This weekend my family was driving on the expressway about 150 miles from home when the car lost power--no warning lights. It just died, we got pulled over. The car is a 2008 Q7 that i bought from a someone who purchased it last Oct as a Certified Pre-owned Car. It was still under warranty by a few months and 5k miles. Audi towed it to the nearest dealer. So we waited there with the three kids and the head of service came over and asked us what happened. He said he was stumped--they hooked it up and the computer was reading the engine had zero compression--as in nothing--no reading. He thought some how the engine had hyrdalock or water in the gas. We called the last gas station we had used and they had no compliants. The car is being repaired and Audi says they are going to "replace the broken parts" which in this case is "the engine" with "geniune audi parts." I called my home dealer to understand what exactly we are getting--he said a rebuilt engine from Germany. The dealer that is installing it says the engine is in route from LA. My question is does anyone know exactly what we are getting--is it really a new crankcase, pistons, timing belt, etc. Or will they reuse a lot of that stuff. I ask because Audi service goes into very formal ...rote language when you press them. As scary as this sounds i can't find any example of this problem and Audi says its rare--new engine will cost $85 deductible...but will it be as good as if it was brand new? thank you for your help.

 

A rebuilt engine is built on an a used block and heads, the block and heads are inspected and machined to rebuild specs, any other part below tolerance is replaced or machined to spec. If the work is done properly it should perform as new or even better, because the aged castings tend to warp leass than new ones.

 

thanks Pete for the information. I assume that means they use the same water pump, timing belt, etc. its surprising how fast they will repair it...engine arrives on Wednesday its installed and tested in two days.

 

In general, Audi reman engines come as a "sealed assy", meaning new intake/exhaust (in some cases) manifolds, all covers, water pump, sensors, etc...... Not sure what engine you have but, whether it's a 3.6L or 4.2, they have chains, not timing belts. Some engines also come with new accy belt tensioners, coolant pipes/hoses, etc, etc, etc. Using the water pump as an example, IF the engine doesn't include a new pump installed, a new one will be installed by the technician. Certain things you just don't risk reusing no matter what. Basically, factory reman engines are REMANUFACTURED vs REBUILT, if you understand what I mean. They are excellent, and expensive!

Side note: It is very, very rare for what you experienced to happen. No compression, I would GUESS something failed as far as the timing chains goes (sprocket, guide, chain broke...........) and the valves hit the pistons and bent. Glad you've got the CPO to take care of it!

If you get a chance, you should see what it takes to change the engine in a Q7. Entire front subframe, suspension, steering, brakes, engine and trans get dropped out the bottom of the vehicle. Kind of like this (this was a VW Touareg I was doing timing chains on. The chains are on the rear of the engine).

 

Thanks Aspen79 thats really great information. I appreciate your willingness to share it. The thumbnail reminds me off the horror of owning an old porche 928...every time it went to the shop they had to remove the engine...layer by layer...