I have already ordered the kit and tool from Blauparts.com I have my bumper off and my headlights out and the whole core support is ready for removal, except I haven't drained the radiator yet, is there any tips that anyone has before I go further into this?... (I am still waiting on the kit to arrive)

 

Forgot to say it is a 2.8 Quattro

 

I assume you're doing a whole timing belt job, not just a water pump? You're going to have to remove the T-belt to get to the pump. And that means you need the cam locking bar on that car. There are plenty of DIY write ups around for the T-belt job on that motor. You should read some before you go further. I've done that job several times and never taken off the headlights.

 

Yes I am doing timing belt, the pulleys, thermostat, and water pump. The kit comes with everything above plus the gaskets and coolant for the car

 

This is the kit I ordered and I ordered the rental tool to go with it

http://www.blauparts.com/proddetail....od=GH21111%2DB

 

My tips are to clean the engine with degreaser if necessary, then make sure the battery is disconnected for the duration of the job. Take pictures as you go, and have a table or some such area dedicated only for the parts that you remove, including fasteners. Take the spark plugs out so it will be easier to rotate the engine at the end to verify the job. Spend time and attention on making the mounting surface for the pump very smooth and clean. They say to use the paper gasket dry, I went ahead and smeared silicone sealant on both sides of the paper, installed while tacky, have no leaks. Use Loctite where appropriate (for me that's just about every bolt), especially on the tension roller bolt, which if it loosens or breaks from over-torqueing, some valves will be ruined. Be sure to tension enough that the belt takes a hard twist with your fingers to turn 1/4. I set mine up on the loose side the first time, and the belt would flap enough at certain RPMs to chatter on the plastic belt covers. When you are sure everything is right, and you have double-checked, remove the cam tools and rotate the crank carefully, say four revolutions which will return it to the original belt install position. Put the crank pin back in and make sure the cam holding tool fits without forcing. I ran my '96 for about a week then did this check again, and indeed needed to pull the cams loose for a minor adjustment. That plus a set of matched injectors is probably why it runs so nice!

 

Not to much oil or grease on it, it only has 113,000 miles on it... I am still going to buy a few cans of brake parts cleaner to clean the face of the engine and the parts that get re-installed on the car! And I am buying a to torx bit socket set other than that I should already own all the tools I need to do this process only thing I have been scared of is how I have read multiple people have had issues with adjusting the slack properly in the timing belt

 

In the process of re-installing everything now I changed both front seals on the cams, new water pump, (old one was definitely bad!) new timing tensioner, new idler timing pulley and new thermostat. According to Blau the timing belt should be adjusted to where you can twist the timing belt to 90* and no more... I have done that and it is just a little tighter than the old one I removed... I removed the cam lock bar after installing timing belt and rotated the engine about 10 times clockwise with no issues (other than slightly fighting compression of course!) .... So unless someone sees a problem with what I described I think all is good for now

 

I removed the headlights to make it easier to access some of the bolts, and just to help myself to keep from accidentally damaging them!

 

The car is back together running and driving great!... I even did the cam seals while it was apart I am shipping the tool back tomorrow thanks for the tips!