T-Belt kit, OEM or aftermarket(ECS) ?

[mik15]

well it is time for this job, i have just bought the cca 3 weeks ago and it's now 70k on the clock, so i have decided to do the T-belt job this coming week, after i have just done the DRC, inner/outer boots on the front, oil change and filters...btw, what a PIA is that oil filter, didn't know it's so badly located, don't really know what the engineers were thinking when did the design...anyway....so back to the T-belt kit, my mechanic, which used to work for Audi, told me that it's better to stick with the OEM parts for this job and i do agree with him, but i have also seen people here buying the kit from ECS or Ebay, so my question is how good are these? especially the kit for sale on ECS? In terms of price is half than the OEM one, the original kit from Audi(including water pump[i will exchange my old one] and thermostat) is $1K plus labor will take me to cca $1500. Since the front end will come off i will also change one of the fans as it has started to become noisy when running and all the vacuum hoses, the small ones as they seem to be all cracking due to the heat...anything else i should do while the front end comes off?? Thx!

[hahnmgh63]

Many of the parts in the other kits are OEM suppliers, same as OEM just in the suppliers box and not the VW/Audi box. Most would say go with OEM suppliers, just becareful of some of the aftermarket parts which may suppy a bearing from China or such. The only thing I upgraded that I believe is better than OEM is a Gates Racing timing belt. Gates is one of the biggest automotive belt suppliers in the world and if they say this one is 600% stronger than stock I would say they probably aren't exagerating much. I don't plan on going longer exchange intervals it's just a piece of mind. One less part to ever worry about, and if a tensioner decides to lock up or such the extra strength in the belt maybe just enough for me to hear the problem and get the engine shut down before something catastrophic happens.

[mik15]

what do you think about the kit offered by ECS? is it good enough? it's the one(if not the only one) that i would choose over the OEM one....i wouldn't buy from Ebay for example...what did you use?

[Elevens]

Check Blauparts.com. Just did my Wife's 2.7T. Quality of Parts were OEM or better. The next time I do the RS It will be with one of their Kits. The Price is reasonable and they even supply you with necessary coolant, since they believe in a complete radiator Flush to extend water pump life......................

[JSRS6]

I went with an eBay kit, all OEM. No issues.

[QuattroRS]

Given your location and the potential problems with a ebay kit or known problems with ECS packing the wrong parts in the RS6 timing belt package. I would say OEM.

[Jones]

I'm going with the Gates Kit ($248). Anyone know the reasonable hours for this service for an independent shop?

http://www.1aauto.com/1A/TimingBelts/Audi/RS6/GAEEK00068/498478?utm_campaign=gb_api_nobr&utm_medium=comparisonshopping&utm_source=google_base&utm_content=EEK&gclid=CMGGzJ-I1a0CFUgRNAodE3uPnA

[hahnmgh63]

One of the things I'd be unsure of the Gates kit is what "Gates"? Is it the Gates of V-belts & Timing belts? I can't find anyone else on a quick search that sells this kit other than 1aauto and they don't list the names of the suppliers of the individual parts. I do like Gates belts to be sure but is this the same Gates and what about the other parts. I did go with a "Gates Racing" timing belt which is suppose to be much stronger than the standard belt as a bit of insurance but went with all new OEM suppliers for the rest of it (V8 Weights kit, NLA), plus all new bolts and studs for the crank pulley, crank bolt, water pump, and all tensioner bolts/studs. I would at least give them a call and ask them about the suppliers for these parts.

[Jones]

Hmm.. I didn't know there were different Gates in the automotive Industry. Check out the link below. That is the kit I got. And if you are implying that 1aauto put the kit together using Gates belt, they did not. The entire Kit, including all the other parts (water pump, tensioner, etc) is from Gates. http://www.gates.com/brochure.cfm?brochure=2256&location_id=3487

I'm unsure whether Gates manufactured it themselves or had other OEM make it for them (and if so, who). None the less, I would assume they would apply similar high quality standards for those other components as they do for the belts. After all, they are standing behind the product (everything in the kit) for 80,000 miles for RS6. All the parts appear and feel that of high quality, but who knows. The kit is going into my car this week. I'll let you know how it holds up...

Can anyone tell me what the estimated time for the timing belt service is? My Indy is quoting me about 12 hours. Is this reasonable?

[kday]

I don't know what the book time is, but 12 hours does sound reasonable. I don't work at nearly the speed of a professional wrench, but I'm at least 12 hours deep and am just starting to put new parts on the car, rather than taking things apart.

[Jones]

kday, thanks for the info; very helpful. What other things are you doing "while in there"? Only thing I can think of was the thermostat. Anything else? Good luck on your project.

[hahnmgh63]

I have no problem with Gates parts I just wasn't sure form reading the ad. As I said I swapped out the Continental (OEM) belt in my kit for a Gates Racing (Blue) belt. And by OEM I mean supplier, I would not normally pay for a dealer part just for the Audi rings on the part & the Audi/VW box.
As for your timing job I would consider the new bolts/studs as I mentioned, plus Thermostat, crank seal, and since your already there, a serpentine belt.

[kday]

kday, thanks for the info; very helpful. What other things are you doing "while in there"? Only thing I can think of was the thermostat. Anything else? Good luck on your project.

Absolutely do the thermostat -- that's why I'm doing my timing belt now (the thermostat is behind the timing belt). Besides that, just the water pump and the timing belt dampener. And the ribbed belt too.

[Jones]

hahn and kday, thank you. I ordered the ribbed belt.