Happy New Year to You All! I live in one of the warmer southern states and travelled to mid-west for the holidays. One cold morning I turnedmy 02 2.7ton and theribbed belt (front of the engine) started to makescratching andknocking noise. It was very loud. This same thing happened last Feb. but the noise went away. Between Feb and this weekendI was able to hear a high pitch whining noise at start up until last weekend. I am now back home and it is colder here and the car still makes the same scratching noise. On surface the belt looks ok. I sprayed some liquid bought in a parts store but the problem still persists. The car has 80k miles and I read in the maintenance manual that it needs to be replaced at 80k miles. Do you think the noise is the result of a worn belt? Do you recommend replacing just the belt or the entire kit? I searched online and some kits sell for under 100 bucks.

I intend to keep this car for at least two more years so I want to make a good decision.Can you please recommend a reputable site to buy this belt? Or, should be a genuine Audi belt bought at the Audi Stealership.

THX

 

dude I WOULD NOT MESS with the belt, I am no mechanic but you do not want to postpone changing the TB/WP kit on these cars! It'll cost you thousands and a lot of frustation. If you have 80k miles, you should have already changed it IMO. My book and most people will tell you it is the 75K service but many will do it earlier too, especially if modded.
As for the kit, if it is <$100, pass and get one froma reputable place like ECSTuning that a good kit at a good price, find a good Indy shop ang get the whole service done ASAP. Typically cost 1000-1500 incl. parts depending on shop.

 

You are talking about the timinig belt. This noise is coming from the front of the engine where serpentine belt is located. The kit I found is for the serpentive or V-belt (some refer to it as ribbed belt if I am not mistaken) Also, is it normal for fan to go on at start up and stay on the entire time?

 

Just checked with the dealership. Serpentine belt is around $40 and the tensioner/pulley $112. Do you guys recommend DIY ifI have done this before on Japanese and Americancars or would you recommend having it done?

 

Sounds just like the problem I had on my '00 2.7T. I had a bad tensioner pulley that made that kind of noise intermittently but worse each time it started.

Mine happened at 90,000 miles so I decided to go in for my timing belt service and the tensioner done at the same time.

I'm suresomeone willcorrect me if I'm wrong, but I think in order to replace the tensioner, you have to do the whole "slide thebumper forward" thing, increasing the labor cost.

 

I had a similar issue at around 55k miles on my '02 2.7T. Turned out to be the alternator pulley. I don't know if was significantly damaged, but local dealer replaced the alternator and tensioner under the CPO warranty.

 

The 1.8T has V-belt, the 2.7T has ribbed belt. I have the same problem at 128k km. I wonder if I can wait until spring and do the timing belt + ribbed.... or I better wait with the timing... [&:]

 

You shouldn't have to pull the front off the car to replace the ribbed belt. It's necessary for a timing belt change as you have to lock down the camshafts and access the water pump. You need some clearance between the engine and the front end to do that.

2.7T, typically a good timing belt kit (like Blauparts) includes a ribbed belt and tensioner. It should be done soon to avoid a broken TB and engine damage (the 2.7T is an interference engine, which means the pistons and valves can occupy the same space if the timing fails due to a broken timing belt). Kits go for around $300-400 and labor is 6 hours at your shop rate. Consider doing it soon. I'm not a good example as I waited until 94k to do mine.

 

I'll wait til spring... buy the kit and give it a shot...