I'm going to be replacing my timing belt and also all cam seals/cam tensioner seals in a couple weeks using the Blauparts kits and rental tools.

Been looking at all the DIY articles and I'm still not totally clear on how I'm going to do both jobs at once -- i.e. what the sequence will be.

When removing the timing belt, where does the cam locking bar tool come into play. Also, since I plan to remove the cams to get all of the seals switched out, how will I mark timing since I'll likely have to remove the locking bar.

Forgive my ignorance, but the thing is confusing me is what tools to use when, given that I am changing the cam seals and cam tensioner seals on top of doing the timing belt service. I can't quite visualize when I'm supposed to bring cylinder 1 (or 3?) to TDC and when I'm supposed to use the locking bar and when I'm supposed to remove the cams.

EDIT: It's a 98 2.8 30v quattro AHA with 150k miles on it.

 

ummm.....

what engine?

anywho, the short answer is that you index the engine to TDC using the mark on the crank cover and the cam wings (2.7T and 2.8) are aligned. this is when you put the cam lock bar on and the crank lock pin in.

once that is done you can start dis-assembly and remove the belt etc. if you are going to do the cam seals don't worry about marking the cam sprockets as they don't have to go back on the same way (it sounds weird, you will understand when you do it). The lock bar should have big holes in it so you can get your wrench on the cam bolts. remove the bolts and pull the sprockets to get at the seals with the bar on (again you will understand when you get there). bottom line is once the cam and crank locks go on, don't take them off until the new belt is on.

hope that helps. like i mentioned, once you see it, it will make more sense.

good luck

-not an expert, just an enthusiast

 

I strongly recommend getting the JHMotorsports 2.7/2.8 timing belt dvd. It covers all of your questions in an hour long video. It was a HUGE help for someone that has never done something like that prior.

 

I think I remember seeing a thread in the DIYs pertaining to the cam seal job, specifically mentioning removing the belt first wasn't necessary. Thought I'd mention it :-p

 

Thanks. I'm doing the timing belt, the cam seals AND the cam adjuster seals.

The thing that is tripping me up is that the cam adjuster seal procedure requires removing the cams. So what I'm not getting is if I have the cams locked, how do I remove them.

98 2.8 30v quattro AHA

 

If you are removing the cams, you don't need to worry about locking them until you get them back in and lined up. If you were just doing the front cam seals you would want the cams locked so that they don't move when you have the timing belt off. Since you will be looking at/messing with the cams you will be able to re-index the cams manually/visually. then you can lock them in place.

 

Ah thank you. Makes sense now.