hi my name is john, from nyc. next week im having my timing belt, tensioner, idler pulleys, and water pump changed on my a4 quartro 3.0 2002. it was last done at 112,000 miles, im now at 202,000. is there any other parts i should buy for this job.the guy thats doing the work is a certified tech at an audi dealership. there are a few more questions i have, the waterpump i bought has a metal impeller, is that okay? the tech is charging me 370.00 for labor, is that a fair price, he told me its going to take 8 hours , does that sound right. id appreciate any feed back on these questions. thx john

 

the 3.0 is the one of the biggest PITA engines to work on. I would suggest that if you have a guy that is going to take care of it for you, pay him whatever he is asking. looks like you have the standard "laundry list" of components that are changed during the timing service. the only things I don't see are the thermostat assembly and valve cover gaskets. The 3.0 timing service requires removal of the valve covers, so you may as well change the gaskets while you are at it. if the guy doing the job is a tech, you can always ask him what he recommends.

good luck

 

thx bud, for completing my laundry list, ill be getting the gaskets and thermo assembly monday. p.s the reason why i didnt ask the tech thats doing the work about additional parts is because he didnt like the idea that i bought my own parts. he wanted me to get the parts from the dealership. 500.00 vs 250.00 mmm let me think about it, well i thought about it, ill go with the 250.00. thx again

 

I also didn't see the accessory (serpentine) belt on your list. I understand why the tech wants you to get parts from the stealership. there are some shady aftermarket parts that are not worth trying to use. I'm not saying the parts you got are bad, just be sure to check them out thoroughly. the timing parts are not something you want to try to skimp on. if a timing component goes, you are looking at a new engine. metal impeller water pump should be fine. try to avoid anything that proudly displays a "Made in China" label (though even with "expensive" parts you do occasionally see this).

8 hours for the job is right. for $370, you are getting a heck of a good deal

 

its monday morning just recieved your message, late night!!!!!!!. ibought the timing belt component kit without the waterpump at rock auto for 202.00. it was a gates part. also the w.pump at rock auto, which heres where i think i messed up, its from a parts company called UROparts. i think they were trying to immitate EURO parts with an E. 40.00 BUCKS. It says proper fitment, which i assume means its a proper fit, also i called rock auto yesterday and they they sold 10 of them in the past year with no warranty issues or complaints. but im thinking how the f*** would the buyer know of a problem this soon, rock auto told me they could only look back 1 year for returns. YA RIGHT! AND ALSO THE PARTS WEIGHT Is 3.8 lbs. do you think i messed up buying parts. the job is being done (sat, morning). thx very much for your input. jt2580

 

well, I'm not expert, just an enthusiast, but I do all my own work and thus have some experience with the 2.7T motor. I also read a lot here on the forums and have a pretty good feel for how things on our cars tend to go, and tend to go wrong.

you may want to re-post your question in one of the A4 sections, you are likely to find a better collection of gurus there. basically, the general feeling is that inexpensive parts are not a good idea, especially when you are talking about something as critical as timing components. there are, of course, several people that have not had any issues at all using the "inexpensive" parts. the general feeling is that you want to try to avoid anything that says "Made in China". there are reports of poor fitment and varying build quality issues. that said, a lot of the parts that the dealerships use are now actually made in China.

not trying to put any kind of "fear" in you, but timing components are not where I would try to save a few dollars. it is worth the peace of mind to put a couple extra dollars into the parts, in my opinion.

seeing as how you have a couple of days, post up in the A4 section and see if you can get another perspective.

good luck