Tips for those doing a water pump/timing belt change in 2003 Audi A4
 

Hi all,

We just spent 2 and a half days working on my car (2003 Audi A4) changing the water pump (it was leaking) and while we were at it, we did the timing belt.

So, some advice:

The bumper is ridiculously hard to remove. After you remove the headlights, and unplug all of the cables, detach the radiator hoses, etc. you have to remove all of the screws holding the bumper on.

On other threads, you will find they say there are 10 screws. 1 in the right and 1 in the left wheel well, 3 on each side attaching to the front panels, and 1 screw behind the left foglight grill and 1 behind the right foglight grill.

On 2003 and newer models, there are 3 more screws that no one tells you about. These screws attach the bumper to the collision bar (large metal bar just inside the bumper to protect your car in a collision). These are located dead center, and about 10 inches or a foot to the right and left of dead center. They are a bitch to remove, but you have to do it. The one dead center cannot be reached if you have a front tag plate. You also have to remove all three grill pieces (plastic pieces) and you'll find the screw right in the center attaching the bumper to the collision bar. The screws are all upside down by the way (the heads facing the ground). On my car, the other two....to the right and left of the one in dead center, had a bright green cover which helped me locate them.

Another tip, when you finally get the bumper and collision bar off, you have to remove the condenser and radiator (the condenser looks like a smaller radiator and it's directly in front of the radiator). If you undo the 4 screws holding it to the radiator and the screw holding the condenser loop on, you can slip it past the condensor loop (the hard aluminum pipe in front of it) and gently lay it under your car without having to undo the connections to the air conditioner (the pipes coming out of both sides). This will save you some time and money for freon. (Then you lay the radiator carriage to the right).

Next tip, for timing belt installation, you can mark your belts and gears precisely and transfer your marks for a smooth transition. But, if shit happens and you don't have your marks correct or you accidentally spin the crankshaft or camshaft independently (or if your belt falls off), there are factory marks on the crankshaft (the lower sprocket) that are not so easy to find. They are located on the COVER of the crankshaft sprocket (the wheel that attaches to it that spins the serpentine belt) and the metal plate/cover that attaches behind the sprocket. The one on the crankshaft sprocket cover (the wheel) is like a notch. The one on the metal plate, looks like a tiny dent. We thought it was a dent at first but it's not.

So basically, you have to put the new belt on the crankshaft sprocket, and then put the metal plate and wheel back on to match up those marks to get the timing set correctly. (Don't forget to line up your camshaft marks too).

Because we couldn't find these stupid marks, we tore the car down and put it back together again three times to correct the timing. You can see in the attached photo what our notches looked like. I also put a diagram showing what notches in the camshaft sprocket (top large sprocket) and crankshaft look like.

I think what happened is when you tensioned the belt, the cam rotated - it's really common and usually takes a few tries.

Actually, the crank rotated (the cam stayed where it was, i know because I had marked it with a silver sharpie...we were dumb and didn't mark the crank) but we couldn't find the marks to align it back so it was trial and error the first couple of times. We think now it was off by 2 ticks, then 1 tick. But the last time, we found the marks (which are located on the metal plate/cover and the wheel that attaches to the crank that turns the serpentine).

But yes, that's a great point, when you try and tension the belt, the crank and cam both try to move and it's a real pain to make sure your marks stay aligned.

I could pull your bumper and replace your timing belt and water pump with the timing perfect and every screw and bolt in its correct place in under 1 hour...

Your just being over dramatic because you don't really know what your doing.

You advance the cam one tooth before putting on the belt, then release the tensioner and it will pull the cam back into place.

You don't have to do anything with the condenser.... and you dont' have to remove any coolant hoses. You remove the 6 T45s on the lock carrier and the 6 T30's and you pull the carrier forward and let it rest on nose mount. There is plenty of room to work.

There's no reason to be rude or condescending. Are you doing this because I'm obviously a girl (you can tell by my name, Gabby and your use of the word "over dramatic" cued me in)?

This isn't the 1800's, girls can work on cars too.

This website is set up for people to HELP them do their own car repairs, no? Not to criticize their work. And I'm sure the first time you tried to tear down a car (the first time you ever tried) it did not take a you an hour.

I'm seriously trying to help other people in my situation and if you have some actual advice, please post it, but there's no need for rudeness.

I used threads from this forum and others to do the work and found them very helpful. I needed the extra room to work and it worked out fine doing it that way. Just because it's my first time changing my water pump/timing belt doesn't mean I shouldn't do it, it just means I have some advice for beginners like myself, so that when they take on this task it will run more smoothly.

I hope that others find my post useful and I hope that in the future you'll take some time to think before you write something condescending.

Hey AudiTek,

I just replaced my damaged Tensioner and Damper / Pulley after doing the whole TB and water pump job 20,000 miles ago because the piston in the tensioner failed. However, I think my timing is off by a bit this time :-( CEL and ticking noises....

Do you think I can remove the timing belt, see down at the crank pulley to ensure the small indentations line up, line up the cam pulley at its indentations, put the belt back on, and re-engage the tensioner all without removing the bumper/headlights/radiator/condenser? All I would have to do is advance the lock carrier forward?

Thanks!

It can be done but it's tight. With as easy as removing the core support is, I'd just drain your coolant into a clean pan to preserve it and open the car up.

Do you still experience an issue with the cam/crank rotating when you use the tools to lock them in place?

I am about to change the timing belt, water pump, seals, tensioner, etc on my 2003 Audi A4 Quattro.

Thank you.

3.0
 

why can't there be any advice on the timing marks on a 2003 3.0 A4what a waste of time

kc10eng, no - using the locking bar keeps the cams from turning and holds everything in position.

Mobile14, exactly what other advice are you looking for that makes all the above info a waste of time?