I am going to look at a B5 S4 tomorrow and the guy says he has changed the timing belt, water pump, pulleys, serpentine belt, and valve cover gaskets... does that cover everything that should have been replaced with the timing belt?

And are there any other things I should ask to see if it was replaced, preventative maintenance type things.

94K miles, thanks for any help, just looking for some last minute advise so I can go into the deal knowing what should have been done maintenance wise so I can get the upper hand in negotiating.

Any way to tell if the turbo's are on their way into the *******? or certain noises to listen for while test driving, clutch feel, etc...? catastrophic CEL codes?

Thanks again, sorry if it's a repetitive question, it's late and I need to get some sleep!

 

I'm assuming he is going to do the thermostat too? I didn't see that on the list but it definitely needs to be.

cam seals and crank seal are the only other thing you may want to consider changing. there are two schools of thought on this though. One group maintains that if they aren't leaking just leave them be. The other group says that it is probably just a matter of time until they leak so while you have everything apart just swap them out.

if you are on original DVs you probably want to get them changed out/upgraded too, or at the very least checked.

the typical sign of turbos going is the "dentist drill" whine on acceleration. Then again, they can make that noise for quite a while before going kaput. regular oil changes with fully synthetic will prolong turbo life. at 94K miles you are probably still ok on the turbos as long as the car has been well/properly maintained. mine started making noise after I upgraded the DVs. that was about 10K miles ago and they are still going strong.

good luck

 

One more part that should also be replaced is the hydraulic tensioner piston. It is responsible for keeping the tension on the timing belt.

As far as the seals go it would depend on how well the engine is maintained. If you remove the valve covers & it looks dark & crusty inside it would be a good idea to replace them. I would also recommend doing the cam plugs at the back of the heads & even the the cam tensioner gaskets with the 1/2 moon plug.

 

thanks guys, i'll ask if any of this was done or if there is record or them being done at some point

 

Don't take the seller's word for it. Ask for proof. The consequences of believing a liar in this case are catastrophic. And to elaborate on what M5S5 said, the hydraulic tensioner ABSOLUTELY should have been done during the job. If it fails, it's valve salad and a multi-thousand dollar repair job.

 

thanks man, didn't go today, got too late and traffic would have murdered me, going tomorrow..

i'll definitely have to make sure the hydraulic tensioner was replaced during the job, if not, it's probably not even worth buying huh?

and also, if i take this to a shop for a buyers inspection, beyond what's already been said in this thread, are there any real specific things i should have the mechanic look at incase he doesn't know what to look for...

thanks again guys, just trying my best not to buy a lemon

 

was the entire timing belt job useless without the hydraulic tensioner done as well? because i'm doubting it was done... and is it an expensive replacement or a timely job to get it done? the hydraulic tensioner