wasn't even aware there was a C6 with a 2.8 until I just looked it up..

 

I was primarily looking at the c5 chassis, the c6 might be a little out jf my price range. And now that you mention it, I'm not sure if there was an avant 4.2 a6 in the c5 line up. I thought I saw one on Craigslist but it was probably mislabeled.

Was there an improvement to the tiptronic in the c6 chassis? I'm not an aggressive driver every day, but I do like to utilize the power that's available to me and I don't wanna be burning up torque converters just driving to work. Is there an updated/ aftermarket performance torque converter offered to the c5? Or should I be looking at c6's? Just trying to get some info right now