I am planning to replace the timing belt on my 99 A6 2.8L, plus idler, roller, tensioner and water pump. I have two options for water pump: the OEM water pump by Geba which comes with a plastic impellar and the one by Graf that has a meral impellar, so I was wondering if one is better than the other. I'm getting two special tools: the crank holder and cam holder. Beyond that, I'd be grateful for any extra insight. Thanx

 

I did mine a while back and bought a kit and rented the tools from here:
http://www.blauparts.com/Audi_Parts_....htm#partsdept
everything went smoothly.

 

Thanks, that is a great link... They suggest that the metal impellar water pump is better than the OEM with plastic. Does anyone know if I should also replace the thermostat and cam and crank seals, and is it a big deal to do?

 

I used the TB kit from ECS tunning and it came with the Graf pump. so far so good, but don't forget to change the thermostat while you are at it too. I did a lot of research before I did the TB job and most talked about pulling the front end of the car off! Forget that. There is enough room between the motor and the radiator to jam in a soccer ball. Plenty of room on my 96 without having to go thru all that mess. The cam holding and crank holding tools are a must. A good set of socket driven metric allen wrench's helps.

 

Well, the 95-97's are easier to work on, even though I am pretty impressed how Audi makes things accesible, lfor example, replacing spark plugs is a breathe, where on my 72 Buick, which has three times the room under the hood, the whole right bank is a wrestling match, and I have to remove the right wheel to get to spark plug #8. So I like my Audi.

 

Replace your thermostat when doing the job. Just did by 2000 Avant and found out that if I had to replace it further down the road, I would basicly have to take everything off again.