I've spent the last oh 3 or 4 weeks searching for and reading all the DIY guides I could find on timing belt R&R, breather hose/suction pump R&R, and VCG R&R and I believe I have the theory down but not sure if I have all the tools for the timing belt kit I bought at fcpgroton.com, and the enhanced VCG kit and breather hose kit I got at Blauparts.com.

I have the 2.8Q that I picked up recently that's leaking coolant and oil. Typical symptoms of the water pump needing R&R and the PCV/VCG job so decided to also do the timing belt and PCV hose stuff since they're related to the symptoms.

The timing belt kit comes with the following:

Timing Belt
Timing Belt Tensioner Roller
Timing Belt Idler Roller
Water Pump with Metal Impellar
Engine Coolant Thermostat
Continental Serpentine Belt
Hydraulic Timing Belt Tensioner
4 Elring Camshaft Seals
1 Elring Front Crankshaft Seal
1 NTN Engine Timing Belt Tensioner Lever

Question 1:
Do I need any special tools to get the camshaft and crank seals removed/replaced, or for the rollers? I saw the blauparts.com tool kit and I don't have any of those tools.

I have basic tools - jack and 2 stands, ratchet set, allen wrenches, some torx bits (T-10 thru T-40), pliers, open and closed wrenches, etc., but do I need pulley pullers to do the seals, a fan spanner wrench, or anything else to get the work done?

I'm planning on renting the cam locking bar from metalmanparts.com which includes the crankshaft lock as well. And the VCG kit comes with the cam tensioner tool so I've got those coming.

Question 2:
Are there any special supplies that I'm going to need that'll make my job easier or complete?

I've got brake cleaner to clean the oil for the VCG job, loctite for whatever may need it, but other than that I don't know what else would benefit.

Question 3:
I don't have a long screwdriver or whatever that blue flat tool is on the bumper removal DIY is to pull off the front bumper, do I need one? I've read the DIY on bumper removal and service position, but still a little leery of how to actually get the bumper off.

I think that's it.

But thanks for anyone's help. I hope to get my parts in this week and tackle the work this weekend or the following. I'm looking for a garage to borrow for a weekend. Feel a little weird doing it in my parking spot at my apartment.

 

quite the laundry list of maintenance items. I think you are going 100% in the right direction though. I did my TB and components a little over a year ago and in hindsight wish I had taken the time to do some of the "extras" (seals and gaskets) along with it.

1. A good "puller" tool is all you need for the cams. Don't try to get all fancy or extravagant. A cheap puller (of the proper size) from the local auto parts store will suffice. It can probably be done without, but it is worth the couple bucks a puller costs to have one. I'm not 100% sure on the crank so I won't comment. I believe there is some kind of "key" (a part) in the crank pulley that should be replaced when you pull it. This made me extra leery about doing mine.

To do the seal for the cam chain tensioner (when you do the VCG) you need a tool to compress the tensioner so you can get the gasket out. I believe it is included in the Blauparts kit. I believe the kit also includes detailed instructions, that are quite good.

the chopsticks tool (for the fan pulley) is really not necessary, but again nice to have. I never found a suitably inexpensive replacement. One of the gurus on here says he just pinches the old serp belt around the pulley with vice grips to hold it still. I threaded webbing through the pully and tensioned it to a frame member to hold it still on mine (took a few HOURS of puzzling to get that idea). the nut on the back is reverse threaded, so keep that in mind for removal.

I can't think of much else. Once you get going you will come up with creative uses for the tools that you have to get the job accomplished.

2. Silicone gasket goo? make sure you get one that is compatible with where you are putting it. I used a thin bead on the thermostat and both sides of the waterpump gasket. I'm pretty sure that you will need some for the VCGs too (may come in the kit) but only to be used in the corners (follow the instructions in the kit).

3. Pulling the bumper is a bit traumatic the first time you do it. I was convinced I was going to really do some damage. Once you see how it goes together, it is quite easy. time consuming, but not difficult. I don't recall needing any special tools (your long screwdriver or whatever reference). The biggest issue I had was with the headlights. The easiest way I found to get at the torx screws on outside was to put the bit on the screw head from underneath then put a long flat head screwdriver into the back of the bit from the top to turn it (it will make a lot more sense when you get there)

Sorry for the novel. It is really a pretty straightforward process. I can turn a wrench but am by no means a skilled mechanic and I did mine. I will say it took me many hours over several days to get it done, but I wasn't in a big hurry. Make sure you give yourself extra time for mistakes. I had to take mine back apart twice because I made a dumb mistake (thermostat in backwards) or forgot to reinstall something (dipstick tube).

If you get stuck. post back

good luck

 

I don't see cam chain tensioner gaskets and valley plugs on your list. at 5 bucks a set do them and save the headache.
The only real special tool you need for this work is a cam chain tensioner tool. The cam lock bar is a good piece of mind to have tho.

once you remove the bumper for the first time its easy every time after that, it takes a good amount of force to get off and you feel like your gonna break it, but its about a 5 min job to get the bumper off.

 

I just did this a coupla months ago on my 12v, not exactly the same but very similar. Some things I learned:

1. If you are going to do cam seals you WILL need a 2 or 3 jaw gear puller to pop off the cams. They cams are tapered and the cam gears press-fit back on the taper.

2. The crank bolt is a Torque to Yield bolt, meaning that it will actually stretch when properly torqued and may weaken if it's re-used. It is recommended that it is replaced; I picked one up at my local VW shop for like 14 bucks or something. Same bolt on all the B5 A4 and Passat v6's.

3. To get the crank gear off you will absolutely need the crank lock pin. That bolt was on there pretty good. I did mine without the cam lock bar with little to no trouble but if I had it, it would of made the job that much easier.

4. You may want to get some 1-1.5 inch hose clamps just to have them. Some of the one time use clamps on the front coolant lines were leaking and I had to make a trip to the parts store to get some.

You may want to check/replace/upgrade your snub mount at the same time. It's so much easier with the car in service position.

Hope this helps man, and Good Luck!!

 

Have a list of all of the torques handy when you are reassembling. Since you are doing the valve covers while you're doing the timing belt, it will be a lot easier to do the cam seals. Pull the timing belt and cam gears, then take off your valve covers, and you will be able to slide the cam seals off without any problems. Blauparts has a page with a service bulletin about replacing the crank seal.

 

I definitely am excited about doing this on my own. Not just because I'm saving about $700 in labor which I'm going to use to get some tools and parts, but because I like to wrench around on my own stuff once in a while and like the idea of making sure the job's done right and the new parts are actually installed properly especially on my Audi.

I'm going to pick up a pulley puller (thanks for your post 02A6Beau), the crank bolts, snub mount (thanks for the tips cnigro1279. I totally forgot about the snub mount). It looks like the crank balancer has 8 allen bolts on the 30v, but like cnigro1279 says, it's good to replace those as with the crank bolt. See here in step 11.

jonbonesjones: I'm glad metalmanparts has the cam lock tool for rent. I just wish I knew I was going to do the t/b myself that way I could've bought the kit from blauparts or ecstuning but oh well, there's always a way, right? Thanks metalmanparts.com! And the Blauparts VCG enhanced kit comes with the cam tensioner gaskets, valley plugs, and the cam tensioner tool so I'm ready on that front.

A couple more questions came up:
1. How many hose clamps? 5 each maybe?
2. Will I need a rubber mallet or prybar for anything like removing/reinstalling the cam or crank sprockets? I don't have either one.
3. Any recommendations which snub mount to get?
4. jeckel2003: Can you PM me or post the torque specs? I'd greatly appreciate it.

 

I believe the torque specs on the page you linked to are correct. The valve cover bolts and cam chain tensioner are 7 ft/lbs.

 

I double checked the torque specs on that page with my Haynes manual and they are all correct. I noticed it doesn't give a value for the thermostat housing but the Haynes manual says 7 ft/lbs which is the same as the water pump.

 

I've got my stuff on the way and a place to do the work in!

I've ordered the Meyle snub mount from ECS tuning for about $20 total incl shipping.

The cam locking bar and crank lock pin I actually bought as a kit from Koch tools for 60 plus shipping with turned out to be about $65. I almost picked up a kit off Amazon, but that would've been about $10 more. I had to weigh the cost savings of renting vs future usage and I believe I'm going to need the tools (I'm seriously thinking about picking up another b5 a4 2.8 Q or a b5 S4). I also decided to invest in the fan spanner wrench which was a bit pricey but I think in the long run worth it at $66 from toolsource.com. Plus I don't have time to spare fiddling around with trying to find a creative way to lock in the fan pulley.

I have the timing belt kit arriving today, the pcv and vcg kits arriving this week, along with the 8 harmonic balancer allen bolts and crank bolt from Audi. The tools should be in by next week then I should be ready to roll after everything's here.

I set aside 12 hours total for the job that I hope to get done on a Saturday with a little time set aside on Sunday for the unforeseen struggles.

Thanks for all the help and I'll keep you posted on how the job went.