Worth doing the thermostat, tensioner, rollers & belt etc?

[Quattro-Charlie]

Ok....babysitting some relatives dogs next week so have the whole week to work on the car....yay .. thinking what to do.

I've seen in the service history that in 2012 at 77k miles (90k ago) the water pump was changed so I'm assuming that hopefully a water pump with metal fins was used rather then another plastic one....opinions on that anyone, likelihood?
The car is an early 08 3.0 tdi q with the ASB engine.

I can't find anything to say that the tensioner, thermostat, rollers or anything else was changed....forgive my lack of knowledge as I've no idea if there's anything else that the poly v belt revolves around.... The belt looks to be in good condition so that may have been changed during the water pump swap though there's no paperwork to show it.

Driving the car there's no temperature problems...it reaches a touch over 90 degrees quite rapidly and stays there..Admittedly I'm only going on what the dash board is telling me. There's no unusual sounds coming from the area.

I have trawled the search function and google but can't find any schedule for when the belt of other things that should be changed...my last car seemed to be great until one day peeeeeeeep and it had overheated busting the head gasket so I don't want a similar thing happening!

So, what would you guys replace up front? The pump was renewed quite a while ago so I'm not certain if that'd need doing?

Lastly I don't have Bentley or elsawin so does anyone know of a write up to follow? And having swotted up I've learnt that the front doesn't need to come off (though I may follow gupstergs very good write up as my gaps are atrocious!) and there's a way to move things forward so the bumper's in a service position? How would one navigate that....

Thanks guys.

[zollaf]

replace the lot, do it everytime regardless.

[Quattro-Charlie]

Ok, other than water pump, thermostat and tensioner, which rollers should be replaced (I don't know how many their are). And is there anything else on the front that should be replaced? Even the belt if it still looks ok?

its an early 2008 ASB engine so I'm hoping that my crank pulley will be ok and not suffer from the vulcanisation problem? Can I just check that and maybe if it and some other things seem ok then not worry about replacing?....atm I'm squeezing finances enough as it is.

Regarding doing the work, can it be done without taking the front off? Maybe just remove the bumper as per gupstergs explanation and put the slam plate bumper in a service position?

[Quattro-Charlie]

Just had a look at the prices and I guess I'd underestimated what they'd be..... pre owned is looking like a not so bad option! Well maybe not.

How about this.....the tensioner is original so I'd buy a new replacement I guess, the same goes for the thermostat. But the water pump, rollers and belt.....do they have a replacement time frame? Is there a way that I can give them a thorough inspection and if found to be ok then re used??

[zollaf]

to safeguard a failure, anyone in the trade will recommend a timing belt kit from gates or dayco, or genuine, that will include all rollers tensioners, studs nuts and belt that should be replaced, plus a waterpump and the thermostat. you could risk the pump but be upset if the bearings fail in 5k miles and you have to do the job over again. replace the serpentine belt, its easy cos you have to take it off anyway. remove the bumper and put the rad/lock panel into service.

[Quattro-Charlie]

Am I correct in thinking that it's not a timing belt but they still call it a timing belt kit, right? So replace the serpentine belt and all the other things.....or else. Yes it's the best thing to do I agree. I suppose it's far cheaper than the discs & pads I just replaced...

I'll obv need to replace the coolant yes? And would that be with G12 or G13? Any difference? I'm finding difficult in locating a write up on how to put the rad/lock into service once I've removed the bumper....any tips or anyone know of a link that shows how to do that please?

I've only driven 500 odd miles in this car and it's costing me a fair whack of cash.... hahaha oh well.. Thanks for the help..

[rowdy-999]

The fuel pump belt is often referred to as the timing belt on these engines. I believe because it is toothed (but not timed)
Ive never heard of routine water pump replacement on the 3.0 tdi.

[zollaf]

yeah its a 3.0, so only the belt for the pump.... water pump isnt driven off a timing belt so change it when it needs changing. sorry to confuse... must learn to read.

[B5NUT]

I changed my belt, tensioner, pump and stat, got the bits from TPS.





One thing I would say is to check the crank pulley, as they are know failures and for some reason (most likely the new tensioner) the crank pulley failed on my car just after I fitted that lot. have to say the old tensioner was on it's way out required very little force to compress it to remove the belt.

I left the fuel pump belt, it was in very good condition, and the tensioner was still strong.

[Quattro-Charlie]

Ok guys thanks for replys...

so I'll forget the fuel pump/timing belt then...good. Back to serpentine/poly v belt, I'll renew the thermostat and tensioner for sure....water pump I'm not so certain of....was replaced at 77k done 90k since then and probably has the metal "fins"... it sounds stupid but if I can avoid the cost and put it towards perhaps replacing the rollers/idlers if they need doing then it helps me out. Is there some check I can do on the water pump...sounds silly but spin it around and see if the bearings are good maybe? On my old rx7 I just oiled it, span it around then it was fine....

Regarding the rollers/idlers....B5 you didn't see the need to change these? Again is there some inspection that I can give or should I just replace these? I think they're relatively cheap and are original so perhaps it's a good idea to replace them....what do you guys think? Is there a pulley kit that I can buy or just individually? Part numbers pls maybe?

After bumper removed....how does one get the service position? B5 did you have to get to this service position to do the work.....pls tell us how


About the Vibration damper on the crank pulley....well that's further expense.... how can I check it? Just look for reasonable condition no rust etc? I didn't a fair amount of reading I think and found that Audi fixed this problem on the later C6's from vin number WAUZZZ4F36..37..38... on onwards. Mine is a 4F5, I'm no expert in understanding vin numbers but I think mine is far later model....fingers crossed..haha, though I think I read lately of a few newer C6's experiencing this vibration damper problem.....opinions pls guys.

Once again, thank you thank you and thank you....my inlaw's a pastor in a gospel church, I'll get him to say a prayer for you all.... .....hahaha