a_very_naudi_guy

Hey all,

Movin' on up on the repairs and maintenance. I want to tackle my oil burn once and for all and have decided to do the the valve cover gaskets. I found gaskets for $30 each at AutohausAZ, a serp belt for $28, and NGK iridium plugs w/ copper core (may as well do the plug swap-out while in there, its been about 45k miles) for $7.50 each.

For the plugs/gaskets- Any suggestions or is it pretty straight forward? Remove the engine cover, remove the bolts holding down the coils and connectors, remove the gasket cover, clean it out really good, swap out the plugs, blow everything out and clean it up once more just to be sure, apply new gasket cover, bolt it back down in the order and increasing tighteness (to 10nm) as recommended by the manual.. Any caveats / gotchas?

For the serp belt, am I best accessing it from below the vehicle? I don't have access to a lift but I do have a friend with sizeable ramps and a lay-about roller to slide under there easy.. is it as simple as taking off the noise insulator under the car (in advance having gotten some clips handy), release tension, check the idle pulley (I assume its okay, I only know the belt is fraying because of what Audi told me on last visit, I haven't even checked myself yet but took their word for it), run the new belt around.. any caveats/gotchas?

Thanks guys

-Naudi

Jack88

Well, sounds like you have it handled. You will want a new small clamp for the hose attached to the valve cover on the front, but that's the only extra parts consideration. Also, the aft bottom bolt on the valve cover is virtually impossible to access from above, I recommend just taking off the wheel, wheel liner, and cutting an access flap in the heat shield. Otherwise, you will have to modify tools to get to it and even then, it's at high risk of being stripped.

Aceler8

Whatever you do....make dang sure you are lined up correctly when removing the valve cover screws. They are weak and at any type of angle will strip. I stripped a few and learned the hard way.

Also, on the serp belt...do this from bottom and when the old belt is off, spin the tensioner to verify bearings are good. My tensioner just failed and it costs about $700 to replace, plus it left me without power steering. I'm at 199k miles when she broke loose.

a_very_naudi_guy

I should probably get an extra set of those screws/bolts ahead of time, eh?

a_very_naudi_guy

Ooh, a hard to get one. Thanks for the heads up. Lincoln did this to me on a 2000 Lincoln LS with the 8th cylinder's coil/plug being impossible to get at without a very special very expensive tool that crooked itself at the correct angle deep down in the well. Hah.

a_very_naudi_guy

After reading the thread at https://www.audiworld.com/forums/a8-...-2-d3-2912438/ , I ordered myself these pivoting Torx wrenches from Bondhus on Amazon for $41. It looks like that will make it much easier to get at that difficult bolt that is easier accessed thru the heat shield.

Any advice on brakes btw? On my last visit to Audi as well, the brakes were in the 'yellow' zone and it has been about 7 months and they're starting to squeal as we go into winter. It looks like I can get a rear set of OEM pads for $71 from the dealers, but the front brakes are more than double that? Anyone have any suggestions on other brands that would be just as well?

Thanks

angelglo

See post #15

https://www.audiworld.com/forums/a8-...2951138/page2/

a_very_naudi_guy

Will definitely be ready to pick up those bolt extractors from my local hardware shop. Thank you! This is why I come to these forums.

a_very_naudi_guy

BTW update on those pivoting Torx's - I am putting in a cancellation because it looks like, from the reviews, that the seller has been listing them under a variety of brands over time with the latest being Bondhus. A reviewer from March - a verified purchase - has indicated these are NOT Bondhus brand which, let's face it, if I'm getting deep inside a job on some bolts that haven't been undone in a while potentially, I need good quality and am not going to risk some shoddy tool not being cut right or manufactured from decent enough material.

Jack88

Wow, $700! I checked, and for even the FSI, the part is $230 from a dealer site and it takes 20 minutes to swap out. Shops see 4 rings and just assume everyone is willing to just throw money at problems...

You definitely want solid tools, these bolts strip easily, as Aceler8 said. I stripped that hard to reach one trying to make it work before I cut the access flap on the passenger side(driver side is just as bad,) and the extractors that were linked solved my problem immediately. The drill extractors are a pain, avoid them if possible.