Hello Audi community!
This weekend I replaced the timing belt on my 2005.5 Audi A4 2.0T Quattro (B7). I know there are some great write ups and even videos on how to change the timing belt, therefore I will not write a DIY. However I have listed below the major PITA steps I came across and some key details which I am hoping will help others along their journey. The things listed below are probably the most challenging situations you will run into so hopefully you guys can save time by doing what I did to overcome them. In order for any of this to make sense, please read up on a timing belt DIY first. This post is meant to be a supplement to other complete DIYs.
• Removing the 2 nuts on each side of the bumper which attach it to the fenders are a PITA. Best way to go about this is to use a deep socket with a long extension. Try to remove as much of the wheel well liner as possible to get access in this area. The passenger side is a bit easier than the driver side so start that side first. To create more room to work, you can either remove the front wheels, or you can simply turn the wheels away.
• The coolant line running across the front of the engine is another PITA. There is no quick way of disconnecting this sucker so just know that before tackling it. You must be patient, pulling and tugging right off the bat will not do anything. Get a pick set and slowly try to separate the hose from the metal tube. Work your way around the tube, start shallow and then go deeper around the hose. Be careful to not punch through the hose itself with the pick. You will know you are getting close once a little bit of coolant starts coming out. At this point put your gloves on and start to pull on the hose. I say put your gloves on because I tore my fingers up pretty badly when the hose snapped off and I hit the metal tabs.
• Taking the 6 hex bolts off of the crank pulley can be a major PITA. There are a couple of ways you can go about this. You can use a 19mm 12-point socket with a breaker bar to hold the pulley in place while you loosen the hex bolts. Or you can stick a screw driver in a little slot at the bottom of the car right by the flywheel and use it to stop the gears from rotating. You can get a friend to hold the screw driver in place, or if you’re working alone just stick the screw driver in at an angle and use a small jack to keep pushing the screw driver up in place. This worked like a charm for me. At this point, if you get lucky you will be able to take off all 6 hex bolts without stripping them. Unfortunately, stripping one of them will end you up in a world of hurt. If you do strip one, my suggestion is do not waste time trying to hammer, heat, cut, etc the stripped bolt because with the carrier still in the way, there is almost no room to successfully do any of those things. I suggest that you prepare to move the carrier out of the way as this is the best way to take care of the problem (please read below). Once the carrier is out of the way, I found it best to use a socket which just barely catches the head of the bolt but does not fit over it, don’t waste your time with hammering in another hex bit. I believe a 12mm 12-point socket works perfectly. Hammer the socket onto the head of the bolt until it is completely seated. The bolt-out sets simply will not work in this application! There is not enough clearance between the hex bolts and the main crank bolt to fit the bolt-out sockets. If you have an impact wrench, use it and the bolt should come out within seconds. If you use an impact wrench, you don’t have to worry about the crank pulley rotating. But if you don’t have an impact wrench, just follow the screw driver method above.
• Moving the carrier out of the way is another PITA because it takes a lot of time and some elbow grease. Start by removing all of the electrical connectors that connect the carrier components to the rest of the vehicle. There are two red and yellow connectors which are a bit tricky to remove. I suggest removing the sensors they are attached to, then removing them by pushing in the red part of the connector all the way up. Next, remove the hood release cable by simply tugging on it towards the engine. Now you have to disconnect the intercooler pipes from the carrier. Be ready with an oil pan because most likely the driver side intercooler pipe will spill out a bunch of dirty motor oil. Remove the bottom coolant hose fitting on the driver side from the radiator. This is a bit tricky to get out, best approach is to work it from the top and bottom. After taking the metal clip out, get under the car and use a long flat head screw driver and slowly pry it from one side and use your other hand to pull on the fitting at the same time. Once again have an oil pan ready because coolant will spill out. Unscrew the steering fluid cooler line bracket on the driver side to allow for more movement of the lines. Last step is to remove the two transmission cooler lines on the passenger side from the carrier. Start with the upper line, unscrew the bracket then twist and pull the line out. The transmission cooler line will not want to come out easily so try to pry it with a flat head screw driver again while continuing to twist and pull with the other hand. Repeat the procedure for the bottom transmission cooler line. For the bottom I simply put the flat head screwdriver on the bracket and gently hammered it out. Be ready with an oil pan because a small amount of transmission fluid will leak out. At this point you should be ready to flip the carrier flat onto its face leaving the AC lines connected. I do not recommend removing the AC lines because then you have to worry about recharging the system with more refrigerant which will cause you more time and money. Carefully lift the carrier off of the front engine mount and flip it onto something that will not drop it too far down. You don’t want to have the carrier pulling on the AC lines too much. Once the carrier is out of the way, you finally have full access to the front of the engine.
• Removing the crank pulley was actually quite easy. All you need is 2 long flat head screw drivers to pry it free. Work your way side to side with the screw drivers.
• I found it unnecessary to remove the spark plugs while changing my timing belt.
• I put on the timing belt starting with the crank gear, then tensioner, cam gear, idler pulley. I kept the belt as tight as I could between the crank gear and cam gear side. I pulled the belt over the water pump at the very end. This made it easiest to route the belt.
• When you are ready to put the carrier back on, the biggest PITA is reconnecting the transmission cooler lines. Please follow these steps because if you don’t, you will end up damaging the o-rings on the fitting. Clean the fitting and the o-ring to remove any debris. Use a little bit of clean motor oil and lubricate the o-ring. Then insert the fitting and rotate side to side while pushing it in. Keep doing this until the fitting is almost completely flush. DO NOT use the screw to drive the fitting in. The screw’s intent is to only hold the fitting in place once it has been installed.
• Remember the red and yellow connectors? Take the same sensors off again to re-connect the connectors. The trick here is to make sure you push the yellow connectors ALL the way into the sensor. If you do this properly, the red part of the connector will automatically snap all the way back out.
• If you have to pull or tug on anything, please put on some gloves beforehand. Unless you want to have some skin peeled off your hands and fingers.

***Mods, could you please move this thread into the DIY section, thanks***