Who's interested in an A8 timing service DIY?
1st Gear
Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 61
ah, posting at the same time!
1) yes, cam bar only fits one way that'll confirm camshaft to crank timing.
2) The marks I'm referring to are used for camshaft timing. With the crank and cams locked, all four camshafts should be on the marks.
When I did mine, the exhaust cam WAS off so I was able to correct that when I reinstalled the tensioner.
I would check those just for reference but I don't think my problem is pretty common. I think you just need to re-tension the belt with everything locked and you'll be good.
BTW, that cam puller is great. Before I bought my own tools, I rented the kit from Blau and they sent a 3 jaw puller. What a PIA. This one is nice and compact and the sprockets just pop right off.
1) yes, cam bar only fits one way that'll confirm camshaft to crank timing.
2) The marks I'm referring to are used for camshaft timing. With the crank and cams locked, all four camshafts should be on the marks.
When I did mine, the exhaust cam WAS off so I was able to correct that when I reinstalled the tensioner.
I would check those just for reference but I don't think my problem is pretty common. I think you just need to re-tension the belt with everything locked and you'll be good.
BTW, that cam puller is great. Before I bought my own tools, I rented the kit from Blau and they sent a 3 jaw puller. What a PIA. This one is nice and compact and the sprockets just pop right off.
Last edited by A8CT; Jan 4, 2011 at 06:32 PM.
2nd Gear
Joined: Jun 2010
Posts: 624
Ugh, the end of the camshaft has a slot on it that the little ears sit on, this is what the camshaft bar locks onto. The holes on each ear are different sizes, the small ones are 180* off from the crank when they facing away from the engine, hence the cam bar WON'T attach to the ears when its 180 degrees off. The larger holes are the same size as the pins on the inside of the cam bar, so if the bar locks onto both cams the crank HAS to be in time at TDC, unless the previous tech messed it up. What professional techs do to make the job easier (without locking the crank) is to loosen the cam pulley bolts about 2-3 turns, then use a pulley puller and pop the camshaft pulley off the camshaft itself so it will freewheel on the end of the cams. This makes it 1000X easier to pull the belt tight and you don't need to have the cam bar on the engine when they are broken free because the cams can no longer move with the pulleys. I don't know why there are arrows on the bearings, but it shouldn't have anything to do with the timing.
Any audi mechanic can do a timing belt change with his eyes closed, the fastest i did an A8 timing belt job was about 50 minutes......it leaked coolant but thats besides the point LOL!
Any audi mechanic can do a timing belt change with his eyes closed, the fastest i did an A8 timing belt job was about 50 minutes......it leaked coolant but thats besides the point LOL!
Camtiming3.jpg?t=1294185641
Site Moderator
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 9,004
From: Nor Cal
OH the chain timing marks! My bad, i thought mondo was referring to the timing belt.....now i feel like an idiot.
Mondo, its impossible that you don't have these marks, rotate the engine over until you see the marks. (you need to have the valve cover off to do this) There are 16 chain links between the timing marks, you need to count them when re-installing the cams, this is the easiest way to do it.
Mondo, its impossible that you don't have these marks, rotate the engine over until you see the marks. (you need to have the valve cover off to do this) There are 16 chain links between the timing marks, you need to count them when re-installing the cams, this is the easiest way to do it.
Last edited by auditech79; Jan 4, 2011 at 11:57 PM.
Site Moderator
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 9,004
From: Nor Cal
ok, so you see the triangle marks on the bearing cap that's good. If you look right behind the cam sprocket (that connects via the chain to the other cam)....you'll see a tiny rectangle stamped behind the sprocket on the cam itself. Lining up these two marks means your cams are where they need to be.
There aren't any marks on the "main" cam sprocket (not keyed as auditech says) or on the part of the camshaft that extends beyond the tensioner.
Auditech, are these marks only on the 4.2's? I have an extra head and some camshafts on the bench along with my old tensioner. I was going to shoot another youtube video so people could get an idea on cam tensioner and/or gasket replacement.
You'll be able to see them clearly then, maybe I'll do that later tonight if I have time.
thanks for the compliment on the video, I got one of those $100 pocket camcorders in a raffle and never thought I'd use it. It's a great tool to have around the garage, I'm using it all the time now.
Bob
There aren't any marks on the "main" cam sprocket (not keyed as auditech says) or on the part of the camshaft that extends beyond the tensioner.
Auditech, are these marks only on the 4.2's? I have an extra head and some camshafts on the bench along with my old tensioner. I was going to shoot another youtube video so people could get an idea on cam tensioner and/or gasket replacement.
You'll be able to see them clearly then, maybe I'll do that later tonight if I have time.
thanks for the compliment on the video, I got one of those $100 pocket camcorders in a raffle and never thought I'd use it. It's a great tool to have around the garage, I'm using it all the time now.
Bob
Thats for a 1.8T engine.
1st Gear
Joined: Jul 2009
Posts: 105
I think in the summer I might drop it at blauparts for a service or 3, I really want to get another 100k out of it (not as much as it sounds when you do over 40/year).
Last edited by Mongo18; Jan 5, 2011 at 07:10 PM.
2nd Gear
Joined: Jun 2010
Posts: 624
PAGING: ImTheDevil
Did you ever post your 40V Timing belt tutorial? If so, I can't find it.
There's alot of requests for an online resource for this and only the 32V (VERY different) is findable.
Everyone SHOULD have a Bentley or similar (NO excuse for a DIYer NOT to have this necessary tool!!)...BUT they don't or won't procede without an online source(?)
Thanks in advance, if you still plan (or already have?) post the 40V tutorial.
I'd love to have on online link to give em...if they want the Bentley procedure, here it is:
http://www.bentleypublishers.com/aud...003-ebahn.html
Buy it !!
There's alot of requests for an online resource for this and only the 32V (VERY different) is findable.
Everyone SHOULD have a Bentley or similar (NO excuse for a DIYer NOT to have this necessary tool!!)...BUT they don't or won't procede without an online source(?)
Thanks in advance, if you still plan (or already have?) post the 40V tutorial.
I'd love to have on online link to give em...if they want the Bentley procedure, here it is:
http://www.bentleypublishers.com/aud...003-ebahn.html
Buy it !!
1st Gear
Joined: Jul 2009
Posts: 105
So I was reading through this thread and I think we've finally hit on the solution to my timing problem. It looks like all I have to do is get my hands on one of these magic camshaft alignment bars, put my crankshaft at TDC, crack the 2 camshaft pulleys, line up the cams with the magic bar and then tighten the pulleys back down, and everything should be where it wants to be. Sound right?
