hey ALL

gonna be changing the timing belt on my 2001 A6 2.7T
please help me with any of these if you know:

should I as well swap the pulleys and the water pump?

I've been told that attempting this as a weekend project may prove to be slightly more expensive than having it done at the dealership a few times over, so...

Buy parts from the dealer to make sure they are original audi? Is it that much more expensive?

I've been quoted several prices in the $200-400 range for work ONLY, what is this job supposed to cost?

finally, how do I make sure that the guy working on my engine knows the hell he's talking about?

THANKS FOR ALL YOUR HELP

PS Looking for a driver's door window switch and flasher - anyone got functioning parts?

 

Yeah it can turn out to be a VERY expensive job if you mess it up yourself. I changed mine on my old 2.8 V6 2 years ago. It wasn't especially difficult, it was just time consuming (10 hours). I bought all my parts from ECS Tuning. They sell a complete timing belt kit.

Read this article over and see if it's something you want to tackle.

http://www.audiworld.com/tech/eng63.shtml

 

it takes some time just make sure you have all the info and specs. for the job. if the water pump is behind the belt better go ahead and change it while your there along with the thermostat. its one of the easier ones to change. but then non of them are easy

 

Thanks guys

 

200-400 bucks labor sounds like the guy doesnt know what hes getting into. You can do it yourself, but it will take a while. Get the belt, serp belt, waterpump, thermostat, idler roller, tensioner, and tensioner roller. You should probably do your cam adjuster gaskets while its all apart too. The biggest thing that can cost you more down the road is if you mess up the timing. Get the cam bar and make sure everythings lined up. Then crank the engine over by hand at least two times.

 

Thanks :-)))
darkhound, you said 200-400 means the guys doesnt know what he's getting into, but the dealer told me the whole job WITH PARTS should be around 700 - were they low-balling me? I hoped to fit the entire job with parts into this number ($700) - am I dreaming?
Lastly, I think I will not do it by myself unless I find someone who'll "oversee" the entire process and make sure I don't end up costing myself ten times what I save :-)))

anyways, thank G-d for audiforums

peace

 

Usually labor for the belt and all related pumps and pullys and such is in the 6-7 hour range. At a hundred bucks an hour your right at the 700 dollar figure and dont have any parts yet. Sounds like that dealers giving you a pretty good deal as long as they include the water pump and pullys and such.

 

dont know about the pulley etc, but 100 bucks per hour for labor sounds WAAAAAY out of what I'd think people charge!

 

Hehe you must not live in a big city. And if so your lucky. Shops in downtown chicago charge 130 an hour. Chicago suburbs around 100.

 

i'm not sure if this forum allows cursing, but HOLY SHIZZZLE!!!!!!! buck-thirty an hour!!!! its cheaper to drive to Brooklyn from Chicago... and back! - that's where I usually go for service :-)) what can I say, I'm a sucker for a good russian mechanic who 'don't speak no EANGLEESH', but can take a turbo engine apart with his bare hands :-)) well, the one I use actually has all the proper equipment, but last I checked, labor was something like 45-65 bucks an hour. The reason I started checking up on prices is b/c someone actually recommended this new guy to me, who is supposedly UNBELIEVABLE when it comes to Audis, so I wanna have the scoop on prices and the tech before I go "interview" him :-)))