gbmarc

I just purchased a non running 1.8t 2006 A4 Cabriolet where the owner said the timing belt had broken. Turns out the timing belt was slack but the timing marks still lined up. Looks like the tensioner went bad.
Now here's the $500 question:
I have the head off and there's no sign of any valve contact on the pistons.
I have a recon head waiting to go on, but I'm thinking that maybe I don't need it and I can save $500. How can I tell definitively whether the valves are good? Is a simple visual check that they close properly, good enough?
Anyone have some advice?

Mark

W261w261

Could you call the seller and ask him the circumstances that led him to his conclusion?

gbmarc

After considering all the clean up I should do on the original head, the testing to make sure the valves were sealing and now that I have all the new gaskets and have got this far, I figured it was better to put on the shiny recon head. So as soon as the new shoes for the Camshaft chain tensioner arrive, I'll be on my way.