Guys - I'm sure this has been posted before, but I thought I'd get a fresh response:

I'm sitting at 75K on my 2000 A4 (1.8TQMS) and thinking about getting my timing belt and water pump, which you all would say "It's about time". I'm thinking of getting the parts from www.ectuning.com and having my local shop do the labor. Question: How long should the job take ? I was quoted 7 hours at $70. Plus he wouldn't guarantee the parts, since he won't be selling them to me. All in all it would cost $490 (labor) + $265 (parts) + tax.

Is this an ok deal? Any other experiences. Also how much should a rear break job be?

Thanks,
guru

 

Wow! usually shops won't work on your audi unless you buy the parts from them! The parts you get should come with their own warranty...he's probably just not gonna garantee that the parts you get are the ones you need.

All in all I would say it's not that bad of a deal. Personally, I'd do it myself and save the $400+ to drop into a GIAC, but I've heard of shops charging $800-1k for a belt job.

Sorry, no help on the brake job.

-T

 

I bought all my timing belt parts from ECStuning as well. All of the shops I took my car to would not touch owner parts. It is a liabilty to them. I don't blame them, they have no idea where they are coming from. The lowest I was quoted was around 400 bucks for labor. In the end I just did the install myself. Took me about 12 hours. Also, are you just installing the timing belt and the water pump, or were you goign to get the "ultimate kit"? Make sure you replace everything, you're only as strong as your weakest link!

 

Quick side question: I have a '98 with 54k miles. When is the best time to replace the timing belt and water pump? It was babied for 45k miles by a gal driver. I've had it about a year, and upgraded the chip, exhaust, DV, air filter and plugs. I know I drive it a lot harder than she did, but still don't pound on it too much.

 

60k...be safe

-T

 

It doesn't really matter how hard the car has been driven. The general consensus is that the timing belt needs to be changed anywhere from 60k-70k miles.

 

As long as you are in there, might as well do the front engine seals.

My shop used my ECS ultimate kit, quoted me 6 hours and charged me 320 dollars. A bargain, especially as it took them close to 5 hours to do the job.

 

Yeah, I was going to get the ultimate kit and have the shop install it for me. Any caveats I should be aware of regarding the kit?? Or just straight up install all parts.

While the shop owner was a little upset he was ok with doing the work for me. It obviously eats into his margins.

 

Are these the Front Cam, Crank & Intermediate shaft seals you're talking about?

 

Yes. As I recall, you will need 4 seals total, at about 5 bucks each. Shouldn't be much additional work/cost to replace them.