Ownership Verified: A4.3 - Codename Saudi

Welp... as some of you might have heard, had a bit of a snafu in Germany a couple of weeks ago.

It all started a few corners before Br?nchen, where the car suddenly lost all power. No warning lights or CEL, it just stopped responding to throttle inputs. We (loose_unit was passengering) managed to coast up to Br?nchen and pulled over to the side right after.

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Our initial suspicion was that we ran out of fuel as the fuel warning light came on just as we entered the track, but I was (at the time) confident it would be fine. It did kind of slip my mind that diesel is a liquid and doesn't stay completely level when you're pulling relatively high lateral G's through the corners.

A tow truck was quickly dispatched as a marshal car was literally seconds behind us on the track and was on top of the situation almost as soon as it happened.

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It appeared that my tow hook was not the correct one so the tow truck driver unceremoniously hooked up his winch to one of the front suspension arms and pulled the car up.


I was taken to the marshals' office at the entrance while Loose_unit hitched a ride with the tow truck to their parking lot in Adenau, where the car would be stored for 5 days in quite good company while I stayed over at mr. Loose's, trying to figure out how to cheaply get my car home (like an idiot I didn't have road assistance at the time) or get it fixed on the cheap.

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During one of my visits I actually spent more than 5 seconds trying to poke a thing into a hole and managed to attach the tow hook to the car. Fucking idiot of a truck driver...

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This allowed us to tow the car out of the (fairly expensive) parking lot to a nearby garage where it would undergo inspection. In the mean time nicjasno also managed to find someone driving home from the north of Germany. I got in contact with them and arranged for a pick up just in case the fix would be either too expensive or even impossible.

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It turned out to be the former in the form of a slipped timing belt with several sheared off teeth. The place quoted me ?600-700 just to get the belt replaced, which meant I was on the phone with the guy 30 seconds later, arranging for pick up.

An old Sharan towing a trailer without a winch is definitely not what I was expecting, but fortunately the garage parking lot was on an incline and we managed to push the car onto the trailer and off it went. I booked train tickets and followed the following morning.

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16 hours later in front of nicjasno's house...

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One of nicjasno's neighbours is a mechanic, who agreed to take a look at the car, so the disassembly can begin!

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Here's the culprit.

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It seems to be missing something...

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There they are!

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At this point there were 2 possibilities. If the belt slipped a maximum of 2 teeth, we were fine. If it slipped more, that would mean the valves would impact the piston heads, bending or possibly cracking either or both in the process. The head would need to come off to make sure.

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And wouldn't you know it? No signs of impact!

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A few minutes of nicjasno-ing later and the block and head looked almost like new again (*cough*)!

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After the inspection, the head went back on and timing belt replacement could commence.

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We also replaced the water pump that had seen better days.

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And with the new belt and tensioner in place it was ready for a test start up.

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However...


Something was preventing it from firing. A quick OBD check revealed a faulty cam sensor, so a replacement for it was quickly sourced.

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However, the engine still would not fire. It wouldn't be until the following day that we realized that the timing belt was still off by one tooth and then...


[video=youtube;xos2MnVxe-c]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xos2MnVxe-c[/video]

Thank fuck for that. The nightmare is finally over. What followed was another day of nicjasnoing the interior and exterior and now it's back to being my old, trusty Saudi.

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I would like to thank everyone who helped get me and my car back home safely and in working order, especially loose_unit, nicjasno and his neighbour mechanic. I owe you many awkward hugs and drinks. You guys are the best.

(oh, and before someone mentions that the timing belt looked super old and manky and was supposed to have been changed during a large service, I did pay for that to happen...
 
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So in other words they charged you for the maintenance but didn't do it? Shocker.

Next time ask to see the old parts and make sure they are correct. Might be worth going legal on their asses to recover some costs.

Glad you got it sorted so I can have a play next month on awesome Croatian roads.
 
Wow. Didn't knew about this. Seems you had quite an unpleasant adventure there. :blink:
But you kept on it and it's back on track. Well done. That restart on video 24 made even me smile. You were probably grinning too at that moment. :)
 
I recognise that truck and that yard! Was this actually part of the Ringmeet or a separate visit? I don't know how the services and prices compare but after my experience I can't recommend full European breakdown cover enough.

Glad to see that no damage was done when the belt failed and you're back up and running again.
 
Good to hear all went relatively well and it's back in service!
 
Yeah, my wallet is still in the ICU ward after that hit. I'll keep you posted about that.
 
I think... it was time. That last snafu was a sign. Time to move on.


But after 6 and a half years it was hard. Luckily it turned out one of my old classmates from primary school that I still stayed in contact with was looking for a car for his brother in law so the whole deal went along very amicably, but still...


As it was driven off the lot I caught myself just staring into the distance. Most people don't experience this, but you will understand a bond that happens between a petrolhead and his car. He was my buddy for so long. We went on epic adventures together and had loads of fun.


I'll miss you, bud. :cry:

BUT, on to newer things!
 
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I think... it was time. That last snafu was a sign. Time to move on.


But after 6 and a half years it was hard. Luckily it turned out one of my old classmates from primary school that I still stayed in contact with was looking for a car for his brother in law so the whole deal went along very amicably, but still...


As it was driven off the lot I caught myself just staring into the distance. Most people don't experience this, but you will understand a bond that happens between a petrolhead and his car. He was my buddy for so long. We went on epic adventures together and had loads of fun.


I'll miss you, bud. :cry:

BUT, on to newer things!

I can relate.
I had 5 cars and 2 motorcycles so far in my life. It is never easy, because even when it was a piece of shit that I was glad I sold I still had memories of the time it was functioning properly.
 
I think... it was time. That last snafu was a sign. Time to move on.


But after 6 and a half years it was hard. Luckily it turned out one of my old classmates from primary school that I still stayed in contact with was looking for a car for his brother in law so the whole deal went along very amicably, but still...


As it was driven off the lot I caught myself just staring into the distance. Most people don't experience this, but you will understand a bond that happens between a petrolhead and his car. He was my buddy for so long. We went on epic adventures together and had loads of fun.


I'll miss you, bud. :cry:

BUT, on to newer things!

You aren't the only one. Gospic to Rijeka, 9'36.4" BTG shotgun, a tour of the Eiffel in search of painkilllers at my very first Ringmeet.....

Can't wait to molest the new ride. :evil:
 
I'm very surprised to see it go so soon after you had just fixed it, but I guess an opportunity to sell it to good hands and at the same time an opportunity to get a good replacement don't come together very often.

I will remember the scraping. :D
 
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