psi365 Posted April 10, 2008 Share Posted April 10, 2008 The local body shop has a A8 W12 that we had to pull the engine out of so they could perform some frame repairs. Just posting some pics since its a rarity as it is to see a W12, let alone an engine out of one. http://cycle-planet.com/chris/l4.jpg http://cycle-planet.com/chris/l3.jpg http://cycle-planet.com/chris/l2.jpg http://cycle-planet.com/chris/l1.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rao Posted April 10, 2008 Share Posted April 10, 2008 Interesting. I am sure parts are cheap for those Rob IF YOU CARE ABOUT YOUR CAR YOU SHOULD NEVER DRIVE IT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LowFast Posted April 10, 2008 Share Posted April 10, 2008 Not a real pretty engine is it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chenc544 Posted April 10, 2008 Share Posted April 10, 2008 Not a real pretty engine is it. Looks very compact for a 6.0L 12 cylinder engine though, I'm sure that's where the W configuration helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psi365 Posted April 10, 2008 Author Share Posted April 10, 2008 Essentially it's two VR6 engines with a common crankshaft. The top shot of the engine actually shows both ECMs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rc0032 Posted April 10, 2008 Share Posted April 10, 2008 Neat! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iyalla Posted April 10, 2008 Share Posted April 10, 2008 Wow! Good thing they don't use drive belts, that would be a nasty mess in there if it snapped Is that the alternator near the wall side on the bottom? Good luck getting to that thing. Maybe its accessible from the bottom. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psi365 Posted April 10, 2008 Author Share Posted April 10, 2008 Wow! Good thing they don't use drive belts, that would be a nasty mess in there if it snapped Is that the alternator near the wall side on the bottom? Good luck getting to that thing. Maybe its accessible from the bottom. Luckily they are chain drive engines otherwise this would have been really expensive. That is the alternator at the bottom towards the wall and it actually is pretty accesible on through the bottom. THe hard part is drain coolant from it....................it actually is a liquid cooled alternator. Actually one of the hardest things to do is to check the power steering fluid level. They put the reservior under the driver's side headlight and isn't accesible unless you take out the driver's side airbox (they have two). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iyalla Posted April 10, 2008 Share Posted April 10, 2008 ^Liquid cooled alternator?? Wow, I guess it would have to be considering its location and all the electronics it has to run. Nice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tytek Posted April 10, 2008 Share Posted April 10, 2008 Very neat. Thanks for posting pix! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tytek Posted April 10, 2008 Share Posted April 10, 2008 I thought that was just an analogy for people who don't know much about cars to describe the W configuration... Are the pistons and connecting rods the same? No way is it actually two VR6 blocks bolted together, it must be a single block designed specifically for the W configuration... http://www.autozine.org/technical_school/engine/tech_engine_packaging.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psi365 Posted April 10, 2008 Author Share Posted April 10, 2008 I thought that was just an analogy for people who don't know much about cars to describe the W configuration... Are the pistons and connecting rods the same? No way is it actually two VR6 blocks bolted together, it must be a single block designed specifically for the W configuration... I did miss represent it. With a W block it has a common short block. Then they bolt a VR head to each side. IF you look carefully at one of the side pics you can see some of the infamous coils packs (6 to a side). here's some more pics to clear up the mess I made. The first shows the backside top of the engine were the heads meet and the top of the block. The second shows me pointing to two of the 6 coil packs on a bank. The third shows that 6.0 liter W12 looks perfectly at home in the engine bay (the 450hp don't hurt either). http://cycle-planet.com/chris/l5.jpg http://cycle-planet.com/chris/l6.jpg http://cycle-planet.com/chris/l7.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobE Posted April 11, 2008 Share Posted April 11, 2008 Very neat. Thanks for posting pix! http://newenglandsubarus.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NutBucket Posted April 11, 2008 Share Posted April 11, 2008 Essentially it's two VR6 engines with a common crankshaft. The top shot of the engine actually shows both ECMs. You mean VAG followed BMWs mistake of using 2 ECMs for one engine (The 5L V12 was 2 straight 6s married together. Separate EM for both!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pillboy Posted April 11, 2008 Share Posted April 11, 2008 All I can say is I hope you know how to put it back in! Heard too many bad bodyshop stories If I remember correctly there are not very many body shops approved by Audi to repair the A8 because of its aluminum body shell. I would assume if they are Audi approved, they are capable of removing and replacing the engine. It is still ugly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psi365 Posted April 11, 2008 Author Share Posted April 11, 2008 You mean VAG followed BMWs mistake of using 2 ECMs for one engine (The 5L V12 was 2 straight 6s married together. Separate EM for both!) Yep. The W12 was the first, the 5.2L FSI V10 (S6,S8, and maybe the R8), and the "high rev" 4.2L FSI that is in the RS4 and R8 all have two ECMs. I feel like I am in church when a reflash comes out for them with all the praying that it makes it all the way through. Pillboy: You are correct, iirc there are maybe 3-6 body shops in the US that are Audi certified to work on Audi "space frame" cars (all aluminum). If it's the body shop I think it is(which I am about 95% sure) they are one of the few. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NutBucket Posted April 11, 2008 Share Posted April 11, 2008 How can ze germans be so smart yet so stupid at the same time? Is it that difficult to combine it into one ECU? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IwannaSportSedan Posted April 11, 2008 Share Posted April 11, 2008 Maybe they like redundance... if one ECU burns up, or freaks out, the car still runs like an over-loaded VR6. Dunno makes no sense to me. Maybe it is so that they can hose customers to buy two computers at a repair event, than just one. Twice the markup, twice the profit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NutBucket Posted April 12, 2008 Share Posted April 12, 2008 From speaking to people who have worked on those V12's, they're nothing but trouble. Imagine having half your engine running well and the other running like crap. I'd hate to deal with that. From what I know, the two sides are fairly independent of each other. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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