Cam belt replacement

[David Carkett]

Hello,
My 1.9tdi passat is getting close to the 120,000 mile service. which means the cam belt. Last time the vw dealer did it for lots of ££££.
Can somebody let me know if it is user friendly to do?
How long should it take, and do I need and special tools?

Many thanks
David.
:1zhelp:

[Sheepdog]

Same with me LOts of ££££ last time with *******. Special tools for setting position of parts before you take the belt off, (available on ebay, just about to go that way myself, 116K) so belt can nearly be just pushed on. Manual says something about rotating the engine with new belt on and checking the position again, I assume a check of the tension and belt position. Front bumper etc needs to be moved into service position, they use 2 long bolts (special tool again but I think some threaded rod will do the job), which replace the normal ones, before taking the rest out, bumper then slides forward allowing access. Dont know how long, would think a few hours depends on how good you are.

[STEWY L]

Hello,
My 1.9tdi passat is getting close to the 120,000 mile service. which means the cam belt. Last time the vw dealer did it for lots of ££££.
Can somebody let me know if it is user friendly to do?
How long should it take, and do I need and special tools?

Many thanks
David.
:1zhelp:


Same with me LOts of ££££ last time with *******. Special tools for setting position of parts before you take the belt off, (available on ebay, just about to go that way myself, 116K) so belt can nearly be just pushed on. Manual says something about rotating the engine with new belt on and checking the position again, I assume a check of the tension and belt position. Front bumper etc needs to be moved into service position, they use 2 long bolts (special tool again but I think some threaded rod will do the job), which replace the normal ones, before taking the rest out, bumper then slides forward allowing access. Dont know how long, would think a few hours depends on how good you are.
saving money sounds easy at times,and yes, sometimes it is, but with something like this,(do you know what type of tensioner you have),you need to think twice.
how much will it cost if you get it wrong?

[David Carkett]

Yes you are right Stewy, if it dose go wrong, it will go wrong big time.
My main concern is the "other work" you have to do ie bumper off, losen radiator, water pumps and tensioners.
Things used to be so simple on older cars.

[frank-59]

I've just got mine done at a local garage.
Cam belt kit alone cost £85, then there's the water pump at £25, renewal of the anti-freeze at £5.
They said it takes about 3 hours, so, 3 hours labour.
Total cost to me was £240.
You could shop-around for the "bits" yourself, but if you're not 100% sure how to do it, it might be worth forking-out for 3 hours labour, and get a local garage to do it for you, if they are reputable, the work should be garanteed.
BTW My engine is a petrol engine, so your "bits" will be different, and will vary in cost.
HTH
ATB Frank.

[Eddie]

Laser tools do the locking kit for about £16,if you know wot ur doin go ahead but only use a genuine vw/audi belt kit

[Inspector Beetle]

As you can see it is a pretty drastic job, if you take your time and lock everything, then have fun. I did it myself 4 yrs ago, (Picture)The second time I had to have it done I went to a VW main dealer(Loders) who had a special offer of £250 all in 2yr Warranty and a courtesy car. I think it is worth the peace of mind that if it does go bang someone else pays!!

[hongkongstuey]

ouch, wouldnt fancy doing it myself, even though i wok on engines all day, i'd rather pay someone to do it, was easy when i had my 1600E orion all them years ago, so easy i changed the cam at the same time :biglaugh: only thing i had to move was the air box pipe.

garages know what they are doing and my local vw specialist charged me 200 quid, gave me a courtesy car and were generally sound blokes not wanting to rip me off, even told me it wasnt running right and suggested i change the maf sensor, sorted the problem, had the car at 6pm night before, i picked it up at 1pm the next day i think, they even tried to sell me a v6 tdi engine to put in it :beerchug:

[Inspector Beetle]

Thanks for the reply. You did well to get it all done for £200. Although for some people even that is a lot of dosh! I just don't enjoy the feeling when you start up and are waiting for the crunch!I scared myself to death when I did mine,as I tried to turn it over first, the compression fooled me into thinking the valves were up against the pistons.But luckily all was well. A good tip for those that DIY is to use cable ties to hold the belt on the sprockets while you get the tensioner right.
I have even heard of a guy who cranks the engine over and cuts the belt down its length with a Stanley, removes the outer half then puts the new belt on and then cuts off the inner old belt and the taps the new belt fully on! I don't know if this is true but it sounds iffy to me! Comments please!:beerchug::D

[David Carkett]

Well that is some scary picture Howard.

All that work in dismanteling the front of the car! those German's did not give that a lot of thought.
Me thinks it is off to a garage.