The Circumstances below have Finally been"Resolved" in terms of parts and labor reimbursement by the Service Director andOwner at theDealership.
I am obligated to report this on behalf of the dealership, although my opinions of theire Service Manager are still my own.




Original Message:

Ok, I started taking apart the front of my A4 last night to start the WP and timing belt job at ~157K miles. After getting the radiator and viscous fan out of the way, I notice the WP belt is clearly much too loose. How did this happen? I started looking for adjustments on the powersteering pump to see if there was a bracket to adjust/tighten it, which may have come loose? There is no such adjustment...the WP Pulley comes apart,and when the two halves are put back together, the belt that drives the WPbecomes tightened in there. The belt is so loose that I can't hold it to take off the 3 socket head screws that hold the 2 halves of the pulley together. I was able to get a grip on the back part of the WP shaft backing plate with some Channellocks and loosen the 3 bolts.

Then it all becomes clear....the back half of the pulley was on backwards!!! It caused the wpbelt to slip like crazy for the last 70K+ miles!!!

I gotthe WP andtiming beltdone last time at ~85K miles at the dealer -Valenti Auto- Watertown, CT, where I bought the car. So for $1300. So it's 11:55 AM - the dealer closes at 12. I call them immediately and tell the service advisor, Brett, to not go anywhere and I'll be down there in 3 minutes. I showed him and this other guy, Bob the pulleys and the worn, cracked WP belt. I showed him how there was rust on the part of the back pulley that was facing the engine instead of making contact with the belt, as it should.

I am dumbfounded: 1. That the engine is still going with the belt like this for 70K miles.
2. That this happened when the dealership did the timing belt job back in 2005.

The service advisor asked me what I wanted done about it....?

First, I'd like my $1300 back that they charged me to do the job that was done incorrectly.
Second, I thought about this on the way home...I'd like them to pay $150 for the new AKG radiator I just had to buy.

If my engine overheated and seized up due to this issue, they'd be giving me a fresh 0 miles 1.8T.
I got my evidence in writing (since I need to get this thing back together - and they sure as heck will never touch another Audi of mine ever again) and the service manager, Rich, is supposed to be giving me a call on Monday.

Unbelieveable.......What would you all do if this happened to your car by the dealer? What does Rich owe me?

Here's some pics for you all to enjoy....that I will also be sending to Audi of America.

BTW...Like the 034 snub? It's in and fits tight.















_____________________________

Bogie

 

Crap dude, glad that didn't cause any problems!

 

WOW thats gotta suck

 

It is truly mind boggling that the car did not overheat on the first drive away from the dealership.
I'd shoot for the 1300 back... Although it did not cause the huge problems it should have, I think they deserve that slap on the wrist for letting a car leave their shop with such poor quality work done to it.

 

Sorry for posting in OT, but thought the TT and S4 guys would like to see this anyway.
I finishedmytiming beltjob -done right now by myself.

So I uploaded some pics of the job as I was putting my car back together.

Here's the RIGHT WAY a water pump pulley goes back together and how the belt is supposed to fit.


Here's the rest of the timing belt and tensioner, etc back on ... notice the 034 Motorsport Snub... looks nice but vibrates the car a bit at idle and low rpms. Maybe polyurethane motor mounts would help stop that, I know it's not good to mix and match engine mount materials.


For anyone else that wants to know what a K03 looks like and where the DV is exactly in relation to it.


My new AKG (made in Germany) radiator - Germanpartsonline - an AF sponsor, nonetheless.
That and a new wp keeps it nice and cool now at 200* oil temp.


And for anyone that wants a comparison between dense core and regular radiators. The same applies to the FMICs. The thin, dense, new radiator has much more cooling capacity than the original stock one. This is also why ebay FMIC's are generally cheaper and have less cooling capacity.


Well, hopefully I'll hear back tomorrowfrom the Service Director, Lou, and theycanwork something outwith me.
Thanks for the support guys.

 

good write up. thats so strange your car didnt over heat

 

Well before it was running ~230* and now its like 200*, but that's also with the new radiator. Although the water temp stays the same (straight up between C and H).

 

Bump for edit to first post.

 

Glad nothing got horribly messed up.

Nice write up, too.