[V8] Friction plate?

[dsaad at icehouse.net]

I agree on all counts.

My TB job, done at about 120K, most likely did not have either the friction pad 
or the spring/damper replaced at the 60K interval. The pad was easy to see that 
it needed to be replaced although I bet you could get by just with turning it 
over. The damper was getting sloppy. Not obvious until you held a new one in 
your hand. 

While this will hurt a little (OK a lot :-), I would give serious thought to 
also replacing:

front seal
front cover gasket - requires oil pan gasket - may as well do the upper sump 
too.
o-ring on oil doodah on front cover
o-rings behind cam belt covers
cam seals
oil pump seal and bearing
o-rings on the rear of the heads
timing chains
valve cover gaskets

This all adds considerably to the cost, but if you are over 120K miles you 
probably need some of them already. I ended up going back in to do some of 
these items, and failed to do the timing chains. I wish I would have just for 
the peace of mind.

Dave



Quoting "Buchholz, Steven" <Steven.Buchholz at kla-tencor.com>:

> This is a critical part of the timing belt tensioning mechanism.  I am
> sure
> that the part was not replaced by the PO's mechanic on #344, and it led
> to a
> catastrophic failure of the tensioning mechanism ... I'm *very* lucky
> that I
> didn't lose the timing belt ... and suffer the associated top end
> damage.
> Thank you to Audi for installing the pin on the 5-speed rear timing
> cover
> that keeps the belt from jumping teeth easily!  The friction piece fits
> over
> a pin that couples the tensioning force to the tensioning roller.  If it
> fails you end up with direct metal to metal contact on a sliding
> surface,
> which means a lot of wear.  In my case I needed to replace some of the
> parts
> in the pivot ... Keith saved my bacon there!  
> 
> As a result of that experience I also recommend doing the tensioning
> damper
> ... especially if you are on your second or third TB swap.  Since it is
> one
> of the key components of the TB tensioning mechanism I consider it to be
> fairly cheap insurance.  
> 
> Steve B
> San Jose, Kaleefohnia (USA)
> > 
> > Can someone please explain to me what the friction plate does 
> > and why it
> > should be replced during a TB job?  I have looked through many sources
> > and none seem to discuss this part.  I am getting ready to place my
> > parts order so if you can respond promptly I sure would 
> > appreciate it. 
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