Re: Self Servicing a6q???

[Andrew Duane USG <duane@hunch.zk3.dec.com>]

Hairy green toads from Mars made Todd Phenneger say:

> Heya everyone,
> 	My Father has a 96' A6q.  (Old body Style, 12v engine)  Anyhow,
> its got 52,000 miles on it now and so its time to think about the timing
> belt change on it this spring.  For obvious reasons I'm not looking
> forward to having the dealer do it and probably wont let them touch the
> thing now that its out of warranty (scheduled service anyhow)  Oil changes
> are being done at alocal shop due to time right now (I'm in shchool)  
> 	Anyhow, I want to take over maint of it.  First off, Factory
> Recommends Oil Changes every 7.5k miles.  This seems long to me.  Does the
> Factory use Synth oil???  Somehow I doubt it.  But for my Dads driving
> style I'm sure its fine.  But what else do they do at 7.5k miles.  do they
> grease anything???  Is there an A6 bently???  I assume there is.  Or at
> least some sort of factory manual I can get. (Im sure there is)  

No, the factory uses dino. I switched to synth on mine, and use 5K
oil change intervals, "usually" replacing the filter (I got
lazy last week). 7.5K is a little too long for my taste, even
with synth. I think 3K might be more than required though.

There is a Bentley for the A6, I have it. 3 VERY large volumes,
a little over $200 (OK, $50 over $200). Most of it seems to be
dedicated to "where to plug in the VAG1551".

But it's still what there is for the car.

> 	Lastly that Timing Belt.  I=5's are easy.  Subaru Flat 4-s are
> wierd and have 2-belts.  Where does the A6 fallin.  I've heard the V8 is
> scary to do.  (Very complicated)  Is the V-6 a reasonable Job for a decent
> home mechanic???  Special Tools??  Stuff to do while in there.  (I havent
> even researched this yet.  I'm assuming Water Pump just like the I-5 but
> have no clue) 

According the Chris, the V6 is a little tougher than the I5,
but nowhere near as bad as the 20V I5 (coupe/90Q20V). I will
pay someone to do it though, I just don't want to get into it.

BTW, if you read the book, you'll notice that the 12V V6
specifies a 90K timing belt interval, not 60K. The ribbed
V-belt gets done at 60K, along with some other things.

-- 

Andrew L. Duane (JOT-7)			duane@zk3.dec.com
Compaq Computer Corporation		(603)-884-1294
110 Spit Brook Road
M/S ZKO3-3/U14
Nashua, NH    03062-2698

Only my cat shares my opinions, and she's too psychotic to express it