ltooz_a6_a8_q7

Hello all,
The water pump leaked @155K miles because of the ex-owner had the timing belt changed without the water pump. It was a bad experience open it up without proper tools. Anyhow, I got it done. The procedures on Audipages is great but I didn't read it carefully and it cost me 2 days.
The new water pump & thermostat are in and the engine runs as good as before. Here is the experience.

http://www.dognmonkey.com/audi/a8-d2...placement.html

Cheers,

S842

Excellent post documenting this work!

I just happen to be having the timing belt, water pump, serpentine belt, antifreeze, thermostat and various tensioners & seals replaced tomorrow at 42,000 miles. Doing it early in miles, but since I have an '01 S8 I'm worried about the age of the timing belt. I know if it breaks its a rebuild. Bought the kit at www.Blauparts.com for $549 and the garage is charging $700 labor. Fortunately, the garage owner has an A6 4.2 and does a lot of Audi work. Unfortunately, your car's prior owner lacked common sense and left you with this job.

ltooz_a6_a8_q7

Wow, you can get everything done for less than $1300, that's very nice. I think many owners when they replace timing belt @70K or 80K miles, they want to save money by not replacing the water pump because they will sell the car @ 100k or so.
My brother bought a 99 A8 @97k miles with timing belt replaced without water pump also.
Yes, the normal full job is about $2k-$2.4k dependent upon the shops or dealers. You got a good deal there.
My 98 A8 with 155k miles doesn't worth the cost of the job any how... hehehe. It's a great car, but it doesn't worth the money in open market. My wife loves to drive it and she will drive it until the transmission goes then we will junk it. It's not hunting or slip like a few of them on this forum. I would love to get an S8 with sport seats or A8L in the future.

Cheers,

S842

I've had an '89 Audi Quattro, '97 A8, '99 A8 and now '01 S8, so I like Audi. I do minor work, but don't have your ability or nerve with major surgery.

Called the garage and they are almost finished. Said car looks very good. Had the oil/filter and brake fluid (w/ ATE SuperBlue) changed too for a little extra. I supply all the fluids and parts, he does the labor. I treat my S8 well cause I plan to keep it a long time since I don't put big miles on it.

Yes, I think his quote was great. The dealer quoted $2,400-$2,500, almost like you thought. I fell over. When I got back on my feet I visited three independent foreign-car garages and got three quotes: the above, $1,400-1,500 and $1,600-1,700. Just goes to show that if you check around one can save a lot of money. Maybe a recession that makes businesses more hungry for work helps too.

Now I am thinking of a SuperSprint cat-back. I leave you with one of my favorite YouTube vids of this exhaust on a D2.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R4o9Shtnl3c

Enjoy.

DennisK

Hello,
I'm new here. I have a question if I may ask...I purchased a used 2008 Audi A3 2.OT with 95K miles on it. Runs great! Now after having it for 6 months now it has 118K miles on it. While I was driving on the highway it started to overheat. The "Coolant" warning light came on as the temperature rose all the way to HOT so I pulled off the nearest off ramp and to a gas station to release the hot pressure. I filled it back up with water as it cooled down a bit for about 20 mins. I proceeded to drive back on the highway and about 5 miles in the trip, it started to overheat again so I did the same as before and pulled off and to nearest gas station and refilled the water and waited a few minutes then proceeded back on the highway. I was able to make it back to my house which was about a 10 mile drive as the temperature rose to hot again as I pulled into my driveway.
My question is, I'm pretty sure it's the water pump so is it possible to just change the Water Pump ONLY and not the timing belt? HOW MUCH will it cost normally at a private mechanic for just the Water Pump? Thanks for your help folks!

Best,
Dennis

dgcantrelljr@verizon.net

I'm sorry, the waterpump is driven by the timing belt. There is simply no way around it as you have to loosen the timing belt to remove the waterpump. Period... You can cheat and just replace the waterpump but the labor will be the same price regardless of if you replace the pump and thermostat or not. I do my own and save the $1000 in labor.. Skimping on the timing belt items is just a risk that you really don't need to take. Once the belt snaps, you're looking at twice as much to get it fixed, minimum.

DennisK

Thank you for the reply and advice. I kinda figured that as I watched the youtube video. What about the coolant plastic hose? It that is broken, can that just be replaced by itself and not replace the belt and pump etc?
Thanks again.

dgcantrelljr@verizon.net

If you are referring to the plastic coolant pipe that passes in front of the timing belt covers, then yes, those can be replaced easily without disturbing any of the stuff behind it. Shouldn't be that difficult a job either.

Y888

Easily,its and 8hr job.

DennisK

It looks like it's just a thermostat. Thanks for all your help.