Timing Belt Install - Driving Me Nuts!!!

[Tony Hoffman]

Done a few (I work at a shop). There is no slack in the belt. You
almost need a belt stretcher for the 1.8T's ;-)

I do the cam last on these. Here's my procedure. Set the cam and crank
(or just verify) they are at TDC. Put the belt roughly on the engine
as it goes. (Not on any pulleys yet) Then, put it on the oil pump and
crank. Then I unscrew the tensioner pulley a bit (about 1/2"). Then, I
put it over that pulley, and just barely over the cam, starting with
the side that comes off the tensioner. Then, using a small straight
pick, I guide it on to the rest of the pulley. It's a bit of a fight,
but works out in the end. Then, I slide it on the rest of the way
gradually, and tighten the tensioner pulley. Next, pull the pin or
bolt out of the tensioner. Then, roll the engine over and verify
everything lines up.

HTH,
Tony Hoffman



On Sat, Apr 5, 2008 at 11:11 AM, mkb <mkb125 at yahoo.com> wrote:
> Ok, so this is the second TB job I'm doing on my 18tqa (AEB engine code).  The first one about 3 years ago went fairly smoothly.  This is the second time I'm doing this on this vehicle.
>
> I've been trying to install the TB for the past few days.  Every time I install the belt the crank moves...arrgggghhhh.  It seems to move about 1 to 2 teeth.
>
> I put the belt over the tensioner pulley, then the cam, then the oil pulley and then the crank.  Their seems to be a little slack between the cam-to-oil-to-crank area.  I now tighten the tensioner pulley and when I do, the crank move about 1-2 teeth clockwise.  When I pulley the pin on the hydraulic tensioner, rotate the engine at the crank 2 revolutions and check the timing marks, I'm off by 2 or so teeth.  I don't geddit.
>
> I've tried rotating the crank back a couple of teeth but nothing seems to work.  How much slack should there be between the bottom of the crank and tensioner pulley and how tight should the belt be over the cam-oil pulley-crank?
>
> I've also tried starting the car with timing off but it won't start, so I'm thinking that I need to have the timing exactly right.  Has anyone done an AEB TB job and did you experience any weirdness.  Like I said, I didn't have any issues with the first TB job I did on this car.
>
> --
> mohammed
> 97 A4 18tqa - driving me crazy at the moment
>
>
>
>
>      ____________________________________________________________________________________
> You rock. That's why Blockbuster's offering you one month of Blockbuster Total Access, No Cost.
> http://tc.deals.yahoo.com/tc/blockbuster/text5.com
> _______________________________________________
> quattro mailing list
> quattro at audifans.com
> http://www.audifans.com/mailman/listinfo/quattro
> ---
> Watch this space for ads :)
>