I have a 2001 A4 with the 1.8t. I replaced the timing belt, tensioner, idler, and water pump about 70K miles ago, so obviously its due (overdue) again. My question is do I need to replace the tensioner, idler, pump again ?, am I safe just putting a new belt on ? I did buy genuine audi parts when I had replaced the parts before.

 

The belt doesn't tend to be the culprit. The tensioner does. You can get a kit from grotten for about $200

 

Agreed. FCP Groton and do the whole job. All those parts are wearing throughout the time they're on the car. You replace all of them each time you do the job.

Water pump and gasket
Thermostat and o-ring
Coolant
Timing belt
Idler roller
Tensioner roller
Hydraulic tensioner
Serpentine belt

And it's a damn good time to look over everything while you're in there, and change out additional parts as needed. In particular, since you'll be opening up the car, unless you have an aftermarket DV and know it's good, it's an excellent time and an easy job to replace the DV with an upgraded part like the ones from KRAUTO PARTS One Stop For LEDs HIDs and More (owned by a forum member here, screenname Emilgevor) and know you're holding all the boost you should be. Good time to replace vacuum lines with silicone as well.

 

Cam/crank seals, broken dipstick tube/ o-ring


Anything broke/leaking

 

Thanks for the reply, im not sure what you mean by "DV" Diverter Valve ?
One thing that I do know is leaking is what appears to be the gasket between the cam chain tensioner and cyl. head. It looks like it wouldnt be too bad to replace when the timing belt is already off. Do you or anyone else know if the timing chain and or tensioner has a need to be replaced on a car with 180k miles. Im not into replacing parts that arnt bad. Thanks in advance.

 

Oh another question I had was do you know what the reccomended service interval of the timing belt is ? I know the norm for most cars is 60k. When I bought this car from the original owner it appeared he had never changed it with approx 115k miles, I replaced it right after I bought it and the belt that came off was very close to snapping.

 

Common wisdom is 60-65k, despite information saying 70-105k (several points in that range). You did the right thing taking care of it when you did. As for the leak, you can change the gasket no problem. There is a DIY for this job on this site. As to changing it based on mileage, no - if you start hearing a diesel clatter at idle, it's a sign that the CCT is failing and needs replacement. You can leave it if you don't have that sound. It can be changed with the timing belt installed in a couple of hours.

And yes, the DV is the diverter valve.