Double O silly o'clock this morning saw me getting it all into one sock before driving the Trader's 8 of to MikkiJaynes unit for the cam belt change. Should have been a straight forward cam belt, water pump, V Belt and followers change. I had all the special tools (no I didn't) and access to Audi pages. What could possibly go wrong?
Well to start with the special tool that looks the harmonic balancer was missing.
Answer; Michaela fabricates one out of mild steel plate, tube and rod! Not quite 'just like that' but 2 hours work and we are off back on track, ish.
When the cam belt covers came off there were the dreaded white paint marks of doom.......................... Dezzy; whoever did your last cam belt, did they wear a Stetson?
By the time the cam locks are on, Bank 1 is a degree or more out and bank 2 is 3 degrees plus!!!!!
Then I manage to shear one of the water pump bolts off. The stud has to be drilled out. A guide is needed to keep the drill bit dead centre. What to do?
Back on her lathe, Michaela turns up a guide while I drill out the offending hole on the old pump to 10mm so that the turned up guide can be interference fitted to the old pump with a 5mm hole in its centre which allows Mikki to drill out the steel bolt run a tap through the hole and Robert etc.....
Reassembly is, as they say, the opposite of disassembly and by a lot later o'clock than planned I turned the key and it, as fully expected
, fired up.
What's more, on the drive home the engine was noticeably smoother with more poke. On the way over I got 19.7 MPG, on the way back I got 24.5 and the driving was a tad more spirited!
A long, and at times fraught, but ultimately satisfying day. The Traders 8 will get to the 250k mark soon and then Infinity and Beyond!
__________________
Conan (the Librarian)
Watch it if you dare
Currently,
2000 S8, Merlin Purple, Leather Pack 1, Winter Pack 1, SPAX adjustable suspension, AP Racing 6 pot front caliper, 385mm fully floating disks, EBC Yellow Stuff Pads, Black Diamond grooved rear disks and predetor pads, D2 Doctors Brake Block.
1997 4.2 A8SQ - the Projekt. 12 years and ongoing!
1997 4.2 A8SQ - Ming Blue. Restoration sat waiting; saved from the Scrapyard
2003 C5 Allroad 4.2Q - Cobolt Blue. Towing car. Laid up awaiting manual conversion.
2005 C5 Allroad 2.5TDi FE - Grey - Workhorse.
2015 Q3QS SLine - Daytona Grey. Lots of extras! Long Haired Admirals cutter.
Previously
2003 C5 A6 1.9TDI FWD - Loaner from
D2 Doctor Lifex
1997 S8 - Ming Blue. Loaned out and written off. I loved that car. My first engine swap after cambelt failure.
1996 4.2 A8SQ - Ming Blue. 178k on a cambelt! Trader's 8. Delivered to A8Parts at Lifex.
2003 2.8 A8SQ - powder blueish. Fill in for a while. Sold on.
1998 1.8T A4 Avant FWD. Ming Blue (there's a theme here), PEX for the 97 S8.
And a list of non VAG going back 40 years before I saw the light.