Toothed Belt Replacement

[yagayo83]

Hi, Im wondering if some of you guys can give me some tips on changing the timing belt on my 2003 Passat tdi AVF. Im ordering the genuine kit today from the dealer and I have a day off college on thursday so i plan to do it then, im not too bad at mechanical things Ive been reading through the haynes I know the front of the car has to be completely striped down to access the engine not sure wat to do with the condensor of the air con wether to disconnect or not. Just wondering if anyone can tell me or show me a link ideally with step by step in preparing to remove the belt,,Im just afraid of the timing been knocked off and thrashing my engine.

Thanks in advance!

[zollaf]

first off you will need the locking tools to do it, don't even bother without, they are only a few quid. theres a crank locking tool that puts the crank in the right place, a pin for the cam, and a tool to hold the tensioner open. you have to loosen the cam sprocket to set the timing. you also must replace the water pump, as you dont want to be doing the job again in 6 months when that goes.
if you are not that confident about it, then i would advise entrusting the job to a specialist who is,or at least get your work checked, since the repair bill if it all goes horribly wrong will be enough to make your eyes water.

[yaman]

A picture speaks a thousand words.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PwZGG4VXxf0&feature=related

Regards
Jim

[yagayo83]

Cool link thanks mate

[caldirun]

A picture speaks a thousand words.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PwZGG4VXxf0&feature=related

Regards
Jim
He does not change the tensioner and water pump, make sure you do.

[yagayo83]

is the tensioner the small cylindar 19ml in diamater approx. that he took off and put back on?

[caldirun]

is the tensioner the small cylindar 19ml in diamater approx. that he took off and put back on?
No that is the idle roller, the tensioner is the spring loaded pulley that he removes the tension from before he removes the belt, you should have one of each in your belt kit.

[yagayo83]

Hi Lads, can anyone tell me why the guy in the video loosens the three bolts on the top cam? Im doin my car on thursday and just want to get all the info I can,
Cheers

[caldirun]

Hi Lads, can anyone tell me why the guy in the video loosens the three bolts on the top cam? I'm doing my car on Thursday and just want to get all the info I can,
Cheers
The aim is to preserve the relationship between the crank position and the camshaft position. The lower tool holds the crank and the upper tool holds the camshaft, the pulley is allowed to rotate to accommodate the discrepancy when the new belt is fitted and tensioned.
Have you noticed how loose the cam pulley bolts are before he slackens them, the last bloke did not do a very good job did he?

[martin1810]

Hi Lads, can anyone tell me why the guy in the video loosens the three bolts on the top cam? Im doin my car on thursday and just want to get all the info I can,
Cheers

If you send me an email address I will send you some instructions. The video is for the old style tensioner set up which you may not have.

[yaman]

Have you noticed how loose the cam pulley bolts are before he slackens them, the last bloke did not do a very good job did he?

I suspect hes a Hungarian Diva Mechanic, who gets his assistants
to set the engine up on a stand, clean it with cotton buds and
loosen all the bolts :biglaugh:

Regards
Jim

[yagayo83]

I done the timing belt, I started yesterday at 1 and had to stop at 5 because it got dark, had an absolute nightmare 3 of the 8 bolts that hold the front panel onto the chassis leg were rounded and 2 of the 4 bolts on the outer crank pully were also rounded, I didnt have any locking tools so I just used tipex,,I finished it off this morning and put 30 miles on it and everything seems to be ok except for I dont know if the tensioners in the right position I put the triangle piece of steel on its marker and tightend the nut but when I started the engine for the 1st time it moved around 2cm to the right,I dnt know if its too tight or is it possible to over tighten?

[martin1810]

The tipex method is not a good idea on the pd engine. I would get some locking tools and double check.

[caldirun]

I done the timing belt, I started yesterday at 1 and had to stop at 5 because it got dark, had an absolute nightmare 3 of the 8 bolts that hold the front panel onto the chassis leg were rounded and 2 of the 4 bolts on the outer crank pulley were also rounded, I didn't have any locking tools so I just used tip ex,,I finished it off this morning and put 30 miles on it and everything seems to be ok except for I don't know if the tensioners in the right position I put the triangle piece of steel on its marker and tightened the nut but when I started the engine for the 1st time it moved around 2cm to the right,I don't know if its too tight or is it possible to over tighten?
You asked for advice, got it and promptly ignored it

[yagayo83]

In did not ignore the advice I listened to everything and took it all in, I didnt have locking tools if I did I would have used them

[caldirun]

In did not ignore the advice I listened to everything and took it all in, I didn't have locking tools if I did I would have used them

Zollaf's post advised "first off you will need the locking tools to do it, don't even bother without, they are only a few quid. theres a crank locking tool that puts the crank in the right place, a pin for the cam, and a tool to hold the tensioner open. you have to loosen the cam sprocket to set the timing. you also must replace the water pump, as you dont want to be doing the job again in 6 months when that goes,"

No one has locking tools until they buy or borrow them, the advice was to do this, you chose to ignore it! did you change the water pump?

[martin1810]

If you did it without thw lock tools then you are probably ok. The main reason for the tools is obviously to stop the cam and crank moving when you take the belt off. Diesels and especially pd diesels are the worst for sudden movement as the belt comes off.
BUT Did you turn the engine through at least one rotation after fitting the belt and releasing the tensioner. You must do this and then check eveything still lines up.

[creedxup]

Zollaf's post advised "first off you will need the locking tools to do it, don't even bother without, they are only a few quid. theres a crank locking tool that puts the crank in the right place, a pin for the cam, and a tool to hold the tensioner open. you have to loosen the cam sprocket to set the timing. you also must replace the water pump, as you dont want to be doing the job again in 6 months when that goes,"

No one has locking tools until they buy or borrow them, the advice was to do this, you chose to ignore it! did you change the water pump?

Obviously it's not necessary to have the locking kit because he's done the job
without them, and is driving the car.

Why do people insist that the coolant pump is changed at the same time as the toothed belt as it's not driven by the belt.

[martin1810]

"Why do people insist that the coolant pump is changed at the same time as the toothed belt as it's not driven by the belt."

What do you think drives the coolant pump.

[creedxup]

Yes sorry, I see now that the coolant pump is driven by the toothed belt.

[yagayo83]

Well caldirun, as I said I did listen to the advice my problem was I had no one to borrow the tools from. Im in college and work right up to xmas eve with lots of driving to do over the holidays so really wanted it done and tuesday was the only day I could do it, I only decided to do the timing belt on monday so that rules out buying them online and my local motorfactor's did not have them! I locked the cam with a drillbit when It was at tdc the same method that is in the haynes manual I used tipex to mark the crank and cam. So with the cam locked in place I could adjust the sprocket then I removed the belt and replaced water pump and put on a new tensioner and roller then fitted the new belt, adjusted the tensioner, turn the engine over manually twice and everything lined up. So I put the front panel back on flushed out the coolant system and topped up G12. It started first time on the button as normal put 120 miles on since and everything is fine so its absolutely possible to do without locking tools, anyway thanks for the advice all the same much appreciated. Oh and the parts I fitted were genuine VW parts.

[martin1810]

Sounds good to me. Glad it worked ok for you. I have seen mechanics use the lock tools and still get the timing wrong.:D

[caldirun]

Well caldirun, as I said I did listen to the advice my problem was I had no one to borrow the tools from. Im in college and work right up to xmas eve with lots of driving to do over the holidays so really wanted it done and tuesday was the only day I could do it, I only decided to do the timing belt on monday so that rules out buying them online and my local motorfactor's did not have them! I locked the cam with a drillbit when It was at tdc the same method that is in the haynes manual I used tipex to mark the crank and cam. So with the cam locked in place I could adjust the sprocket then I removed the belt and replaced water pump and put on a new tensioner and roller then fitted the new belt, adjusted the tensioner, turn the engine over manually twice and everything lined up. So I put the front panel back on flushed out the coolant system and topped up G12. It started first time on the button as normal put 120 miles on since and everything is fine so its absolutely possible to do without locking tools, anyway thanks for the advice all the same much appreciated. Oh and the parts I fitted were genuine VW parts.
Well done then!
You did not forget to put the compressor clutch wire back on, did you?

[caldirun]

Obviously it's not necessary to have the locking kit because he's done the job
without them, and is driving the car.

Why do people insist that the coolant pump is changed at the same time as the toothed belt as it's not driven by the belt.
When I changed mine the coolant pump pulley was stiff to turn until I undid the bolts it was then fine. The impeller had expanded and was rubbing on the block, could be why the impeller splits and you get no circulation of the coolant, a common problem!
But nowt to worry about as the belt does not drive it anyway!!!!

[yaman]

and everything seems to be ok except for I dont know if the tensioners in the right position I put the triangle piece of steel on its marker and tightend the nut but when I started the engine for the 1st time it moved around 2cm to the right,I dnt know if its too tight or is it possible to over tighten?

If you mean, its moving off the pointer while the engine is running, then its
ok, as-long as it was on the pointer at stop.

Overtensioning can shorten the life of the belt and bearings that it
passes-over.


Regards
Jim

[yagayo83]

thanks again for the info:beerchug: