Well my 2001 40 valve started overheating today. I figure the problem must be in the thermostat or water pump, as there's plenty of liquid in the header and with the engine cooking the radiator and hose to the water pump were still cool enough to touch, while the engine and return hose were plenty hot enough to burn.
Always being one to look on the bright side, my car has 149k miles on it, so it seems like the perfect opportunity to do the water pump, thermostat, timing belt, rollers, the whole heart attack.
I have a link to a pretty decent looking how-to on audiDIY.com, and will begin collecting my list of parts tomorrow (been kind of a long night with getting towed home and all), I'll let everyone know how it goes if you're interested, and if anyone feels like kicking in their 2 cents worth in advance, (I'm looking at you, Auditech) I'm all ears.

Wish me luck.

 

OK, I made my first and probably most important purchase, a Bentley manual. At this stage here's what I'm planning to do:

Timing belt, rollers, tensioner
Water pump, thermostat
Serpentine belt, idlers
Valve cover gaskets (not really related, but I believe they are costing me a little oil)
Also new coolant while I'm at it, mainly because I don't like the idea of catching the old stuff and putting it back in.

Anything I've forgotten?

Also a question - I know certain camshaft tools are used in the process, audipages.com rents some for older models, but not for a 2001. Does anyone know of a similar place to rent them from, or even better, a way to get it done without needing them at all?

OK, I found this, seems to be a reasonable deal, they have the tools for rent as long as you purchase their timing belt kit.
http://www.blauparts.com/proddetail....od=GH21118-1-B
Any thoughts, good, bad or indifferent experiences with this place? (Edit again - as an added bonus, it turns out I could drive to these guys in half an hour!)

 

Blauparts is one of the only places I found that rents all the necessary tools and very good people to deal with.

There are lots of opinions out there and I'm on the other end of the spectrum from many (most ?) of em.

I didn't go the Blauparts way, because their kit and tools included things I wasn't going to do...cam seals and crank seal...mine weren't leaking, so I didn't touch em. Many believe they should be done while you're in there, plus a new tension damper. I don't mind going back in if ever needed...don't think it's that big a deal, but maybe that's just me(?).
I made it less of a deal by NOT removing the front end ('01 A8)...didn't find it necessary AND I didn't remove either cam sprocket either. MANY disagree with both of these skipped steps, but I had no problem getting the belt back on in proper timing and could reach and torque everything to specs. I don't mind the tight spaces.
I used Bentley as a guide (a necessary one) and followed all the crucial steps (in my opinion). BUT you will find that Bentley NEVER mentions how to "put lock carrier (front end) into service position"...they just tell you to do it, which I didn't. I also didn't use the 40005 cam lock, or the eccentric roller torqueing tool...I used the old tool that fits my old '90 Passat 2 liter's ecc roller (same size) and made my final tightness measurement at the damper (as Bentley suggests) at 5mm, which only took too test tightenings. I did use the crank lock tool 3242 (13$ Ebay)....felt better that crank was exactly right, since I didn't lock the cams in place.

Here's an Ltooz link that helps with the moving lock carrier. Different year car but similar (if not exact?) procedure:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KFzPoSv-2v4

I used the "paint marks on belt & sprockets" and method described by Fast928 in this Bentley thread...I used marks I made on old belt (and all sprockets) before removal, to mark new belt before reinstall..didn't have to count teeth. I'm "Titanium" on that forum and talk about other steps I took (or didn't ) later in that thread, if you're interested:

http://tech.bentleypublishers.com/th...=3787&tstart=0

The above was just MY method and went very smoothly for me...not suggesting it...for academic purposes ONLY!!
Do what you feel comfortable with.

 

Thanks Silver, sure do appreciate the input. I have been going back and forth in my head over whether to rip the whole front end off or to try and squeeze in there, it really doesn't look that tight. On the one hand it's a lot of stuff to remove and put back, but on the other it sure does look easy with it all gone, anyway I haven't had the chance to really look closely at it yet, I'll have plenty of time for that while waiting for parts to arrive.
While I'm in there though, I'd rather do as much as possible, it would irritate me immensely to do all this and then get a squeaky idler a few months down the track or something like that.
I do agree with you on the seals, saw that they were included in the kit but already made the subconscious decision that if it looks like work, they're not getting replaced. Maybe someone else could weigh in on that one?
I also like the paint marks method, I've used it before with success on other vehicles and it looks like really no big deal to turn the camshafts a little if necessary.

Again, thanks a bunch for the feedback, it's easy to theorize, but better to hear from experience, you've got me thinking a little differently now, and possibly saved me some money!

 

I bought the blauparts kit a week ago for my 2005 A8, and am having the dealer install it for $850. Only thing different is the thermostat doesn't have a steam release hole or something along those lines. Which I'm fine with because my OEM thermostat failed at 35k. The water pump in the kit is also supposed to be a bit better than OEM. I'm having it installed in a few days. Me buying the parts myself instead of through the dealer saved me about $600 believe it or not, and it came with more parts than I would have got buying through the dealer.

 

From what I've see and heard, sounds like you're getting a good deal on the labor Brozee. I think I will go with Blauparts, I'm just waiting for my manual so I have a better idea of exactly what I need to buy, don't want to miss anything, might as well do everything I'm supposed to do, rather than regret not doing something. Unfortunately, my weekend is not worth $850 to me, I look forward to the day that it is, but until then I'll be doing my own wrenchwork!

 

Hey Mongo,

I have an '05 Audi A8L and just had the thermostat, waterpump, rollers, serpentine, and timing belt done for $1075. It was time I just hit 82,000 miles, How much do you think you ended up saving? Thanks

 

That is really NOT a bad deal for parts AND labor. Who did the work? ...and do you know what brand of pump they used...OEM or aftermarket?

 

Hey silver,

I had my indy mechanic do it. He installed all all oem equipment. It took a whole day but I feel a lot better now that It's done. I've heard too many timing belt horror stories. Then I changed the oil myself. Oil change was $11 for the filter and about $80 for the Mobil 1 synthetic.

 

Good deal...my local dealer charges people about $1800 for the same parts/labor.
Good you got it done, but the horror stories are the only ones you hear about...not the other 99.9% that don't fail.