[V6-12v] Timing Belt Change

[Kent McLean]

Casimiro Izquierdo wrote:
> I have other questions concerning my 2002 A6 2.7T twin turbo with about 72,000 miles.  A service employee told me today that the timing belt in this car should be changed at about 60,000 miles.  The dealer has told me that the mileage for changing the timing belt is between 95,000 and 110,000 miles.  This person also said that in order to change the belt, the entire front part of the car has to come off; including the radiator, the grill, bumpers, etc. He claims that because of this, the job would cost between $2,000 and $3,000.  This is the same amount quoted by the dealer.  
> 
> My mechanic looked up in his book the amount of labour needed to change the timing belt.  This book said 3 hours.  In light of the above this does not seem reasonable, but, this is the book that is used by mechanics to estimate the manhours needed to do work about which they are not familiar.
> 
> 1- Does anyone have any idea whether all these parts have to come off this car in order to access and change the timing belt?
> 
> 2- Are the costs cited by the dealer and this service employee reasonable for what needs to be done?
> 
> 3- If the dealer says to change this belt at 100,000 and it fails at 85,000, do you think that the cost of repair would be covered if the car is out of warranty?  Faulty part or manufacture?  
> 
> 4- Any first or second hand experiences, as well as anecdotal stories?

Boy, this is loaded... I'm not 100% sure about the '02 2.7TT, but...

1. On some Audis, taking the bumper off isn't that difficult -- 2 bolts, some 
electrical connections and it's done. And removing that stuff makes access to 
the front of the engine a lot simpler.

2. Seems high to me. The urV8, as tough as it is, is about $800 in parts and 
$800 in labor, replacing all the critical stuff (water pumps, seals, etc). $2000 
at a dealer may be OK for the 2.7TT; $3K seems high.  I was quoted about $900 
for the t-belt on my A4's 30V V6 by a local (Concord NH) independent Audi wrench.

3. That depends on the car, and I don't have #s for the '02 2.7TT in front of 
me.  The original V6's were good for 60K, then that got changed to 105K (or vice 
versa).  Another issue is age. The rule-of-thumb is 5 years. Assuming the t-belt 
hasn't been changed, it's overdue.  Since you don't have a written receipt, 
change it. A broken engine will be a lot more expensive to fix.

4. Ah, good luck?

-- 
Kent McLean
'99 A4 Avant, w/ quattro, V6, Tiptronic. "Yeah, Baby!"
'94 100 S Avant, "Moody"
'91 200 TQA #1, undecided
'91 200 TQA #2, up in smoke 2
'89 200 TQ, "Bad Puppy", up in smoke