David Michael

Has anyone changed the idler pulley on an A8 timing belt(2001)?. This is the pulley that rides on the tensioner (left side of the engine as you stand by the grill). Mine is making a bearing noise. It doesn't look that hard but I hate suprises.

Thanks,
David

gondar

If it is the tensioner assembly proper I would replace the whole thing. I did as part of a TB job and Riverside Audi gave me a pretty good price on that part, as I recall. And the belt, too.

David Michael

Gondar:

Thanks, I got the part from my local (Pittsburgh) Audi dealer (good price). It includes the pulley and the bracket that rides on the tensioner strut. How much would I have to tear off to get to the part?

David

A8CT

change the water pump, tensioner roller, etc.

David Michael

A8CT

Thanks but all that crap was done 10,000 miles ago. I checked my receipts, and they did not change the tensioner pulley. I'd like to do the job myself if it's not too involved.

A8CT

really low.

Unfortunately, you do need to tear it apart to change the tensioner and then re-tension the belt. If you haven't done it before I would strongly recommend using the right tools to do the job.

I can't think of an easy way to swap just the tensioner pulley. Search my post "40v timing belt notes" if you decide to do it.

Bob

gondar

and just want to replace the one part, not the belt, you won't need the locking bar, cranklock pin, etc. You might want to sdjust the little bipin idler a bit but you can do that with tension off. Thermo and WP are major reliability items. Unsnap the covers and look for new parts. I think I may have posted a timing belt note abt six months ago. I rented A8CT's very nice tools.

David Michael

Bob and Gondar:

Thanks for the info. A friend hooked me up with an Audi tech who works on cars on the side. He's going to swap the pulley for me. From your comments I see it is not as easy as it looks.

David

gondar

watch him do it, if possible, takes the mystery out of it. it took me 2 hours to change the 12 sparkplugs on my wife's Mercedes, I couldn't even see some of them. A8 timing belt is no hassle in comparison.