'01 A6 4.2, 75k mis. Planning to do the timing belt and related before winter sets in. Only had the car a couple of months but popular opinion on the forums and from indy mechanics is not to push it past 90k.

Do most go with a Blauparts kit, ECS kit, or piece it out from somewhere else?

As far as special tools go, rent from Blau or buy? I'm planning to keep the car for a while, so would potentially have use again, though not for a while. eBay tools ok (cam lock bar and crank locking pin, spanner wrench)? Most of the other tools look like they could be improvised with drifts, punches, drill bits, Allen wrenches, etc.

Thanks for your input.

 

I just got my kit from Blau .. was very impressed with the parts in it and speed of delivery.. they are still in the box though so can't speak for quality yet ..

 

got my kit from ECS. Very nicely put together. Everything OEM or comparable quality. I think the Blauparts kits come with detailed instructions which I understand are very thorough and easy to follow. Prices for the 2.7T kit were comparable on both sites. I don't think you can go wrong with either places.

Also got some stuff from jhmotorsports and can recommend them as well.

 

I don't want to bash at anybody, but I got a timing belt kit from Blauparts at some point in the past, and got very disappointed. The water pump blew up in a less that 1 year, 27k. The bearing just fell apart. I almost lost the engine. I was lucky to notice the issue with broken pump just before the belt slipped completely. It did slip for about 2 teeth though. The pump was made by Meyle. Plus, the V-belt was all ripped on the inside. Now I have the pump from Bosh and other parts from Audi... have no problems, for the 3rd year. My thinking, don't buy kits. I am very disappointed by them in general. Spend little more on known OAM brands and get parts separately, and you will be thankful for that choice. The most important is the pump and the belt. Make sure they are by well known brand. Timing is like a heart to the engine. Don't let that heart die by some cheap junk.

 

I have to confirm A6Driver10's experience as the water pump from the Blau kit I purchased only lasted a year then the bearing gave out. The pump was a no-name pump. See if they will upgrade the pump to a Bosch or VW unit. Other than that, it was a decent enough kit. The instructions quite work but come close. You don't need any special tools as long as you do not loosen the cam gears from the cams, just mark the cam gears and a matching mark on the cover behind it and match them back up when you install the new belt.

Good luck,

Bob

 

Just called Blauparts on my TB kit being ordered, they are using Sleri water pumps now. Is this a good brand?

 

Bob,

The Bentley manual shows taking the cam gears loose, apparently to reset the timing due to belt stretch. Would a different result be achieved by leaving the gears on the cams and aligning with the marks vs. using the special tool and popping the gears off?

 

Anyone have experience with PureMS? They seem to get rave reviews on some of the other forum sites.

 

I'm going to be ordering a timing belt kit shortly and have concerns that blauparts uses low-quality water pumps and timing belts in their kits.

Anybody have an opinion on this? Should I go with ECS tuning or another option? I'm looking to replace all the cam and cam adjuster seals, so I want to rent a complete tool kit.

 

I bought my kit from ECS for the 02 4.2 a6 and installed it around 85k. So far I have no complaints. Car is running great and I just reached the 120k.