BukkakeRocky

is it a good idea to change the water pump and timing belt at 60000 miles?

LCP

yes

®ob

Change the thermostat as long as you are in there too.

Black2001S4

How much do dealerships usually charge for this??? How hard is it to do yourself???

ryans4

...the timing belt isn't the easiest thing to get to.

Remove front bumper
Remove radiator assembly (or at least get it out of the way)
Remove harmonic balancer and main belt
Remove the 3 covers (dust shields for the timing belt/pulleys)
Set the engine (TDC on i believe cylinder 1)
Loosen the timing belt tensioner
Replace belt (while you are at it, check the indexing on the cam pulleys to make sure they haven't moved at all)

At this point, yanking the water pump is probably pretty easy, though I can't say I've ever done that before.

Installation is in reverse.

Need to be careful with the timing belt in an interference engine such as ours. Better to replace the belt regularly, than break the belt and cause some serious damage.

Not sure what the longevity of the water pump is, but every 50k miles sounds like good practice for the timing belt and water pump. I'd add the fuel filter to the list as well.

BluDemon

Timing belt is scheduled for 80,000 miles isn't it? ...unless you race the car 80K is conservative

loanshark

yes it is, my water pump went out at 65K miles and timing belt began showing some wear.

Driving Excitement!

Your water pump will probably go before 80k. Most seem to be going around 60 - 70k.

TOUV

did this on my 98 A4-it was cheaper in the long run...

zapco98

105k miles actually