Don't use the stealership.

www.audifans.com

http://1.8t.org
click on tuners.

 

Thanx buddy for a wonderful list..
But I am in Durham-NC. Any idea I get to knw who is good or bad here?

 

You can get complete kits from www.ecstuning.com or www.dieselgeek.com for under $300, including gaskets, seals, and a new water pump. I personally like dieselgeek because he throws in some extra "helpers". But, you could go with either. It's not an impossible job to do yourself, unless you don't work on your car. You just need time, patience, attention to detail, and standard tools.

Here's a good DIY guide: http://www.audiworld.com/tech/eng35.shtml

 

Hey buddy

That DIY giude is amazing !!!!
It has such a wonderful pictures.
Although I 'd love to work on my car.. but I know it ll take time ..which I dont have at the moment.
But on the other hand...money is a big problem too.
I ll wait for 3-4 weeks to decide whether I m doing it myself or take to a local mechanic.
But that was superb help...

 

Figure a shop is going to charge 6 or 7 hours labor. So, you can figure from there how much it'll cost. Figure $1000 or more total if you don't provide the parts.

 

An independent shop shoud do the job for under $800. Check APR and GIAC's web sites. Their installers should be able to do the timing belt.

 

http://www.goapr.com/Audi/dealer/locator.php


http://www.giacusa.com/dealers.php

 

Hats off to all you guys.. esp. crazyhawk...
May god keep you as crazy as you are.... and kill anyone who messes with your car..

So I ll try to find a good deal .
Shud I get the water pump changed at the same time?
Anything else that I need to change in recent future that I cud do rather now to save money?

 

Where did you get this info? So you are saying the new models can go longer? I have heard before that they started using a better tensioner, and the newer models did not need to be changed as early as 60k. I'm getting close to 60k miles myself, and really don't feel like changing it any time soon. Especially since I'll be doing the clutch soon.

 

I'm also considering changing my timing belt since I don't have any service records. Should I ask the stealership to find the data or just go ahead and change the belt, water pump etc...98 with 114k.