Timing belt

[audinut]

just looking through my history i see my timing belt was changed 5k ago but in april 2009 - what would you guys consider a good age to be replacing it as this april its three years old

[robo]

just looking through my history i see my timing belt was changed 5k ago but in april 2009 - what would you guys consider a good age to be replacing it as this april its three years old

As long you don't have power steering pump leaks you will be good for few more years or at least 40k.

[audinut]

nope think my pump is all ok apart from being a tad noisy sometimes , i presume that if it leaks the oil ends up near or on the timing belt?

[mcandmar]

I always change them ~5 years regardless of mileage.

[K Simmonds]

I always change them ~5 years regardless of mileage.

That's good advice.

[psiconauta911]

If you do more than 15kmiles a year changing it once every 5 years can be a risk due to excessive milage.

Audi says you should change it every 90Kkm(+/- 55Km) or every 7 years which ever cames first! That is for Portugal it may differ in other countries.

[Mikes2]

All new Audis are now 4 years regardless of miles for engines with a timing belt.

[Fat Audi 80]

Mine has been on 7 years but only done 40k miles. It is being changed this year as I am scared!

[s2driveruk]

yeah that needs to be changed asap...I did mine in 2010 and it had been on 6years with similar miles didnt look too bad but you never know what condition it really is in until its too late

[Fat Audi 80]

I have been spraying it with AG Rubber Care, it will be fine.

[s2driveruk]

is that from www.wingandaprayer.com?

[EspenW]

Mine was changed in 2003, approx 18K miles ago. The car was built in 94, so the first belt was on for a little more than 9 years and 75K miles.
Maintenance handbook says 120K km / 75K miles intervals. No mention of age, that is something that was implemented on the newer models, likely to take into account probability of oil leaks, etc getting onto the belt, potentially drastically shortening service life.

[DJones]

Even the newer model handbooks dont mention age, the wife's 05 A3 2.0tfsi quattro indicates 114k miles, age not mentioned.

The service book from my 2011 A6 indicates numerous Audi's belt change millage but not one of them is age related..

[Fat Audi 80]

Does that mean I can save £500 and leave it?

TBH, I haven't even inspected it. A few hundred quid for a new belt is a cheap insurance policy against a new engine though....

[Thuppu]

Does anyone use or have tried racing belts like Gates Racing, Greddy, Power Enterprice etc.?

They should be much stiffer and last longer than a normal timing belts, also the risk for snapping should be zero.