Timing Belt 2001 1.6 s 16v

[belfastmark]

Hello Forum.
I own a VW Golf 1.6s 16v 2001 with 47709mls on the clock.
My mechanic has advised me to get the belts done, obviously I know that the timing belt needs changed at regular intervals, or as quoted by VW, every four years regardless, but what is the other belt he would be wanting to change ?
Also, is it just the belts or is it the pulleys etc ?
How does the kit come ?
I have been quoted £180 for the job compared to VW who quoted something like £370 !!!!!! Is £180 a good price ?
Apparently my make and model of car has timing belt issues.
Suppose it's better to be safe than sorry.
Can anyone reading this please leave some advice, comment or ideas on this issue ?

Thank you

Mark.:confused:

[stinger]

the other belt would be the auxilary drive belt, should be belts and pulleys, they usually come together.
180 including parts sounds good. i think its about 2-3 hours work.

[Crasher]

That engine has two timing belts (one from the crank to the inlet cam and the other a relay belt from the inlet cam to the exhaust cam) and £180 is ridiculously cheap. Both belts, all three tensioners and the water pump MUST be changed and genuine that is £160 worth of parts so at least £120 pattern so plus bolts and coolant say £140 leaving £40 for labour. As the job takes at least 3 hours, something is wrong with that quote. Also, make sure he has the correct cam pulley locking tool.

[belfastmark]

Hello All !
Have taken on board your comments/help and have done a bit more research on the matter.
Apparently the kit that comes from VW includes 2 belts, two pulleys and a plastic tensioner cover, costing £118 + VAT.
Was speaking with VW Service this morning and they reckon that the water pump only needs changed if it shows signs of wear or if there is a problem with it, hence, if it doesn't need changed, then neither does the coolant.
My mechanic reckons that ( Using the kit from VW), including labour, the job price will be £180 ! Anyone I have spoken to think this is very cheap ????
It seems to be that every mechanic that i go to thinks they are the only ones who can do the job properly ??
All I want is to get the job done and not have to worry about any related problems.
I know the mechanic reasonably well, maybe the price includes discount of some sort ?????
Ps. They do have the cam pulley locking tool.

Thanks all
Keep your opinions/advice coming

Mark.

[Crasher]

Not changing the water pump is seriously stupid, just do a search on here about plastic water pump impeller failure. Ask the dealer if they would change the pump labour free if it failed within two years of doing the belt? If your mechanic will do three to four hours hours work for £40, then more the fool him!

[belfastmark]

Hi All
So Crasher, what you are saying is that I should get the waterpump changed as a matter of caution ?
Suppose if the mechanic has the belts and tensioners off it's just case of bolting it on.
Is it because the waterpump has a short life expectancy ?

Mark

[Primo1000]

Not changing the water pump is seriously stupid, just do a search on here about plastic water pump impeller failure. Ask the dealer if they would change the pump labour free if it failed within two years of doing the belt? If your mechanic will do three to four hours hours work for £40, then more the fool him!

Read his post, Crasher says they are prone to plastic impeller failure, that means it could go all together with no warning, take advice from an expert, he's only looking out for your motoring needs.

I can feel a big told you so coming on.:o

[Crasher]

As a matter of course, not caution. When the belts are off, the water pump is held on by two M6 bolts. The pump isn’t hugely prone to failure but I have had a number of cases over the last few years where the pump has failed a year or so into the service interval of the belt, meaning the whole lot has to come apart again and that is very annoying. One lady had her car serviced by us and we said it needed a belt and priced the job using a genuine belt kit and water pump (the reason I use genuine is I like the two year labour inclusive warranty on the parts) but we were about £50 more than someone else who quoted her. After the pump failed two months later and nearly wrote the engine off, we did the job properly for her.

[belfastmark]

Crasher,
I have taken your advice on board and have instructed my mechanic to replace the waterpump as well as fitting the two belts, she goes in on tue.
Price has jumped from £170/£180 to £305 all inclusive.
I am near sure he is using genuine VW parts.
By using genuine parts give any sort of guarentee on said parts, say for example, after the work has been done and say 8,000mls down the road something happens ( God forbid ), then VW stand over that ? Or does the mechanic stand over it ?

Thanks in advance for any comments/help with this.

Mark.

Ps; I was told that if you bring the old waterpump back to VW, they give £15 + VAT back to the customer ?

[Crasher]

IF he uses a genuine timing belt kit, genuine water pump and one of the tensioners fails, then in theory VW will take the car in and repair it including the damage to the engine. I have only ever called on this service twice. Once was a new genuine cylinder head on a car just like yours that I fitted and it seized the inlet cam immediately, just on oil pressure build up-not even running, which ripped the belt off, tore the cam pulley off and bent a few valves, I was not a happy chappy! VW took it in and agreed there had been swarf in the oil feed port which seized the cam and they did the whole job and returned the car washed and vacuumed as fast as they could, it must have cost VW thousands but they were as good as their word and I was extremely impressed. The other example was a few weeks back. 18 months ago I fitted a variable tract inlet manifold actuator to a neighbours 3B Passat 20v (very nerve wracking working on the car of a neighbour and someone who is a very decent chap as well) but during a service a few weeks ago, I noticed it had failed again-it is a common problem and very easy to check for. We booked it in with the closest VW dealer (not the same one as before) and they were utterly hopeless muppets who could not organise lunch in a restaurant (for want of a better analogy). Even after providing them with the invoice and exact fault description they still made a complete hash of it, even after calling me and asking what I meant. The bloke I spoke to on the phone was an arrogant prat who didn’t have a clue. We pulled the car out of there and re-booked it into the West Bridgford dealer (ohh darn, I have given it way now for anyone who knows the area) and they had the car in, sorted the problem and returned the car washed and vacuumed.

[Vagnum]

like crasher said as a matter of course, some techs replace it some don't
depending on the condition of the bearing when checked, i personal would replace it other wise if it breaks in 6 moths or a years time you'll be paying for the same job again. if they use vw parts they will have a parts warranty IF it breaks. As for the price i charge £120 plus genuine vw parts to do but I'm vw trained so you get the same job as if you took your car to vw but with out there over head's the only problem with taking it to jo blogs is they may not have the locking tool for the cam pulleys, Ive seen where people have done the job without the tool and use paint marks and it's ended in :Screem: