Holy crap, that is cheap, at least from what I've read and heard. I just got back from Blauparts, got the timing belt kit with "enhanced additions," new tensioner and idler for serpentine belt, and valve cover gasket set, cost me $746 all up. If I could have got the labor for $300 more I would likely have taken it, but then what would I have done with my weekend???

Fun starts tomorrow!

Edit: Oh, and they threw in a free oil filter!

 

I think you got a few items Jalen26 didn't mention...like a new tensioner damper, etc. Many mechanics don't replace the damper, ALL the rollers, new bolts, etc.
Considering the prices, I'm sure you got more stuff (and maybe some parts better?)...plus the oil seals, even if you save em for later.

Even if you do every step by the book, marking the belt (old and new) and all three sprockets is a good extra timing check, when you reinstall the new one.

Take your time, think positive and a take breaks when you get pissed off or bust a knuckle

Have fun with it...you'll be proud of yourself and part of a small club when it's done. You'll find that there was nothin to be scared of.

 

Thanks for the pep! Off I go!

 

Quick question! Hopefully somebody is out there with nothing better to do, are there any specific parts that really need loctite? My kit included some but the instructions are not very clear on which parts should have it, and I really don't want anything coming loose! Aside from that, everything has gone well so far, almost ready to start bolting things back on!

 

Sorry, I work most Saturdays.
I only loctited the thermostat housing bolts and water pump bolts...all low torque bolts.
Couldn't find that in Bentley, but someone in the know told me to.

 

Well I got it done, it really was pretty straightforward. Blauparts includes a guide with their kit, but I hardly looked at it, only really to confirm what I was already doing.
I decided to go with the front end off route, because I do have big sausage shaped fingers. It wasn't a whole lot of work and I think overall I would have had a harder time doing it with the front on. The only down side is that now I've had the headlights out my car is complaining that they are not aimed properly.
I didn't do the cam and crank seals, because the Blau guide said if the existing ones were clean and dry you could leave them, and mine were. I also didn't flush out the cooling system, only because I have exceptionally bad water here for mineral content, and I figured putting that in there would probably be worse for it than anything that had built up naturally.

Overall, it wasn't the epic journey of challenges met, wisdom gained, and personal discoveries made that I was prepared for, it was pretty straightforward and obvious, the only thing I'm sure I wouldn't have been able to figure out without help would have been figuring out how to get the bumper off, it is a really slick system, but if you've never seen anything like it it could be a cause of much frustration. The only real difficulties I had were the result of my own stupidity, which got in the way a couple of times.

The only other bummer, is that now I have a check engine light on when I didn't before. I'm hoping it's from the large volume of coolant that spilled on all the electrical doo-dads in the front end and it will go away on it's own.

Wasn't really a bad job overall, took me 8 hours at a lazy pace, and we all know that the first time you do a job takes twice as long as the second, but I am glad it only comes along every 80 thousand miles!


Edit: today I tackle the valve covers.

 

Oh yeah, one more thing I discovered that kinda bummed me out, when I changed my oil a while back I saw that only 2 of the plastic fasteners in the belly pan were doing anything, the rest were still there but just hanging. So after I got done with the oil I naturally secured ALL of the fasteners, but when I looked at my car yesterday I discovered the belly pan is now gone. Very disappointing!

 

That IS a bummer about the belly pan. Now you can't skip across lakes at high speed
The last thing I bought from an Audi dealer was a bag full of those plastic and metal fasteners, male and female parts... the plastic female inserts are always the problem parts...too delicate, they always break.

Glad ya got the job done. As you saw, It's really not that tough, with good instructions, the right tools and patience. I've found suspension, exhaust and other jobs infinitely tougher and bloodier.

I don't have Vag.com (wish I did), but do have a cheap scanner which has come in handy for analyzing problems and to put my mind at ease on non-critical stuff. This is not an inspection state, so in TN the CEL is just something that helps ya see the speedometer at night
I'd be curious what codes you tripped. Know anyone with a scanner? ...maybe even a local indy.

I didn't even realize that headlight aim would trip a warning. Bentley just shows an Audi chart you hang on a wall to re-aim your headlights. I know where the adjusters are, but have never had to mess with em on this car...they've always stayed dead on.

P.S. Know what ya mean about the mineral water...I only use jugs of distilled water for the coolant mix. I have high mineral well water at my house, so when I wash the cars at home, I keep the electric leaf blower close by to blow-dry the car before spots can form on the windows and paint...seriously! It's way easier than towel drying and actually seems to work better, when done right...always thinkin

 

So, does anyone know if anything I did should normally be expected to set off the check engine light? I want to buy a vag-com, but I just blew almost a thousand in parts so it's just not an option in the near future.

 

I didn't trip any codes when I did mine and don't know of any that are common with T-belt jobs...that's what made me curious.
You can get a basic code reader as cheap as 40-50$. Don't know anyone with one ? Could be something you pulled or knocked loose(?) I'd wanna know, since it wasn't there before...obviously you would too.