Fan belt replacement (its snapped)

[SRRAE]

Well 4 months after buying the car where the tensioner and fan belt was replaced as part of the service, the fan belt snapped. Hmmmm, me thinks they did

Luckily I was only about half a mile from home and I was able to drive home without the battery going flat and without power steering.

My question is, in the UK (North West) roughly how much is it for someone to replace it? Or is it doable to do it yourself?

I've done timing and fan belts on other cars.

 

[EXSpartan36]

It's a bit tight getting the belt on and off but definitely a job that can be done at home. Take the alternator off and that will give you access to the tensioner bolt.

 

[SRRAE]

It's a bit tight getting the belt on and off but definitely a job that can be done at home. Take the alternator off and that will give you access to the tensioner bolt.

When I got the car it was in the garage for several hours doing the tensioner because they had to take the bumper off to do it. Is it a bumper off job to get to the alternator?

Is there a diagram of how the belt loops around the pullies anywhere?

 

[EXSpartan36]

To do the cambelt the bumper and front cross member have to come off as the is no space otherwise. I was able to change my tensioner and idler pulley without removing the bumper but as I say it is quite tight getting the belt on and off. You can get the alternator off without removing the bumper.

What engine is in yours I'll see if I can find a diagram.

 

[SRRAE]

Its A4 Technik, so I think that is the 2.0 TDIe. ( should update my profile )

The Cambelt does need doing in about 5000 miles. Should I do that at the same time? Is it much harder to do?
Again I've done a few cambelts before just not Audi.

 

[EXSpartan36]

The cambelt itself is pretty straight forward. Just a pain removing the front bumper and cross member.

 

[SRRAE]

The cambelt itself is pretty straight forward. Just a pain removing the front bumper and cross member.

I've only really noticed the belts are on the front of the engine and not on the side as usual with FWD, that will make it a lot easier to replace the cam belt.

Now I can see timing kits, belt, pullies, tensioner for about £150 does that seem about right?

 

[EXSpartan36]

Yea that sounds about right. Once the front end is off the job is alright.

 

[SRRAE]

Yea that sounds about right. Once the front end is off the job is alright.

Last question..... for now.

Is there any brand or timing belt kit I should go for or avoid?
The ones I see and heard of are Bosch and Gates.

 

[EXSpartan36]

You want either INA or Dayco. INA is what Audi fit from factory. Both are decent makes tho.

 

[rum4mo]

There is a Haynes workshop book available for these cars, well the diesel engined ones, which might help you out a bit, typically I've always found the auxiliary belt routing shown in parts catalogues that you can find on line.

 

[666markyboy]

Can the front bumper not be moved into a service position like all the older A4's ?? I'm new to this model so not done any significant work on it yet but the older ones you could pull all the front end forward about 6 inches, radiators and all for access to ancillary belt and cam belt

 

[EXSpartan36]

Can the front bumper not be moved into a service position like all the older A4's ?? I'm new to this model so not done any significant work on it yet but the older ones you could pull all the front end forward about 6 inches, radiators and all for access to ancillary belt and cam belt

You can put it into a service position. This requires buying the special pins to do it.

 

[666markyboy]

You can put it into a service position. This requires buying the special pins to do it.

just bits of threaded bar on the old ones , nothing fancy , good to know , thanks

 

[A4B82.0tfsi-12]

Don't you have warranty on the service?

 

[jdp1962]

Don't you have warranty on the service?

Good point; if the new belt was only fitted four months ago, it's definitely worth going back to the garage that did the work and asking it to re-do it free of charge.

 

[SRRAE]

Good point; if the new belt was only fitted four months ago, it's definitely worth going back to the garage that did the work and asking it to re-do it free of charge.

I don't think they replaced the belt. I think the guy was penny pinching and told them to just replace the tensioner, the more expensive part. Plus I have a car with no power steering and alternator not charging the car and the garage is 40miles away.

 

[SRRAE]

I'm really struggling here. There's not much room to work with.

The belt I got is a 6PK1580S Dayco. I got this from a local motorfactors and when I search online it does say its for my car, based on my number plate.

However I have got it on but there is WAY too much slack. Does anyone know how it should go round the pulleys? I've trying to find a diagram but I'm struggling.

Thanks

 

[rum4mo]

If you are still having a problem, look up the on line EKTA parts site and look under the electrical section as that is where the belt layout is, or at least a rough schematic which you can work on and make it a bit clearer.

 

[SRRAE]

The top left diagram seems to be the correct one, but when I route it that way the belt is way way too slack. As it could go round another pulley.

However everywhere online says the length of the belt should be 1580mm

The car is a Tecnhik so has the TDIe, engine. Is there any difference between a TDI and a TDIe engines or is it all software driven?

 

[rum4mo]

Did you get this sorted out in the end?

 

[AudiLeon]

I recently changed my fan belt due to a split running the full length of the belt. I noticed last week the new one has done the same.
Upon inspection the pulleys are SUPER worn out on the inside causing the belt to be bent when they go round the tensioner and the idler pulley.

The pulley is so worn i couldn't work out the replacement cause it looked like there should be a guide lip on the inside. It's just that bad. I'll get a photo this week.

 

[SRRAE]

In the end I got a slightly longer belt to fit. Since I changed it I noticed the power steering is a lot better and the stop start activates for much longer, I think the previous belt was slipping a lot.

The belt slips for a fraction of a second when I start up but it will do me until I get the cambelt changed later in the year.

 

[AudiLeon]