Cambelt change

[SMEG]

Hi, i have a 2003 Passat tdi PD100 which has done 32000 miles and will be four years old in September.
Can anyone tell me if i should change the cambelt at four years or wait a little longer?

[golf tdi 02]

i think they are good for three years or 60k miles whichever comes first
i hope this helps if you are in doubt then ask main dealer for advise but i recomed to get changed buy a local garage
rich...

[SMEG]

i think they are good for three years or 60k miles whichever comes first
i hope this helps if you are in doubt then ask main dealer for advise but i recomed to get changed buy a local garage
rich...

Thanks for that

[Eshrules]

just to correct... its 60 k or 4 years, whichever comes first, therefore yours is due mate

[Gurdeep]

hi new member a mate of mine looked in his book of cambelts and it states the cam belt change should be done at 120k the vw user manual states 110k or 180km

[Eshrules]

hi new member a mate of mine looked in his book of cambelts and it states the cam belt change should be done at 120k the vw user manual states 110k or 180km

ignore that though.... various technical bulletins have been released prior to the printing of the manual.

current VW advice is 60k or 4 years, whichever comes first.

leaving it until 120k is an extremely risky thing to do

[Crasher]

VAG have now changed their mind and it is 4 years without exception, mileage being immaterial unless it exceeds 60K in four years in which case mileage comes first. Please don't cut corners, have the water pump replaced (a genuine unit makes good sense as if it fails in warranty, VW will do the work for free) and make sure a top quality kit is used such as from INA or genuine. If your engine has the friction damped adjuster, the job is much easier tan the pain in the bottom hydraulic type where it can take a hour just to achieve a perfect 4-mm tensioner gap.

[golf tdi 02]

in my opinion id rather change a belt at 3years old than ooppss your belt has just snapped at four years.
i drive my car hard and think that three winters are long enough for a belts life including the tensioner and the roller.
a cambelt change was done on a 54 plate golf on friday the miles on the clock was 30k it was a precautionary change.
as the old belt was taken off the roller fell to bits the belt was keeping it going so you can make your own mind up

only my opinion
rich...

[Crasher]

I agree with changing the belt more often on a hard driven PDTDI as the belt has a lot of load applied to it and the tensioners are notorious for failure but we have to draw the line somewhere when it comes to advising customers, if they ask for a job to be done that’s a different matter. If we started recommending a belt change at three years, regardless of mileage, people would accuse us of trying to rip people off so we stick to the new intervals. One that did upset me though, last week I had to recommend we changed the belt on a 99 Octavia 1.4 owned by a really nice elderly gentleman, a pensioner, as it had never been done. What upset me was the car had done eight thousand miles from new and the belt/tensioner/water pump were perfect when removed. The only reason we did it was he was shown the new VAG recommendation leaflet and agreed that if we didn't recommend it, and it then failed, we would be responsible for the damage/

[SMEG]

Just spoken to my local main dealer asking if they changed my cambelt for a new one after changing the water pump at 14K Dec 2005 after an underheating problem, and they told me they had not.
Even though it was a warranty repair you would have thought that they would have given me the option of paying for a new belt which would have saved me the £360 they want for doing the job now.