THIS IS WHY....

[RichA3Turbo]

You need to change your cambelt at around the 60k mark! My car has done 66k miles and look at the state of the water pump. Half of the impeller was sat in the pump housing. Why the hell audi suggest 100k+ miles is beyond me! Its just ridiculous. The water pump is not even recomended to be changed by Audi! Its something that the cambelt has to be removed though to be replaced so i made one thing of it. Got it done at RSD in Daventry who did a 1st class job. Great service and great company. Price for cambelt change is around £250+vat

RIch

 

[CJ A4]

****** hell thats battered mate! Looks like its been smashed about with a hammer!

 

[HTC]

Think of all the spinning speeds coupled with extended periods of heating and cooling with the engine.

And then think why the hell did audi choose a plastic part for this purpose!

I shudder to think what mines looks like (original pump on 117000 miles!)

 

[ajmackie]

prob because it is a hell of a lot cheaper to manufacture!

 

[imported_ashs3]

Yes I will be having this done at the same time the cambelt is done if I still have the S3 at 60,000 miles, hope so /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[HTC]

Its luck of the draw. Some are plastic and a few are metal.

One of vw/audi's suppliers makes metal ones.

You can get the metal one from ECS tuning, or you could specify a metal part from the dealer or motor factor.

Also depends upon if the guy behind the desk is friendly or not!

 

[ANDYTQ]

Mine is going to be changed very soon and the friend that is doing it has found me a brass impellored pump(aftermarket item) ,will be fitted with genuine belt and tensioner also.Quoted £300 all in .At least the pump will be stronger than dealer one which i think are all plastic! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/beerchug.gifAndy

 

[Drill]

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Had mine done at 100k (after Audi took my money for cambelt but left the water pump), and you couldn't even turn the impeller by hand it was that seized. No wonder my car kept stalling when pulling up to traffic lights.
Get it done with cambelt it's an extra £35!
After I'd defected to a specialist I phoned Audi Southampton and asked now much for cambelt change and then asked if it included water pump. They said no they never do the water pump and sounded totally confused that I wanted it done! Thank god I found a good specialist. They bothered to phone me up to ask if I wanted another new cambelt, tensioner etc while they had the front off the car. Very impressed.

[/ QUOTE ]

Blimey, I'm surprised you didn't strip the cambelt of its teeth!

I'm assuming you have a V6 A4, as the 1.8 a4's use an external water pump.

[/ QUOTE ]

Nah dude, the transverse 1.8T has the internal water pump /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif Had mine die 3 months after having the cambelt changed /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/bang.gif

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/beerchug.gif

 

[Gordon]

Just a word of caution to anyone thinking of fitting a metal replacement pump.
Think of the damage that will do if it fails.
Look at the state of Rich's pump.
These Audi engineers are cunning fiends. Having used the cambelt to drive the water pump perhaps they realised it might cause some serious engine damage on failure. "Ah! Simple, we'll make it plastic so that the belt will keep running even if it fails. Then we'll tell everyone it's a weight saving measure. Vorsprung Durk Technic."

 

[RAPS3]

The new replacement pumps have been slightly altered. The old style pumps have the impellor wheel attatched directly onto the shaft. The plastic being molded around it. The shaft is crimped and the plastic has this crimp to grip onto.
On the replacements the impellor wheel has an internal brass ring. This is attached directly to the shaft and not the plastic.

This can be seen here. This was the pump of the wifes Mk4 2.0ltr golf. The pumps are the same design.

 

[HTC]

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Nah dude, the transverse 1.8T has the internal water pump

[/ QUOTE ]

Indeed the transverse engines do have an internal water pump, but the longitudinal 1.8Ts in a4s have an external jobbie. The V6 has an internal pump.

Good point about the metal replacements, but have there been any failures of the metal type?

If vw/audi have redesigned the plastic type then perhaps that is the better solution. Any stories of these failing too?

 

[imported_ZeroK66]

Damn... worrying... my 2.8 30v is coming up for 90k now and I didnt replace the pump @ 80k cambelt change... anyone know what the pumps are like in these?

 

[shagga]

Mate,
I just had the cam belt replaced on my S4 and asked them to do the water pump whilst they were there. The dealer even told me they don't need changing but I did read somewhere on here that they can seize at around 80k. Looks like you got there just in time.. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/beerchug.gif

 

[imported_ZeroK66]

[ QUOTE ]
Mate,
I just had the cam belt replaced on my S4 and asked them to do the water pump whilst they were there. The dealer even told me they don't need changing but I did read somewhere on here that they can seize at around 80k. Looks like you got there just in time.. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/beerchug.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

Think ya mis-read my post - I didnt change mine!! I dont think you need to do it at the same time as the belt though? not sure... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cry.gif

 

[robthehungrymonkey]

When the page opened I thought it was something about bannanas!!!

 

[HTC]

The upshot is that audi designed these pumps to last the entire life of the engine. Unfortunately some (not all) fail before this time. (mines on 117000 miles and is fine)

Officially there is no reason for the dealer to change the pump unless its leaking or not functioning correctly.

Unofficially, alot of the mechanics know that they are prone and thus inform the service crew to advise changing. It depends on the dealer.

Its up to you if you change yours at the same time as the cambelt. But as a cambelt service costs a fair bit, it makes sense to do them at the same time.

As for us home mechanics, its not such a prob as its only a day crawling under the car and the cost of the pump etc.

You pays ya money and yous takes ya choice...blah...blah.

 

[cybrey]

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When the page opened I thought it was something about bannanas!!!

[/ QUOTE ]

Me too.. I wondered what mod Rich could possibly have done that involved bananas /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[RichA3Turbo]

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When the page opened I thought it was something about bannanas!!!

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Me too.. I wondered what mod Rich could possibly have done that involved bananas /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

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