Cambelt change interval

[benough]

Yeah I haven't modified my engine for this exact reason.

My mechanic said to me, regardless of what the VW service manual to change it at either 120,000 or 4 years.

Mind you this included the water pump, which I am unsure about. I'm happy to change it when it starts to leak but with the undertray when will you know? That said he'll only replace the rollers if they need it.

So I think I'm just going to save up and get in done in the first quarter of next year where I'll be close to 130,000km.

[jazd]

Ah sweet, mine is coming up at 115,000 km and I was thinking I should get it done soon but I might wait a bit longer.

[jamie88]

I'm at 220 at the moment ( yeah i know ) and ill be doing mine around the 230-240 mark

[ohammond]

Just a heads up guys - its not just the belt and tensioner that can be an issue.

I've just had my third belt replaced at 383K on a 2006 Golf MkV 103TDI - and not long after the tensioner pulley stud sheared off clean at the engine block from what looks to be metal fatigue. End result - at least one bent valve but the engine still runs (albeit poorly) after having the stud drilled out and replacing it. The belt jumped 4 teeth.

For the sake of a $4 bolt - ask your mechanic to change the tensioner pulley stud when he changes the timing belt. It's cheap peace of mind.

[benough]

383k? You're my hero!

Thanks for the info. Will ask when it goes in for the belt replacement tomorrow.

Cheers

[benough]

After some advice from another mechanic, telling me that when a timing belt snaps there are no warning signs, i.e. it looks perfect, I got the belt done at BWA Auto.

I paid a shade under $1k for it including all rollers and a water pump. The prices of the parts on the invoice were cheaper than ECS so in all I'm very happy with it.

Armed with that knowledge now I'm going to say follow the interval or if you can afford it go a little before. (here's looking at you Jarred)

Cheers

[jamie88]

383

thats amazing, your also my hero.
maybe i should keep the tdi

[paam]

150,000 for the 1.9 too.

Honestly though, these days with belts as they are, unless there's a problem they will go for a loooooong time. I will change at 150k because thats the interval it says in the service manual and I'm confident the belt would go to 500k if I didnt bother changing it at all.

how do you know how long the waterpump is going to last because it is also runs off the timing belt.my timing belt snapped on 120 000 km alot of money to fix

[Transporter]

Just a heads up guys - its not just the belt and tensioner that can be an issue.

I've just had my third belt replaced at 383K on a 2006 Golf MkV 103TDI - and not long after the tensioner pulley stud sheared off clean at the engine block from what looks to be metal fatigue. End result - at least one bent valve but the engine still runs (albeit poorly) after having the stud drilled out and replacing it. The belt jumped 4 teeth.

For the sake of a $4 bolt - ask your mechanic to change the tensioner pulley stud when he changes the timing belt. It's cheap peace of mind.

When replacing timing belt: ask your mechanic to replace it as a kit incl. water pump. The timing belt kit comes with that stud which failed in yours. Also, if you want to take the advantage of the long timing belt life, make sure that you're replacing it with the original or better not the lesser quality. The original is made by Continental and it is different material than Dayco/Bosch and others.

[gldgti]

how do you know how long the waterpump is going to last because it is also runs off the timing belt.my timing belt snapped on 120 000 km alot of money to fix

Thats right - there are other things to worry about like the water pump and tensioners.

My main point was that belts (usually) are fine for a long time and that you should simply follow the service schedule.

In my opinion, there would have to be a manufacturing defect in the belt to cause it to fail early, unless another component caused the failure.

What engine/vehicle did your unfortunate failure occur with?

For peoples interest - I recently rebuilt a 1.9 turbo diesel vw engine. When I put it together, I put on a new timing belt. After about 1000km, I noticed that the belt began to run off centre of the pulleys - this is often caused by a bent bracket on the engine or some such thing, but is not really a common occurrence. Eventually I found that the problem was the belt itself - it had a manufacturing defect that made a slight kink in the belt which began to make the belt conical, if you like.

I changed the belt for another brand new one and now the problem has gone away entirely.

Just goes to show that there are manufacturing defects in belts out there, but with careful inspection you can pick them up before they cause a problem.