Dear Friends,

I have bought an 2nd hand Audi A3 Turbo 1999 model.
It's got 190 000KM.

Please excuse me as I have no technical / mechanical knowledge of vehicles.

The person I bought the car from told me that the tensioner should be replaced but it will be fine to drive the car as is. The car had a little bit of noise in the bonnet below 3000rpm and according to the owner it was as result of the tensioner need to be replaced. He suggested that one replace the belt etc... (a kit).

So I drove the car for about 2 hours without any problem. Parked the car and then later when I drove a couple of meters the engine suddenly just cut out. There was no noise or anything.

The guy who sold me the car (prev owner) guided me telephonically to check whether the timing belt is still on. Which I did and I found the timing belt in place. Another guy confirmed this which where helping me.

I have towed the car to an Audi Dealer to find the problem. Later they phoned me to inform me that the timing belt has snapped and that they need to strip the engine in order to quote on the damage. As I understood from them it is a serious problem which I believe. But how come the timing belt be fine when I check. The car was taken to them with a rollback tow truck.

So I am clueless.
When I told the prev owner he said that there should've been a great noise if the timing belt snapped???? And I have checked the timing belt as well (only able to find it with telephonical instructions).

After the car cut out I tried to start it a couple of times. Don't know if this could of snapped the timing belt.

Please help.

1. What could course the timing belt to snap?
2. OR is the people taking me for a right?
3. The prev owner said it's not needed to strip the engine to determine if valves have been damaged etc... He said one can remove the plugs and turn the engine with hand to check this. Then afterwards one can do pressure test.
Because the people are $450 just to strip the engine in order the quote on the damage.
4. And lastly. If timing belt has snapped.
What are the implications? Even if they repair.
Please guide me here. Should I give back the car then???

 

The timing belt is actually under a cover, so if the previous owner told you to just look at the various belts coming off of the crankshaft pulley, he may not have known what he was talking about.

As far as the compression test goes, it's certainly a good measure of engine performance, but be sure to do a leakdown test as well. The limitations of that test are that although it's great for telling you if your motor is sealing or not, it does nothing to tell you of the condition of things like your bearings, rods, wrist pins, or other components that may be damaged as a result of the valves impacting against the pistons in a torn timing belt situation.

A snapped timing belt generally means that the pistons are scored, and the implications as far as repair go depend on very many variables. It's not a bad idea to pop the motor open and see how it's doing.

Good luck! If you have any more questions, feel free to give us a call. 847-593-1066