Maintinence in Preparation for Road Trip

[supermcnasty]

I bought a 2010 a4 quattro automatic last week. The following is the first installment of a series I plan to continue as I prepare my newly acquired vehicle for a (roughly) 750mi road trip back to school this fall, and all of the driving that I'll want to do once I get there.

My car had 101,800mi on the dash when I got it, without having had the timing chain or the water pump replaced yet. Accordingly these items sit right about on top of my priorities list for having a reliable car this fall. However, since I just put a dent in my wallet buying the car I figured I would take care of the basics before I get my next paycheck.

Today, out of necessity for a project, I decided to grab some spark plugs, oil, and an oil filter. I have 4 r8 ignition coils on the way, though excitement kept me from waiting to do the spark plugs until they got here.

1st pic shows some of my DIY setup

2nd pic is a little more of it

3rd pic - my gf decided to hang out in the passenger seat while I monkeyed around under the hood

I waited until a little later in the day before changing the oil and filter.

4th pic shows what I used

EXTRA:

So far (in addition to what I described above) I've plasti-dipped my emblems and grill, and ordered an injen intake as well as rs4 honeycomb fog light grills for airflow. I plan to order a timing chain + tensioner replacement kit next.

5th & 6th pics show grill and rear emblem (excuse the poor quality, I'll take some good daytime pics when I get the chance)

More updates + pictures stay tuned20210706_143902.jpg20210706_143937.jpg20210706_143953.jpg20210707_001612.jpgJPEG_20210707_005851_8980677182150845450.jpgJPEG_20210707_005959_4665356157995517779.jpg

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[19birel]

Good on you for knocking out the maintenance! If the water pump hasn't been done I'd take care of that as well!

[supermcnasty]

Good on you for knocking out the maintenance! If the water pump hasn't been done I'd take care of that as well!

That'll be next after the timing chain, going to grab one of those aluminum water pumps for added reliability

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[supermcnasty]

Since my last post, I've endured the process that is ~replacing the timing components~

Out of curiosity, I used my dad's OBD Eleven to check the intake cam phase adaption just before tackling the job, and noted it to be at 6.25°. I didn't take many pictures throughout the process as I was pretty focused, though I do have these before and after pics of the timing assembly

note: I had to re-use the oil pump tensioner and guide as my kit did not come with a new one.

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1st pic shows what I was greeted with when I took the timing covers off

2nd pic shows what it looked like just b4 I put the covers back on

3rd pic is a backed up pic showing more of the car, notice my laptop (top middle) ready with a youtube tutorial

This was my first time taking on a car-related project of this caliber. With a little help from my dad, who has about as little experience as me though the same mechanical inclination, and a bunch of assorted Youtube videos and forum posts, I timed this damned thing. I felt amazing upon completion.

For reference I used this tool kit from Amazon https://www.amazon.com/DPTOOL-Engine.../dp/B07SPW3G28 and this component kit from Urotuning https://www.urotuning.com/products/t...SABEgIFKfD_BwE

My upper timing cover gasket was actually in great condition so I re-used it. As for the lower, I used Permatex Ultra-Black.

A few more notes:
-CEL was on previously, but turned off shortly after turning the car on post-job I wouldn't be surprised if it decides to pop back on again (it's been four days now...no lights yet)
-Previous to owning this car, I had never done any work on any cars ever (bought the car about a month ago now). I am a 19y/o bike mechanic and student, and I must say it feels great to have been saving many dollars on maintenance already. This forum has been a lot of help to me so far.
-I now have an oil leak which I believe to be coming from the lower timing cover, though I'm not particularly thrilled to take the car apart again. It seems to only leak when the car is off, because I've witnessed it leak while the car is off, and then witnessed it not leak at all (as long as I watched it) while running. I suppose I can try getting at it from the car's service position, but for now I've been throwing an oil pan under it, every time I park it with intentions to leave it parked for more than a short while. The oil pan is to monitor the amount lost, and keep from leaving puddles all over lol.
-unfortunately I also snapped that stupid plastic hood lever off a couple days after putting everything back together, so I can't actually top the car off until my new ~billet aluminum~ ECS lever comes. While on this topic...what the heck man! ECS has the market cornered on this hood release upgrade! I was unable to find a cheap Ebay knockoff, and accordingly had to bite the bullet and pay $75?!? for a dumb frhghn aluminum chunk inscribed with those three overpriced letters. Not to mention, a decent dipstick costs $60? sheesh. Excuse my rant.

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Pic shows my ECS order

I also ordered roof rails for the car to make bringing my bike down to school easier...more on that when they arrive.

Thanks for reading

[19birel]

Nice job! How long did it take you?

From what I understand the lower timing cover often get bent during the removal process and doesn't seal nicely when it's put back on. I'm still waiting for some free time to do this job but ordered the lower timing cover in anticipation of this. ECS has one from Febi that's a reasonable price iirc.

[supermcnasty]

Nice job! How long did it take you?

From what I understand the lower timing cover often get bent during the removal process and doesn't seal nicely when it's put back on. I'm still waiting for some free time to do this job but ordered the lower timing cover in anticipation of this. ECS has one from Febi that's a reasonable price iirc.

Honestly took around 8 hours total, but that's because I completely removed everything in front of the engine, and I needed to borrow a few tools from a neighbor. If you have all of the appropriate supplies and don't have to sit around waiting, you're probably looking at 3-6 hours depending on efficiency, experience, etc.

Obviously another factor is whether or not you use the vehicle's "service position" or just disassemble the front end entirely.

About the lower timing cover, now that you mention it I bet I did bend it a bit. I'll check out that replacement option.

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