I had a coolant indicator light on today and when I looked at the coolant level it was completely empty. I topped it off with the coolant and saw that it was leaking from the bottom. I took to a mechanic and he said the water pump is leaking and it should be replaced and also the timing belt. He said the total charges along with the parts will cost around 985 Plus tax.

Is it true that we have to change the timing belt when there is a leak in the water pump? I was actually in a plan to trade this car in but I was so unfortunate this happened. The mechanic said it is not a good idea to drive.

Mine is Audi A4 2.8 Quattro (5 Speed) 2001 with 75k Miles. Appreciate all the inputs.

 

Yeah usually they do the WP/TB at the same time because its easier to do them together. No you shouldn't drive the car like that are else you'll probably ruin the engine, and if the TB breaks you're all kinds of boned.

985 is pretty high though, look around and you should be able to get it done for 700 or so

 

Agreed - since you're already in there, it's almost silly not to do the TB and tensioner (don't forget that!), as well as the idler roller and serpentine belt, and the thermostat. You don't want to pay all the labor to go in there and then omit those, only to have to do them in the future and pay the labor again.

 

you have to do one to do the other

 

It would be foolish to replace wp and not the tb. The tb must be (at least partially) removed to replace the wp. Don't cheap out, it could cost far more in the future.

 

Thank you all for your valuable inputs.

I apologize for the delayed response as I was out of town for the long weekend. I called the dealer on Friday and he quoted $760 plus tax for the water pump and timing belt change including the parts and labor. I thought it is a good deal so I towed my car from this mechanic to the dealer.

The dealer called in today and told there are bunch of problems in my car. First, he said he recommends changing tensioner and some kind of belt (sorry don’t remember the name) ($150 + $40 for parts) and the labor will be covered in the timing change. After that he said my engine oil, power steering fluid is leaking and most of the gaskets need to be replaced as the car is in its 7th year. To replace the gasket’sthe cost will be $1100 including labor and parts. He also mentioned that one of the tierod is gone and I have to replace that too. By looking at all the cost I see that I will end up paying close to 3000$.

I am not sure what should be done at this point as spending 3k is like 35% of my cars trade-in value. Do you guys recommend trading the car? Or do guys recommend fixing the car and keep it?

Please help!!!

 

The timing tensioner is part of the timing belt service. There's also the serpentine belt up front, which drives your accessories (alternator, power steering pump, and AC compressor) - that's probably the additional belt he's talking about. As for the gaskets, have him list the ones he means, and show you why each needs replacement. Oil-sealing gaskets, if they need replacement, should show signs of seepage/leakage. If he mentions valve cover gaskets, do them yourself - they're laughably easy and cost $50 for the pair of them. You can seriously do the whole job your first time in less than an hour and it'll save you a ton of money on its own. Cam seals and the like should be done by them, as they're doing the timing belt, and it has to be off for cam seals to be accessible, but that again should be part of the job, not an extra. Also have him show you why the tie-rod needs to be changed (put it in the air, and show you both sides, so you can see the difference in their condition, and he can show you what is wrong with the bad one and why it has to be changed). It would help if you have a "car guy" friend go with you, in case the dealership tries to give you a load of s**t - he can spot it and intervene.

 

wellll one question...when you wake up and go driving do you think about other cars? does everything make you bitter?or do you have daymares about how yours could be better? if this is the case i would trade it. if not then why not keep it? ( i get looots of daymares but i love my Audi and just cant see selling it no matter how mad my Audi Makes me!)

 

Thank you so much UpstateNY. You are very helpful and I decided to keep my car after reading your post rather trading it for 6500$ (dealer quoted as trade-in value). When I spoke to the dealer this morning he said tensioner is part of the timing change but there are two tensioners and only one is covered under the timing change but the other one is going bad and need to be replaced which cost $150. Do we really have two tensioners?

Thanks for the suggestions; I will definitely ask him for the return estimate on the gaskets. One more question; if all these problems were fixed do you think of any other problems that will show up at this time (75k miles) like clutch or similar problems?

Again appreciate all your valuable suggestions. You guys are great!!!

 

Glad it helps and glad you're going to keep the car There are two tensioner-related parts listed for the service - the tensioner and the tensioner roller. You might ask them if you could have them install parts that you supply (it's a long shot though - they make a killing on parts), but if they will, you could order the ultimate timing kit from www.ecstuning.com - it's about $250 and includes both belts, the idler roller, tensioner roller, tensioner, water pump w/ gasket, and thermostat. I'd really advise you to find an independent shop though, one that specializes in European cars - often they're less expensive than a dealer and more willing to install customer-supplied parts. The dealer you're dealing with wants $150 for one part, when for an extra $100 you could supply every part needed to a mechanic at a Euro shop and just pay them for labor. It seems that typically (on here at least), indie shops are charging around $700ish for parts and labor on the t-belt job. You might also want to change the spark plugs - they're going to be about ready for replacement with that mileage - and normal fluid and filter changes would be good to do at this point. Those you can easily handle in your driveway with a $7 tool kit from a gas station.

As for other issues, what I can think of would be: ball joints (which means control arm replacement, as the ball joints are not independently replaceable), wheel bearings, and cruise control failure. None of these necessarily will happen, but they're known problem areas on these cars and you may be seeing issues with them in the upcoming 25k miles. As for the clutch, that depends entirely on the treatment it's had. Mine was babied its whole life, and at 155k miles, I'm still on the original clutch, which shows zero signs of failure or wearing out. That one's a crap shoot - if the car was beaten on by it's previous owner, maybe it'll go, but if it's been treated well, my car is a rolling testament to the potential longevity of the OEM clutch. Hopefully yours is too.

Spend some time browsing through the DIY procedures in the DIY forum here, as well as at www.audidiy.com and the Tech area of www.audiworld.com and you may find that many maintenance jobs you'd normally have someone do, are in fact very easily done at home, saving big money over the long haul...plus it's fun and you know you'll do it right because you have a vested interest in your car's functioning properly