Timing Belt replacement indication?

**DonnieD** · 01-17-2009 10:22 AM

Simple question: Just trying to figure out if my timing belt has been done yet. When I bought the car, carfax showed no services after 60,000ish miles and the car is now at 112,000. I looked through all the old service records and nothing mentions the timing belt. I checked under the hood and saw a red sticker toward the lower left of the hood when it is fully extended open. The sticker read something like: "Timing Belt Service.. Werkstatt / Dealer / Concessionaire." Does anyone else have this under their hood? If not, I'll try calling all the local Werkstatt auto shops. Surprisingly, there's a few who share the name haha.

My last question is: I am buying the ECS complete timing belt kit. How much should I expect for labor?

Thanks guys!

**blmlozz** · 01-17-2009 10:25 AM

labor will run between 500-1000 depending on the shop, that also assumes that the shop will install provided parts, some are picky about letting their customers provide parts for 'liability' reasons. Just as with any other car, the only indication is records saying it was done, there's no other way.

**Matt Danger** · 01-17-2009 12:16 PM

You could remove one of the bi-pipes and timing covers and see what the belt looks like. However, even that won't give you an accurate indication of the belts age.

**blmlozz** · 01-17-2009 12:18 PM

Originally Posted by Matt Danger

You could remove one of the bi-pipes and timing covers and see what the belt looks like. However, even that won't give you an accurate indication of the belts age.

yeah, i wouldn't use that as an accurate measurement either, ususally if you see cracking or worn components it's way past when it should be replaced and it's a time-bomb at that point. Also, most of the 2.7T timming belt failures are acutaly water pump failures because the old sytles were made of plastic impellers and when they went so did the timming belts, which is why everything should be replaced when doing this kind of work.

**SonicBlur** · 01-17-2009 12:27 PM

If you're not sure, and the car has 115,000 miles, then it's best to just replace the belt and water pump. It's not cheap but it's cheaper than a tow and possibly a new motor.

-Mike

**DonnieD** · 01-17-2009 12:31 PM

Yeah, I agree. It sets me back a bit more from going Stage II but I have to remind myself.. How can I go stage II if my engine is destroyed?

I'm thinking about purchasing the JHM kit and DVD but I have VERY limited experience working on cars. Even with the DVD, is a timing belt job not for the novice?

**blmlozz** · 01-17-2009 12:34 PM

Originally Posted by DonnieD

Yeah, I agree. It sets me back a bit more from going Stage II but I have to remind myself.. How can I go stage II if my engine is destroyed?

I'm thinking about purchasing the JHM kit and DVD but I have VERY limited experience working on cars. Even with the DVD, is a timing belt job not for the novice?

timming belt jobs on normal cars are hard enough, I spent 2 days getting it just right on my mazda.. if you've never worked on cars at all then your s4 is going to be a nightmare, even with the experience i have (4+ years, two of which on my a4 and now s4) it's a pain in the ass, the front radiator support has to be removed and the interference design of the apb engine allows 0 room for error, the jhm video is excelent and detailed but it will still be no less than a 10/10 on the difficulty scale. that's not to say it's impossible, but it's a good idea to have a friend that's mechanically inclined, some extra emergency cash and a spare car to use.

just for reference, the water pump on my s4 just exploded at random, leaving me stranded and without any coolant I was lucky enough that it didn't take my timming belt with it and this was at 103,000.. you should make this a priority to avoid my situation, and possibly something worse.

**SonicBlur** · 01-17-2009 12:34 PM

Originally Posted by DonnieD

Yeah, I agree. It sets me back a bit more from going Stage II but I have to remind myself.. How can I go stage II if my engine is destroyed?

I'm thinking about purchasing the JHM kit and DVD but I have VERY limited experience working on cars. Even with the DVD, is a timing belt job not for the novice?

It's a little involved but if you're patient and careful you should be okay. Make sure you line up the timing marks and MAKE SURE that once you remove the belt, NONE of the timing marks move, i.e. cam gears and crank! If they rotate you have re-time the motor. If you can get a cam gear locking tool it will help you A LOT!

-Mike