[s-cars] Preparing for next timing belt change...

[Wayne Dohnal]

"300000kms which may be beyond EOL"

Sheesh, it's just getting broken in at this point.  Mine has 205k miles, 
~341,000 kilometers, and I think there are a bunch around with a lot more. 
I'm planning on at least 300k miles.  I just don't see any comparable 
replacement vehicles without getting a slushbox.

I can't help it any more about chiming in about the fan bearing.  When I did 
the last timing belt change I noticed that the fan bearing felt and sounded 
totally dry.  I must have the replacable bearing because I was going to buy 
a new one p/n 077 115 136 A, which cost $107 a bit over 2 years ago.  I took 
the bearing to a professional mechanic friend of mine for his opinion if I 
should replace it, and he said he thought it was a waste of money and I 
should just pack it with grease.  As I was saying 'huh' and giving him the 
deer-in-the headlights stare, he popped the plastic side off the bearing 
with a pocket knife, said to fill it with grease, and replace the plastic. 
With some fear, I did this, also using a dab of RTV silicone where the knife 
had dinged up the plastic.  I did the same thing to the serp belt tensioner 
bearing.  This sounds risky to me, but in reality, I don't think the bearing 
is going to fail without making a bunch of noise first.  Nothing I did 
compromised its mechanical integrity.  It's been 15,000 miles since then and 
all is well.  I give the fan a wobble test occasionally and the bearing 
still feels good.  I'm not recommending this to anybody, just throwing it 
out as a 'do it at your own risk' alternative.

Wayne
1994 S4