Hi I am new here,

I have a 2004 A6 with a 2.7T. I have just turned 68,000 miles and have started looking into a timing belt replacement and have a couple of questions;

With the timing belt replacement, should I have anything else replaced such as the water pump and/or thermostat?

Should genuine Audi parts be used or aftermarket?

Thanks for your input

 

I just did my 2002 A6 3.0L. Yes, you should change everything you can (this is my opinion). It is cheap insurance. I bought replacement pulleys for timing belt and the serp belt. I also bought a thermostat and waterpump. The Blauparts kit is awesome. Also, so your spark plugs. I posted some lessons learned on this repair. It is not for the light hearted DIY. Make sure you have the right tools. I actually have to go back and refit my crank shaft seal. I used the tool improperly and now I have some oil leaking. Fun! All the parts from Blau are OEM or better/equivalent. The water pump is nice because the new one has metal fins and the old OEM one had plastic fins. I think that is a conspiracy to keep people coming into the dealer because they know that cheap plastic is gonna fail! Oh, and do a solid inspection of the power steering (the pump will need to come off to change your thermostat).

 

I had very good luck with Blauparts and if you ask them what else needs to be replaced in addition to the stock kit, they won't steer you wrong. You have to keep in mind it's a 6 hour job and you don't want to do it again for a $10 thermostat. I would not do it before 80k miles though.

 

6 hour job at least! If you do water pump, thermostat and plugs you can count on 7-8 hours.