Tips and tricks? - 2014 Q5 3.0 TDI serpentine belt change

[j2112morris]

Hi all,

I am just checking to see if anyone can offer any tips or tricks for changing the belt. I have 170K miles on the original belt and pulleys without any cracks or squeaks (feeling very lucky), and I will change it myself. I purchased an Audi belt dampener and a Continental belt but was not planning on changing anything else. Anything I should know before starting the project? YouTube videos as sparse on this maintenance item. Thanks for any help you can offer.

 

[MEgearhead]

I've changed the belt on both of mine. The first one was in a grocery store parking lot. I took an Uber to the closest Napa and back. It's not too bad, but you do have to think about how to feed it in with the limited space. I didn't change the tensioner, but I have less than half the mileage you do on either of them.

 

[A1sailor]

Have a 15 TDI Q5, changed belt at about 156,000 km, need 2 people, one at the top other at bottom, splash pan removed. It was difficult to get belt around the pulleys and keep belt in place and move the tensioner. I could not get a pin into tensioner to lock it. Very limited space to work .
Let us know the play in the idler pulleys and water pump, also any bearing noise in those parts.
Replacement of idler, tensioner, pump will require removal of fascia and front to be put in service position. Not a job I'm looking forward to.
I had no bearing noise or play in tensioner, idler or pump.
I have electric power steering and belt routing is slightly different from Q5's with power steering pump.

 

[j2112morris]

Thank you for all your help. I wanted to offer my experience with the change.

We used two people, but one did 95% of the work. I purchased a belt tensioner wrench from Harbor Freight and had the T60 in my toolbox. We used a short allen wrench to lock the tensioner in place and bent the first one (too small in diameter.) Since there was enough tension to bend the allen, we did not change the tensioner. The worse part was the tight space in the Q5 for the work area. We followed the diagram from the Audi Parts website, and the job took about 30 minutes. All the pulleys were fine, with no discernable play or resistance when spun. The splash pan was left in place.

My son-in-law is a professional mechanic and inspected the belt and, since it wasn't squealing, would not have changed it. He found no wear indications or cracks (at 171,000 miles) to warrant the change. He then explained the construction differences between the Continental belt I purchased ($35 at Autozone) and the OEM belt ($120 dealership.) In hindsight, the only thing I would have done differently is spending the extra money on the OEM belt.

Drive safe, and have a great 2023.

 

[braddies]

Keeping the original belt in the trunk?