bmlee007
April 8th, 2012, 03:20
So, I got the call from the shop when i had the car in for service late last year.
>>> "We fixed 'this' and 'that' but we don't have a record of your timing belt ever having been changed."
<<< "Well, I'm the third owner and it is a salvage car, I'm not really sure if it was done. Can you give me an estimate?"
>>> "Right around 3 grand."
<<< "Um, okay, that's a little higher than I expected." I had the same job done on my 2.7T a year ago at the same dealer for $1350.
>>> "Well, you've got a high-dollar car, you pay high-dollar service." The same dealer sells Mercedes and Porsche.
<<< "Actually, I've been shopping the parts lately, I think I'll save myself a few dollars and do it at home."
Since that call, I've only put about 500 or so miles on the car, just turned over 50,000. I bought it with 46,000 on the odometer, having just been repaired after a front hit. The PO bought it at auction, built it, had a buddy paint it, and then drove it how it is supposed to be for a few hundred miles. When I bought it, I wasn't aware of the 35k rule, so I didn't ask. Buyer beware.
Fast forward to yesterday. I've got the box from ECS in the trunk, cam lock bar and crank pin from europaparts, a couple of forums worth of DIYs, and a cold. At least Jesus died on Friday, so I've got an extra day at home if i need it.
The change went as expected, took about 12-13 hours total. I had hoped to clear-corner the headlights and install my Cupra lip spoiler, but I had to take care of a couple other issues I had found during the work. One of which was that the driver's side intercooler was hanging down out of position and putting a kink in the hose. I had also bought the Wagner upgraded silicone hose kit, so I took the opportunity to change the upper hose on both sides. The Wagners are nice, good quality, and a great fit. I was concerned that they would be hard to install because of the reluctance of silicone to stretch over the intercooler fitting, but they were perfect. Just slightly snug, but free enough to slide on and rotate to the correct position. I only did the uppers, because there is some other madness going on under the car with coolant and transmission cooling lines that were put together half-assedly and are causing clearance issues. Those will have to be dealt with at a later date. I also found that the ribbed idler roller for the serpentine belt must have been damaged during the accident and is slightly bent. Not too much to keep me from driving normally, but I ordered one from genuine today, $142 shipped. So, I'll have to open things back up again at some point to replace the pulley and bearing.
I also found that the fog lights were being held in by cable ties, and that I don't even have any shroud to guide air to the intercoolers. I'm putting the wagner grilles on when they arrive, so the fogs are out for now, I won't be driving it anyway for the next couple of weeks, so no worries about a rock coming in that little bullseye.
One thing that did trouble me a little was that the driver's side cam sprung forward (clockwise) when I removed the belt. The cam seals weren't leaking at all, so I decided against replacing them this time. I'll be getting back on schedule with the T-belt change at 75k, a little early sure, but I'd like to be on the regular routine. (At my current rate, that will be 5-6 years from now.) I did mark the crank at TDC and both cams before I removed the belt, but color me surprised when that cam rotated. Color me red with the blood I lost from my right hand as well. Has this happened to anyone else?
I turned it back the few pitches that it rotated and put the cam lock bar on to prevent any further surprises. The rest of the work went very well, I spent some time cleaning before installing the new parts, put everything back together, filled the beast with some nice new pink stuff, and fired it up. No problems at all, went through the filling and bleeding of coolant until everything was just right. I finished things off with a trip to the car wash, then some lightly spirited driving through the twisties around home.
For those of you who are on the fence about doing this job yourselves, it definitely is NOT an easy task, but it can be done. You need the right tools, a good work space, lots of patience, and trust the material you find here in the forum. In fact, take a double shot of patience.
I bought the kit from ECS, good price, good parts. INA, SKF, Beru, Febi, Continental belts and a water pump with metal impeller. The merits of various kits have been debated in the past, some prefer Gates belts, I've used both in various applications in the non-automotive world for years and had good results.
That's my story, and I'm sticking to it. Pic or it didn't happen.
12499
>>> "We fixed 'this' and 'that' but we don't have a record of your timing belt ever having been changed."
<<< "Well, I'm the third owner and it is a salvage car, I'm not really sure if it was done. Can you give me an estimate?"
>>> "Right around 3 grand."
<<< "Um, okay, that's a little higher than I expected." I had the same job done on my 2.7T a year ago at the same dealer for $1350.
>>> "Well, you've got a high-dollar car, you pay high-dollar service." The same dealer sells Mercedes and Porsche.
<<< "Actually, I've been shopping the parts lately, I think I'll save myself a few dollars and do it at home."
Since that call, I've only put about 500 or so miles on the car, just turned over 50,000. I bought it with 46,000 on the odometer, having just been repaired after a front hit. The PO bought it at auction, built it, had a buddy paint it, and then drove it how it is supposed to be for a few hundred miles. When I bought it, I wasn't aware of the 35k rule, so I didn't ask. Buyer beware.
Fast forward to yesterday. I've got the box from ECS in the trunk, cam lock bar and crank pin from europaparts, a couple of forums worth of DIYs, and a cold. At least Jesus died on Friday, so I've got an extra day at home if i need it.
The change went as expected, took about 12-13 hours total. I had hoped to clear-corner the headlights and install my Cupra lip spoiler, but I had to take care of a couple other issues I had found during the work. One of which was that the driver's side intercooler was hanging down out of position and putting a kink in the hose. I had also bought the Wagner upgraded silicone hose kit, so I took the opportunity to change the upper hose on both sides. The Wagners are nice, good quality, and a great fit. I was concerned that they would be hard to install because of the reluctance of silicone to stretch over the intercooler fitting, but they were perfect. Just slightly snug, but free enough to slide on and rotate to the correct position. I only did the uppers, because there is some other madness going on under the car with coolant and transmission cooling lines that were put together half-assedly and are causing clearance issues. Those will have to be dealt with at a later date. I also found that the ribbed idler roller for the serpentine belt must have been damaged during the accident and is slightly bent. Not too much to keep me from driving normally, but I ordered one from genuine today, $142 shipped. So, I'll have to open things back up again at some point to replace the pulley and bearing.
I also found that the fog lights were being held in by cable ties, and that I don't even have any shroud to guide air to the intercoolers. I'm putting the wagner grilles on when they arrive, so the fogs are out for now, I won't be driving it anyway for the next couple of weeks, so no worries about a rock coming in that little bullseye.
One thing that did trouble me a little was that the driver's side cam sprung forward (clockwise) when I removed the belt. The cam seals weren't leaking at all, so I decided against replacing them this time. I'll be getting back on schedule with the T-belt change at 75k, a little early sure, but I'd like to be on the regular routine. (At my current rate, that will be 5-6 years from now.) I did mark the crank at TDC and both cams before I removed the belt, but color me surprised when that cam rotated. Color me red with the blood I lost from my right hand as well. Has this happened to anyone else?
I turned it back the few pitches that it rotated and put the cam lock bar on to prevent any further surprises. The rest of the work went very well, I spent some time cleaning before installing the new parts, put everything back together, filled the beast with some nice new pink stuff, and fired it up. No problems at all, went through the filling and bleeding of coolant until everything was just right. I finished things off with a trip to the car wash, then some lightly spirited driving through the twisties around home.
For those of you who are on the fence about doing this job yourselves, it definitely is NOT an easy task, but it can be done. You need the right tools, a good work space, lots of patience, and trust the material you find here in the forum. In fact, take a double shot of patience.
I bought the kit from ECS, good price, good parts. INA, SKF, Beru, Febi, Continental belts and a water pump with metal impeller. The merits of various kits have been debated in the past, some prefer Gates belts, I've used both in various applications in the non-automotive world for years and had good results.
That's my story, and I'm sticking to it. Pic or it didn't happen.
12499