Hello az i need some assistance

[aintwlkn]

hi all im new to your forum, i have a question, I had a "Mechanic" replace my water pump and timing belt, the car runs like trash now, went in to just get the water pump replaced, its a 03 a6 3.0 engine. I know that the cams are where they need to be, is there a way to turn the engine back 1 notch to get the pistons back in sync with the rest of the engine without having to tear it apart, it has ran maybe 1 mile since then, drove it home parked it, now that i have some time i would like to try to get it fixed because there was nothing wrong with the car when i took it there besides a bad water pump now it doesnt really even idle, it doesnt have the power to move itself He didnt even put the MAF or even the cat 02 sensor back on.. any help would be greatly appreciated.

[Bratcop]

How did you come to the conclusion that the timing was off? I think if he didn't complete the job like u said, I would start with some simple things, like make sure everything is plugged in, etc. If timing is off substantially, do not even turn the motor over. If it is an interference motor you could bend a valve.

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[PaperToast]

how does the engine run like crap exactly? describe it the best you can, different behaviors can mean different problems

[brokenwrench]

Before spending any more time trying to diagnose the engine by running it, I would ask how you know the timing is off. If the timing is indeed off between the crank and the cams, then no, you can't adjust the timing without tearing it apart again. The timing belt would have to be removed to allow the crank to spin against the cams, but I would make sure you're absolutely positive that's what needs to happen before attempting it.

I'm not sure about the 3.0, but as I understand the 2.7t MIGHT be able to run with the timing belt off by a single tooth on one of the sprockets, but it's also very possible that a valve could have been bent if the engine was revved up very high if that were the case.

But to further help diagnose the problem, try and answer PaperToast's question without running the engine again. A timing belt being off-time, I would expect, would result in a popping or banging sound as the combustion pressure is leaving the cylinders before it's supposed to, probably even shooting flames out the intake manifold (not that you could see that happen). Other symptoms would be rough idle, sluggishness, misfire codes, probably more. But some of these issues could also be caused by other factors as well, so try and take this slow without jumping to conclusions.

[aintwlkn]

i know it is 1 tooth off, its the only issue the car went in for was a timing belt and water pump, the cams were locked the only thing that i think it can be is its out a tooth, i get that i have to pull it apart its just sometimes people have work arounds to shortcut processes like these i have found a few that are rather clever when it comes to setting positioning in these cars. it dumps fuel into the cats and tries to burn it off in them they were cherry red at idle. it blew the flex pipes apart from a pop, it will idle in neutral but not in any gear, super rough idle, super sluggish cannot move under its own power, i only turned the car on and coasted it to my house, never using throttle or anything, then hooked it to my truck and pulled it up my hill, didnt even bother trying to floor it and go up it, because there was no way in hell it could have. i asked the guy who worked on it he said it didnt feel right so he "Adjusted" the timing belt.. without asking me... so i know something has been moved, it has codes for multi miss, MAF and o2 sensors are missing, i hooked them back up and there is still some missing parts, the bastard who i paid good money to fix it fked it, so ive learned my lesson to just do the shit myself lol, when in gear the car just shuts off, when in neutral it idles, when u put ur foot on the pedal the rps go up but then sputters and dies, i have looked into the issue and the closest thing was a tooth off that i found that has all the exact symptoms, im not starting the car up again, i pulled the bumper and head lights off is there a way to set the fans off to the side without pulling the radiator... or do i have to drain that and then pull it?

[brokenwrench]

Yeah, definitely sounds like a timing problem.

First thing I would do is pull off the front of the car and engine down to the timing belt. I know the earlier C5's had "service position" where the radiator hoses were left attached. Basically, unhook the lock carrier from the frame and use the long bumper screws to hold the bumper dampers and slide the lock carrier forward on the screws enough to reach everything on the front of the engine.

Once you get the front of the engine off, there should be a locking pin that gets inserted into the crank at the bottom of the engine, kind of a pain to get to and you have to have the pin (available on Amazon for cheap). Once the pin is in place verify the cam position. If the cams don't line up, then definitely a problem. The next thing to do would be verify the direction everything needs to be rotated in order to get it all back into proper position - turning anything too far in the wrong direction might bend a valve. The timing belt tensioner should be usable since it isn't very old, but you'll have to get a pin to insert into it in order to release the pressure - people call it a grenade pin.

I found a youtube video explaining the process, a Bentley manual would be a good idea too.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uILhKQ1GTTY

[aintwlkn]

i added that guy to my facebook after i watched his video lol, thats one of the work arounds i was talking about, thanks for the tip too ill get the pin, and some cam locks, since the guy took mine. it will be going to court in a few weeks but still thanks for the help