1998 Audi A4 Timing Belt Failure

Hello,

The timing belt on my 98 Audi A4 just failed, at about 50 MPH. I
haven't taken it to the dealer yet (Scared! They said possibly from
$1000 to $4500 depending). Also contemplating doing the job on my own.
I have the time, and the car can be out of commission for a few weeks.

Anyone else with a timing belt failure at that speed? Do you think the
cylinder head/valves would have been damaged? When I turn the starter,
it will not crank. Does that mean the engine has Seized?

Pl, Any info/advice will help!

Unfortunately if the engine won't even turn over it is probably seized and
you will probably need to have a new or rebuilt engine installed. However,
have your car towed to an engine facility that you can trust so that it can
be properly evaluated. I lost an engine that way myself a few years ago. The
valves and the pistons ran into each other while on an interstate. Cause?
Broken timing belt. How long did it take for the damage to occur? Just a
couple of seconds. How much were the repairs? Over $2000.

> wrote in message
oups.com...
> Hello,
>
> The timing belt on my 98 Audi A4 just failed, at about 50 MPH. I
> haven't taken it to the dealer yet (Scared! They said possibly from
> $1000 to $4500 depending). Also contemplating doing the job on my own.
> I have the time, and the car can be out of commission for a few weeks.
>
> Anyone else with a timing belt failure at that speed? Do you think the
> cylinder head/valves would have been damaged? When I turn the starter,
> it will not crank. Does that mean the engine has Seized?
>
> Pl, Any info/advice will help!
>

> The timing belt on my 98 Audi A4 just failed, at about 50 MPH. I
> haven't taken it to the dealer yet (Scared! They said possibly from
> $1000 to $4500 depending). Also contemplating doing the job on my own.
> I have the time, and the car can be out of commission for a few weeks.
>
> Anyone else with a timing belt failure at that speed? Do you think the
> cylinder head/valves would have been damaged? When I turn the starter,
> it will not crank. Does that mean the engine has Seized?
>
> Pl, Any info/advice will help!

WHat engine have you got & what mileage are you at? If you are the original
owner, under 100K, in the USA & have all your service records you may have a
shout at getting VAG to cover it - but its a slim one.

At 50mph the engine would have been turning 2-3K revs in top - a lot more if
you were in a lower gear. Sadly you've bent a load of valves. If you are
unlucky & they got hit hard enough its not unusual for them to get bent into
the cylinder walls. Minimum damage is the valves, maximum is Valves, pistons
and the cylinder walls - hence the wide range of cost to fix. They won't
know till they get the head off.

Might be an idea to start looking for a complete replacement motor - might
be less expensive just to do a complete transplant - if its any more than
just valve damage you're going to have to remove the whole thing anyway.
Unless you are an experienced engine builder & with reasonable facilities
available I wouldn't be inclined to tackle a rebuild.

I.

I.

> If you are
> unlucky & they got hit hard enough its not unusual for them to get bent into
> the cylinder walls.

What?! The cam lift on these engines is about 0.4". It's mighty hard
to imagine that they could extend far enough past the combustion chamber
and into the cylinder to get bent into the cylinder walls. Are you
certain about this?

It doesn't matter what speed the t-belt broke you got bent valves. So how
many miles are on your car? That said remove the head and find a "good"
machne shop to replace the valves and maybe the lifters. I have not seen any
other damage in a long time more that just redoing the head. As for the
engine not turning are you sure you didn't have a siezure from the sludge
issue? Pull the valve cover, take a picture and send it my way.

> wrote in message
oups.com...
> Hello,
>
> The timing belt on my 98 Audi A4 just failed, at about 50 MPH. I
> haven't taken it to the dealer yet (Scared! They said possibly from
> $1000 to $4500 depending). Also contemplating doing the job on my own.
> I have the time, and the car can be out of commission for a few weeks.
>
> Anyone else with a timing belt failure at that speed? Do you think the
> cylinder head/valves would have been damaged? When I turn the starter,
> it will not crank. Does that mean the engine has Seized?
>
> Pl, Any info/advice will help!
>

"Brian Running" > wrote in message
m...
>> If you are unlucky & they got hit hard enough its not unusual for them to
>> get bent into the cylinder walls.
>
> What?! The cam lift on these engines is about 0.4". It's mighty hard to
> imagine that they could extend far enough past the combustion chamber and
> into the cylinder to get bent into the cylinder walls. Are you certain
> about this?

Depends on the engine I think but my local VAG specialist who's had to
rebuild a number of different VAG engines (diesels included) over the last
year or two because of cambelt or cambelt tensioner failures told me he's
seen this. The extent of the damage varies but its never cheap.

I.

Its the 1.8 Turbo. 82K Miles. The maintenance manual says change the
belt at 90k Miles. I even have 7 year 100K warranty with a warranty
company, so I will pursue that first.

I got it towed into the shop today - they'll evaluate the damage and
give me a call.

Thanks for the info!

Does it say anything about how many years you can go if you don't exceed 90K
miles in a certain amount of time...

Hopefully that warranty covers it, it's a pricey repair to do.
> wrote in message
ups.com...
> Its the 1.8 Turbo. 82K Miles. The maintenance manual says change the
> belt at 90k Miles. I even have 7 year 100K warranty with a warranty
> company, so I will pursue that first.
>
> I got it towed into the shop today - they'll evaluate the damage and
> give me a call.
>
> Thanks for the info!
>

> wrote in message
ups.com...
> Its the 1.8 Turbo. 82K Miles. The maintenance manual says change the
> belt at 90k Miles. I even have 7 year 100K warranty with a warranty
> company, so I will pursue that first.
>
> I got it towed into the shop today - they'll evaluate the damage and
> give me a call.
>

That's odd the T-Belt change interval on 98 1.8Ts is 80K in Europe AFAIK -
at least it is on my 98 Passat 1.8T. No matter, as long as you are inside
the interval AND the thing has been "Inspected" in line with the scheduled
maintenance at 60K (or whatever it is) you should have a case.

Chances are it's the tensioner that let go - not that it matters - the
effect willl be the same as a snapped belt.

Good luck

I.

Turns out it did ruin all the valves. Brand New Cylinder head required.
Cost? 5,200 USD.
The good new is that its all covered by my Extended warrany co. Thank
you all!