1.8t cambelt!

[barrysA3]

hi all, my cars due a cambelt change. its a3 1.8t agu with 90k on the clock. its done 50,000 since the cambelt was last done and been 5 years so think its time. managed to find a gates kit for 55 quid, only thing is it doesnt come with tensioner damper. how important is it to change these aswell?

also hasnt had a water pump so gunna get a new one of those too as recommended by most people. any suggestions on which type? i.e metal plastic....

any help would be much appreciated!

 

[pgarner]

pretty important as if it fails the belt might as well have snapped. at best i think you will start getting errors

as for the water pump most will recommend the metal one but according to my VAG specialist the plastic ones were redesigned after alot of failures.

 

[lutonmatt]

what pg said

 

[obi_waynne]

I do mine every 50,000 miles (mine is also an AGU engine!).

It is vital to fit a new tensioner as well, you also MUST ABSOLUTELY change the water pump at the same time. (If you can source one get a metal one, the plastic ones are prone to fail.)

I do have a plastic one I could sell you (new Audi one and still boxed) for £23 (including postage & packing! It will be a private sale with payment via ebay if you are interested PM me.) I basically ordered a metal one and the garage ordered a plastic one so I ended up with 2!

 

[barrysA3]

ok any ideas how much it would cost to do the lot and whether its worth getting the parts myself? or just booking it in and letting the garage do the lot? cheers

 

[pgarner]

my specialist done the lot for just over £300

 

[barrysA3]

sorted it, costing 280 from a vw audi garage in bradford on avon. seems reasonable. some of places wanted 500, they were trying to charge 2 hours extra labour for the water pump!

this is off topic but whats the best engine oil to use in the 1.8t's? since mines been taken off the longlife service schedule at 68k its had 10w 40 semi, is that ok or does it need 5w 30 vw spec?

theres so many conficting opinions im confused!

 

[herb]

sorted it, costing 280 from a vw audi garage in bradford on avon. seems reasonable. some of places wanted 500, they were trying to charge 2 hours extra labour for the water pump!

this is off topic but whats the best engine oil to use in the 1.8t's? since mines been taken off the longlife service schedule at 68k its had 10w 40 semi, is that ok or does it need 5w 30 vw spec?

theres so many conficting opinions im confused!

i stick to the 5w 30 and get it from vw! believe it or not they are the cheapest place i have found! 5 ltrs of fully synthetic oil, oil filter and sump plug was just over £40

 

[barrysA3]

just over forty quid? i can live with that! cheers herb

 

[pgarner]

DONT USE SEMI !!!!!!
the 1.8t has a sludge issue iff the wrong oil is used. i did find that i run lower temps with 5w-35 (miht have been 30) from amsoil but at £15 more dont think it was worth it.


as for the £500 yup doesnt surprise me VW didnt want far off that for mine

 

[obi_waynne]

I'll third that. A good Audi spec oil is all I put in mine. I get the long life oil from Audi and change it every year (9000 miles).

Have a look at Opei oils site they have a wide range of suitable oils for the 1.8T engine.

As it was filled up with Semi Synthetic I'd be tempted to do an oil flush first and clear it right out.

My garage charged me £400 for the cambelt & oil pump, it wasn't all that bad for prices round here, and I know that it was a pig for them to do, they had to take the engine off a mount at one end. It is about 2 hours labour to do the water pump but most of that is getting the cam belt off so it seems unreasonable to add that again to the cost.

 

[barrysA3]

i think some garages just make it up as they go along. the 500 quid quote wasnt even from an audi garage either.

as for the oil looks like im getting it back on the longlife! just asking because i asked at my local auto factors and they seemed surprised i wanted to put longlife oil in after it had been taken off the longlife service schedule and that it came up on their screen saying 10 40 semi.
surely its meant to be run on the right spec oil whether its on longlife schedule or not?

cheers for the info everyone, much appreciated!

 

[obi_waynne]

I took it in to a garage and they filled it with a semi synthetic oil. I got them to drain it and have another go! Picky me eh?!

 

[pgarner]

nope i would need to check my book but it should only be fully synthetic thats used - also not worth checking the handbook as its been changed quite a few times

doesnt matter if its long life or not as long as it meets the VAG spec.

 

[barrysA3]

worth being picky though waynne, especially with the sludge issues. save some £££'s later on!

pg mine needs vw 504 00 or 507 00 has it gotta be either of those or any vw spec?

 

[pgarner]

yeah it has to be one of those. one will be long life

 

[barrysA3]

is 502 spec ok?