Preventative Recomendations Relating to Cambelt

[Duke147]

Hi All,

I'm Duke and am new to the forum. I've had several old Audi's over the years and we have just aquired a new to us A6 Allroad C7 3.0 218 TDI version. I have always wanted one of these and it has not dissappointed. 

We spent most of our budget on it and it is still 10 years old, but we feel we picked well, not going for the lowest cost, nor the most powerful. However we did pick a vehicle with almost FSH with main dealer history up to circa 67k miles and regular local garage having serviced since then, whom seem to have mainly conducted simple services, last one performed Nov/24.

The reason for my asking is that I hear a cambelt is important and is due circa 100k miles which we are rapidly approaching. We do not have much spare cash, but it would be nice to keep this beauty on the road for another 10 years if possible, and so have decided that the cambelt is necessary.

I have already been reading the forum threads in the non-member status for some time and I think I have determined that whilst doing the cambelt, it is prudent to undertake some other works as the access labour could be more effectively used as opposed to finding issues reveal themselves soon after a sole cambelt replacement, but jobs that would have been comparatively cheap if undertaken at the same time as a cambelt change. 

I would really appreciate it if you guys would recommend any obvious preventative tasks to have done whilst having the cambelt changed please, rather than me ad hoc trying to piece together the various threads that I have read previously, because my research so far has not specifically landed on my particular vehicle model or engine.

Thanks in advance to all suggestions. This week, I'll obtain 2 quotes following the advice, one from the main dealer and one from our independant VW/Audi specialist whom actually seemed fair when I took my last car. I'm not hoping to blow the bank, but I feel I should be best advised before obtaining quotes so as to go in armed with a good idea of what is sensible way to proceed.

And finally is the cambelt a job for the main dealership alone, or is an independant going to perform the job properly every time, ie to replace all seals etc with new whilst doing it?

[cliffcoggin]

27 minutes ago, Duke147 said:

And finally is the cambelt a job for the main dealership alone, or is an independant going to perform the job properly every time, ie to replace all seals etc with new whilst doing it?

There are good and bad independants, just as there are good and bad main dealers. You will have to research the reputations of those near you for yourself. As a generalisation I recommend independants because they give better service and are more approachable. Often they are also cheaper. Bear in mind that independants survive solely on their reputations; unlike main dealers there is no central organisation behind them to prop them up.

[Duke147]

I like the independants generally, but although it was not an Audi independant, I once had a widely respected independant quote for an issue that didn't fix the job, followed by a second independant quote for an engine rebuild that wasn't required. This was on an older Porsche Cayenne which my regular garage said they didn't work on despite my good relationship with them, however I went back to my regular back street garage and sought their advice, they kindly accepted my bringing it to them and fixed it within 4 hours, apparently it was a brake servo pipe (i think from my poor memory) causing fuel ratio issues and very poor running, and the repair cost was negligable.

My point is that sometimes the main dealers benefit from group knowledge base and I would hope have a rulebook for exactly the parts that "should" be used to produce a thorough job.

Whereas as a non mechanic, I fear that an independant may re-use parts that would be better replaced ie gaskets and seals. I could be totally wrong though.  But it is the type of job that I feel is real important to get right as I believe is not cheap.

I will report back with quotes once obtained for the good of the forum.

[cliffcoggin]

35 minutes ago, Duke147 said:

My point is that sometimes the main dealers benefit from group knowledge base and I would hope have a rulebook for exactly the parts that "should" be used to produce a thorough job.

Whereas as a non mechanic, I fear that an independant may re-use parts that would be better replaced ie gaskets and seals. I could be totally wrong though.  But it is the type of job that I feel is real important to get right as I believe is not cheap.

You are mistaken. It is not so much group knowledge that main dealers have, it is a set of detailed instructions from Audi on how to do each job. The parts to be fitted, the time it must take, the charge to the customer are all laid down. Knowledge plays no part in the process, and if their computer says no then all bets are off.

However if you as a non-mechanic prefer to believe the marketing nonsense put out by Audi I shall not try to dissuade you. If you ask your dealer what he recommends should be done at the same time as the cambelt I have no doubt he will be only too pleased to make suggestions.

[Stevey Y]

1 hour ago, Duke147 said:

I like the independants generally, but although it was not an Audi independant, I once had a widely respected independant quote for an issue that didn't fix the job, followed by a second independant quote for an engine rebuild that wasn't required. This was on an older Porsche Cayenne which my regular garage said they didn't work on despite my good relationship with them, however I went back to my regular back street garage and sought their advice, they kindly accepted my bringing it to them and fixed it within 4 hours, apparently it was a brake servo pipe (i think from my poor memory) causing fuel ratio issues and very poor running, and the repair cost was negligable.

My point is that sometimes the main dealers benefit from group knowledge base and I would hope have a rulebook for exactly the parts that "should" be used to produce a thorough job.

Whereas as a non mechanic, I fear that an independant may re-use parts that would be better replaced ie gaskets and seals. I could be totally wrong though.  But it is the type of job that I feel is real important to get right as I believe is not cheap.

I will report back with quotes once obtained for the good of the forum.

Hi all independent garages buy belt kits, I can't even think of any I have used that just fit a new belt, new belt kit normally consists of cam belt, idler pulley, water pump, and associated bolts, they will if you ask them report back on cam shaft seals while its stripped and advise replacement or not, second hand gaskets are a myth as they self destruct on disassembly.

Steve.

[Duke147]

1 hour ago, cliffcoggin said:

However if you as a non-mechanic prefer to believe the marketing nonsense put out by Audi I shall not try to dissuade you. If you ask your dealer what he recommends should be done at the same time as the cambelt I have no doubt he will be only too pleased to make suggestions.

Tbh, I was asking here for any advise before reaching out to the dealership/independant to freely make suggestions.

Surprisingly, I just called Audi and asked as to the cambelt schedule and amazingly they stated that there is no cambelt schedule "until there is an issue". Wowzers!

Oh well, it seems the suspicions on the other thread on cambelt interval changes might have some weight. And for now I remain in the dark as a non-mechanic.

[Duke147]

BTW, I am thanking you all for responses, just being day 1, the forum won't let me do it per reply.

[Duke147]

32 minutes ago, Stevey Y said:

Hi all independent garages buy belt kits, I can't even think of any I have used that just fit a new belt, new belt kit normally consists of cam belt, idler pulley, water pump, and associated bolts, they will if you ask them report back on cam shaft seals while its stripped and advise replacement or not, second hand gaskets are a myth as they self destruct on disassembly.

Steve.

Brilliant, I shall take on board the advice to check cam shaft seals and also double check on the kit being as you say it hopefully will be.

[Duke147]

So after a litlle more research, it appears that 

3 hours ago, Duke147 said:

Surprisingly, I just called Audi and asked as to the cambelt schedule and amazingly they stated that there is no cambelt schedule "until there is an issue". Wowzers!

Well just in case anybody else think this model needs a timing "chain", it appears that Audi were correct and that it is not required after additional googling to double check Audi's advice. 

[cliffcoggin]

Are you now saying your car has a timing chain instead of a timing belt? The two are very different in terms of scheduled servicing.

[spartacus 68]

It is cam chain. No reason to replace unless you have rattle at start up. Regular oil and filter changes will help keep the engine in good condition, ideally around 8k miles. Ignore long life service regimes, that’s what kills engines.

If for arguments sake it needed replacement chains, guides, sprockets and tensioners, it’s an engine out job. Check out VAG Technic on YouTube. On performance Audi RS and S models, they are constantly stripping them down due to premature fault with rocker arms and needle bearings. 

In terms of maintenance then pretty sure this is 218 is S Tronic 7-speed box. Needs gear oil and filter change every 40k miles. Fuel filter every 20k miles. Once you get to 100k miles, treat rear diff to a fluid change.

Worth investing in VCDS even if you’re not spanner handy, as will pinpoint fault codes, and useful for things like coding battery, etc.

Gave up on main dealers years ago due to ludicrous costs. Find a trusted garage that knows these cars inside out. It’s got air suspension which is pretty robust.

[Duke147]

This is very much appreciated thank you Richard.

Just so's that I am understanding you correctly, when you say:-

23 hours ago, spartacus 68 said:

In terms of maintenance then pretty sure this is 218 is S Tronic 7-speed box. Needs gear oil and filter change every 40k miles. Fuel filter every 20k miles. Once you get to 100k miles, treat rear diff to a fluid change.

It's ok Richard, I just googled before wasting the forums time, got ya fully understood now, much appreciated!

 

[Duke147]

23 hours ago, spartacus 68 said:

Worth investing in VCDS even if you’re not spanner handy, as will pinpoint fault codes, and useful for things like coding battery, etc.

 

Funnily enough, and although not a VCDS (which I had to google), I had been advised by a friend to buy a OBD reader as LIDL had them on that centre isle and they were cheap and he knew I had a liking for cars generally. It has been very very helpful indeed. And journey number 2 in our new A6 had an engine management light pop up on the dash, P0101. MAF sensor fault. I was panicked until I read this was potentially just a sensor after googling.

I've never undertaken any mechanics type of work, but after my little research on google, I had the MAF out of the car and was spraying it clean with all I had, which was an aerosol can of circuit board cleaner, thoroughly dried with a cool blower (hairdryer) and replaced the MAF, and engine management light has not returned, albeit just two 35 minute drives since. 

I have to say I was pleased with myself having saved a trip to a professional. I might try brake pads next as the other car needs them.

ps The LIDL OBD reader has read every car I have every used it on, it is very basic, but it reads and clears faults. When it gives me codes, I have to google the codes, but for my light duty, it is good enough I think. 

However I am open to suggestions is you think a VCDS would be better and more indepth and still reasonable cost wise.

[spartacus 68]

No disrespect to Lidl and your new OBD reader, but you get what you pay for. You’ve bought an A6 Allroad which retailed new in 2015 from around £45k. 

Technically it boasts air suspension, bi-xenon headlights and a whole multitude of onboard diagnostics as standard, who am I to argue if you bought tea lights, XL jogger bottoms and the OBD reader all from the middle aisle! 😜

Appreciate you’re not spanner handy, but VAGcom or VCDS from Ross Tech is dealer standard software. Things have moved on. Dealers now use things like ODIS. Part of this is to remove DIY ability to access car data, and allows for engine management tuning, programming and so forth. In addition it stops the proliferation of stolen or broken parts being circulated as they are security protected and ODIS allows for parts to be read and enabled.

Back to VCDS, cheapest you can buy is 3 VIN enthusiast package, roughly £225 plus a laptop to run it on. You get genuine OBN reader cable and unlimited updates from RossTech. You can configure this for three cars. You can use it across Audi, VW, Skoda, etc. even the OBD device will receive hardware updates.

What can you do with it? Scan the car. At Audi they will charge you at least £120 for the same service. This scans all the modules on the car, brakes, air conditioning, air bags, electrics, engine, etc. It reveals faults, the time it was first registered and even the number of occasions if it’s logged multiple times.

I personally think it’s money well spent. I’m spanner handy so things like priming the fuel pump, releasing the rear electro-mechanical handbrake for changing pads and discs, re-learning sunroof or tailgate module if there’s been any work done. Coding battery, enabling revised functions, clearing TDC error codes or management lights, etc.

Fault finding its critical, otherwise you can throw parts at a car and find it’s not resolved. After a service you can reset oil service, etc.

If you rely on third parties, whether main dealer or Indy, then of course they will do this after a service, but diagnostics are an integral part of servicing now.

Thought I’d throw it into the mix as it seems the A6 Allroad should be around for a few years.