Seeking Maintenance Advice for 95 Passat 1.9TD Umwelt

[bmess1]

Hi,


I just bought a relatively old, but quite low millage (109 000) VW Passat 1.9 TD Umwelt. I've heard this is about the worst Turbo Diesel Passat going, but it was cheap and is in reasonable nik so I'm going to give it a go, but I do need to do some work on it.


Does anyone have any idea how easy it is to fit the Timing belt and tensioner yourself? I think it would cost me more than I paid for the car to get a garage to do it. I did one on a Nova a couple of years back and it was pretty straight forward, although I only did the belt, not the tensioner.


I also think I need a new thermostat as the car is not warming up at all even on a 200mile drive. I don't think this should be a difficult job. I did one on my first car (an 83 cavalier) a few years ago and it only took about 5 minutes.


Also, although the heater fan seems to be blasting away, almost no air is coming from any vents and the levers to change airflow from screen to footwell etc does not do anything. Would I be right in thinking this is a heater matrix problem? I've seen replacements on eBay for £20, but was wondering if anyone new how easy they are to fit.


Basically I was just wondering if anyone had any useful pointers on any of that, or could recommend a good manual as I'm mechanically minded and able to follow instructions, but I'm not really an experienced home mechanic. Any tips would be gratefully received.


Thanks,


Ben

[Eshrules]

Does anyone have any idea how easy it is to fit the Timing belt and tensioner yourself? I think it would cost me more than I paid for the car to get a garage to do it. I did one on a Nova a couple of years back and it was pretty straight forward, although I only did the belt, not the tensioner.

ok, first of all, the 'easieness' of this depends on your mechanical knowledge, im not a thicko when it comes to cars, but only being a novice, i wouldnt attempt this myself, although any competant DIYer should be able to... depends on your level of skill im afraid

I also think I need a new thermostat as the car is not warming up at all even on a 200mile drive. I don't think this should be a difficult job. I did one on my first car (an 83 cavalier) a few years ago and it only took about 5 minutes.

Also, although the heater fan seems to be blasting away, almost no air is coming from any vents and the levers to change airflow from screen to footwell etc does not do anything. Would I be right in thinking this is a heater matrix problem? I've seen replacements on eBay for £20, but was wondering if anyone new how easy they are to fit.
[/quote]

these two faults, i reckon are related, the fact that the car doesnt seem to warm up and no heat is blowing through, to me, leans towards the heater matrix and you really shouldnt be driving it at all if this is goosed, they are cheap but from what i recall, you would have to have the dash out to replace it....again, not an easy job i dont think.....although i could well be wrong LOL has been known

[Col]

Cam belt - tricky, if you've never done a belt, do lots of research and seriously contemplate the amount of work before you get stuck in. The timing up of the engine can be very difficult if you don't understand the principals.

Thermostat - yes sounds like it is either stuck open or not there at all which explains exactly the cool running problem.

No air through vents (assume you mean this rather than no hot air?) - Blocked pollen filter ! .. change it ! If no hot air it'll be part of the thermostat problem.