# timing belt service



## avant_style (Dec 8, 2011)

I bought a 98' audi a4 avant 2.8. i bought the vehicle knowing that i was unsure that the timing belt had been replaced. :banghead: I bought the car fax report and there are no records of the timing belt being replaced. the car has 117xxx mi. Everything seems to be working fine and the car was taken good care of. how would i go about finding the timing belt to see what kind of condition it is in? im new to audis and am unsure if i have the skills to replace the belt myself. if someone could help me out that would be great.


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## O_o (Nov 12, 2009)

IMO, the only way of properly inspecting the timing belt is to take it off. But if you're going to do that, you might as well just replace it.

There are plenty of DIYs for the timing belt on the web. It isn't any more complicated than any other longitudinal V-engine I've seen or worked on. There are some places you can order kits from where you can also rent a cam-locking bar and crank pin, which make the job a lot easier. I think Blauparts and ECS Tuning both rent tools, but check their websites. Either way, the kits they sell should come with complete instructions.

I hope this helps. :beer:


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## skin piston (Dec 19, 2011)

Been down that road. I have my Passat motor pulled at 110K for a new clutch. Took me four solid days to get it out, not a personal best by any means but I didn't break anything doing it so... Do replace the belt. My wife had a Volvo we bought used and I asked all the right questions including the timing belt. I have proof the dealer will say anything to sell a car and not back up their claims. If there is doubt, change it! As  said, get a kit and the cam locking bar. I found no need for the crank locking pin as I had the front of my car removed and was able to mark the crank position. It stayed put while I did the replacement. The kits come with two Idler pulleys that should be replaced with the belt, there is a lot of pressure applied to these bearings and they get HARD use! I waited til 110K to change mine and was nervous about it since it was what 40K past interval? Surprisingly enough it appeared to be in great shape when I removed it. Do I trust it? I'm not sure as to how the Audi is but these two cars are built at the same factory. The process to do this on a Passat is more involved than I would have expected and was quite glad to have the front end of the car completely off to do the procedure. If you choose to do the job, be sure you can borrow a car and allow more time than you think it might take. Good luck.


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## skin piston (Dec 19, 2011)

One other tid bit, a friend of ours has a Passat Sedan they have over 130K on their original timing belt last I checked. I looked at him and said "You better hope you drive it into a tree before it breaks, at least the insurance company will pay you for the car"...


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## mainewagon (Jan 31, 2012)

http://www.happywrenching.com/a4/au...ervice-position-removal-and-installation.html 
instructions on how to get at and remove belt and replace good pictures and tourque settings


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## bert06040 (Feb 10, 2011)

*TB job*

I have 75k on my V6 Passat Wagon and for some time was contemplating whether I needed it done or not. Then a coworker told me that the TB on her '03 Jetta broke and damaged her valves and some other things. She was close to $4,000 in the hole, for repairs, and without a car, until last week, for 3.5 months. After that horror story, I made a call to my local VW dealer and took it in for the TB job. I'll tell what, yes it was a little over a grand to get the job done at the dealership, but taking it there instead of waiting for something terrible to happen was the best decision ever. I can sleep easy at night, and drive easier during the day. Get it done asap.


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