Kevin Phillips

hello everyone, any input is greatly appreciated.
2004 a4 1.8t quattro

Now into the painful details, Was driving on the highway and my engine just shut off. pulled over and got it towed back to my house.
the timing belt notches were shredded( pic below) i honestly dont know how this happens because the timing belt was still tight, when pulled timing belt covers the timing was tight, did the 90 degree thing and yep it was still good.
anyways my first question would be how did that happen? trying to avoid same mistake again. the previous timing belt had 45k miles on it before failing.
anyways my plan was to send the head to a machine shop and he said $10 for each valve and i have 13 bent valves, 13 is quite pricey ontop of the 250 for complete valve job
edit: that 250 was the first i called, and i know u can pick up a used head for 300ish but im also scared ill run into problems with that one aswell.

2nd question-i found a super cheap valve set on partsgeek.com they were $52 and that only was the actual valves.
my first thought is there probably trash but i really need to save money wherever i can. only reason im doing this job myself is actually cant afford to pay someone.
anyways anyone ever used cheap valves before? no modes, dont even get on it, its my daily driver that i gotta drive for another year or two.

3rd question- tear down was straight foward, took my time and got it off no problem. installing it is where im scared as hell, i understand before you but valve cover on you need to pour oil to lube things back up.
how much oil? 1 quart? edit: on another thread he said to put oil on the valves, idk where hes talking about because if its right where the spark plug goes wouldnt that foul the plugs?

4th queston- lets say i go with the cheap valve set, what else would i need for the machine shop to complete the valve job?

5th question- theres slight piston damage(pics below) how would i go about sanding it out? what grit paper? i know its okay hand turn over the block to gain easier access to the piston but should i be concerned with the dust going down the block inbetween the piston rings and down further?

6th question- i read on another thread that when installing its best to set the head to tdc and the block to tdc,then also read that you should go 1 tooth before tdc and both to counter when you tension the timing belt itll pull the belt and take it too TDC.
is that correct? or whats the easiest/safest way to go about reinstalling the head.

i ordered a new timing belt kit + head gasket kit + head bolts + spark plugs
i still need to order timing belt tensioner bolts + harmonic balancer bolts + water pump bolts + and a couple hoses that were on there last leg.


my apologies for being all over the place in this post, any input/advice is truly apreciated

Kevin Phillips

edit: so i read sometime the aftermarket water pumps sieze up, and waterpump that was in there actually spins freely better then the new one i have waiting to be put in. engine turns over very freely with the head off.

i now also have oil where my water pump goes in, the was left over coolant and a day later theres oil mixed with the water, im not worried about it because i assume thats normal with the head off but wanted to be 100% haha