Hey everybody. Im new to the forum. i had an account on here and lurked for years but couldnt remember it so i made a new one.

I recently bought an Audi for the winter. 2001 A4 AWD 5-speed with sport package and cold weather package. black exterior/white leather interior. It has 190,000 miles on it but well taken care of and reliable. I bought it from a friend who drives it 200 miles a day to/from work. Only problem is it burns oil, other than that, runs great. new alternator, pretty new tires. I will get pics when i pick it up this weekend. I paid $2200 for it, seemed like a good price, what do you guys think?


and any common problems I should keep my eye on?


oh and shouldn't the timing belt be changed every ~90-100,000 miles? my friend said after the first change it should be good for the life of the car... doesnt sound right to me... lol! I was gonna change the timing belt/water pump soon after i got it but ill wait for your inputs'

thanks in advance! -miller

 

timing belt to be safe is around 70-80

 

What motor? Where's the oil leak?

 

2.8 V6. he said alittle from the spark plugs

oh damn... so i better do that ASAP? I was watching some videos on here (the 5 min timing belt change lol) and it looks complicated as hell... i better let a mechanic do it. how much $$ am I looking at for the timing belt and water pump + labor? and opinions on waiting until spring if i baby it? ill put ~1000, 1500 miles tops on it this winter

 

Don't mess around. If it was done even at 90k, which is well overdue, this setup has 100k on it. The fuse is lit and you don't know how much has burned down already. Where do you live? You may find members nearby who can/will do it for a lot less than the $1500+ from a dealer or the $800-900 from an independent euro shop.

Why would this "friend" tell you it was good for the life of the car? There's no magical properties about the mechanical parts that were put on to replace the original mechanical parts. Sounds shady.

Oil leak around the plugs is a valve cover gasket issue. Not too hard by any standards and about $50 in parts.

 

Im thinking maybe I heard him wrong about the belt, or he just didnt know what he was talking about lol. i dont think he knows too much about cars..

and thanks for the input, ill prolly take it to my friend's uncle who specializes in VW's. I have a 1985 vw Golf that i take there and he does good work. any other belts/parts i should replace while hes got all that stuff off and is replacing the timing belt? Ill prolly get him to do the water pump, but anything else?

 

Pick up a timing kit from FCP Groton. It'll have everything you need except G12 coolant. So that you know, the biggest thing is changing the tensioner - it fails before the belt. Get the complete kit - it'll run you a couple hundred bucks. Then you'll have peace of mind.

 

I had all the same problems listed. Probably need to change plugs if your valve cover gaskets are toast. May want to check control arms for play. These cars have 8 controls arms in the front with integrated ball-joints, so you have to replace the whole arm when the ball-joint goes.

Timing belt kit should be your #1 priority though.

 

thanks for the help man. this is the kit youre talking about right?:

Audi/Volkswagen Passat Timing Belt and Water Pump Kit (A4 A6 Passat)

$250 seems like a great price for all that stuff.

how much money should I expect to pay at an independent shop for all of the things in that kit to be installed + g12 coolant replacement?

 

Looks good to me. I ordered mine last spring so I don't recall the part number but yeah, that kit and G12 and you're set. Labor for the job is hard to say - I'd count on $400-600 depending who you talk to.