2015 CVCA timing belt instructions?

I went underneath expecting to see an aluminum oil pan so I can use some wooden blocks to lift passat engin from 1 side just like a i do with the ALH engine and it seems to be a plastic oil pan, how are u guys lifting the engine from 1 side on the passat?

Pretty sure under the plastic cover/insulator is a steel/aluminium pan, but I still wouldn't use that a support point. I go above with an engine support bar even though it gets in the way just a little bit..still plenty doable. There is also a part of the block the sticks out beyond the oil pan both front and back that could be used with some wood blocks if space allows with all components still installed.

I installed the TB in my passat, man there are a lot of spaghetti to get to it, water pump sensor broke it was already brittle, so i was not able to finish it, im about 65 % done,, now i need to order it on Monday, i found on top of the engine where we have insulation 1 of the the 2 that looks like relays was completely melted,,, passat drives to Stockton sees over 100 deg daily so now i got to order that too,,

Wow! Can you post a pic of those? I have a 2015 CVCA as well, now 71k miles. Just replaced main fusible fuse and one abs sensor.

MAXRPM said:

I installed the TB in my passat, man there are a lot of spaghetti to get to it, water pump sensor broke it was already brittle, so i was not able to finish it, im about 65 % done,, now i need to order it on Monday, i found on top of the engine where we have insulation 1 of the the 2 that looks like relays was completely melted,,, passat drives to Stockton sees over 100 deg daily so now i got to order that too,,

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There is an option to get a pump without the shroud over the impeller, did you get that? That sensor wouldn't be necessary at that point, and I believe even if you got the shrouded version you can leave it unplugged and the shroud will stay in the open position. Not sure about a CEL though if left unplugged.
I've seen/heard of some of those sensors melting, they're the DPF pressure sensors (one pre, one post). Plastic maybe wasn't the best material for those.

I'll take a pic, it is completely melted, hope I can figure out how to post a pic now, what im going to do, is to leave the engine cover out from engine bay maybe that will help to dissipate the heat,

Def sensors, are both the same part #s? The one im trying to buy is completely melted unrecognizable

They are the same part#s, but now I found the plug that plugs into the sensor was also meted and disconfigured, I got to buy it and wire the plug, Passat running great only with the cell from the sensor

I was trying to find you the part numbers the other day, but the system I use was down at the time. A VW/Audi electrical pin tool makes very quick work of swapping connectors over! Nice to hear you're back up and running.

Hi looking to do my brothers 2015 Golf SportWagen TDI w/ 2.0L CRUA Engine. if this instructions will work for this car.
I'd like the instructions, too, please.

firejetta said:

Hi looking to do my brothers 2015 Golf SportWagen TDI w/ 2.0L CRUA Engine. if this instructions will work for this car.
I'd like the instructions, too, please.

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Have you already purchased the timing belt kit?
I purchased my kit from ID Parts. To my surprise, when I opened it, it had the complete instructions pamphlet. Surprise because I had previously paid a subscription to erWin and downloaded everything for my car. Oh well, now I'm prepared to fix anything else I run into.

PLC Geek said:

... it had the complete instructions pamphlet

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That's super nice!

IMO, this TB job is not that different than any other TDI:
1. CR engines are DOHC, which are a pain for space to work in the engine bay
2. CR engines have a HPFP, but the pump doesn't really need much fiddling around, not like VE pumps (never had a VE engine). Also, there is no torsion value to fiddle with either (PD engines)
3. Not sure for CVCA (Passat), but for CRUA (GSW), the motor mount needs to be disconnected, same as for BEW and BRM. Yep, also for CVCA.

Otherwise the procedure goes like this (more or less):
1. Jack the car up from the passenger side, and change to a jack stand
2. Remove the splash shield from below engine bay
3. Remove right side wheel/tire, and inner fender cover
4. Disconnect the several brackets and one clamp (DEF injector)...this is what takes a lot of time
5. Remove upper TB cover
6. Support engine. In this case CVCA/CRUA, the oil pan has a plastic cover, so supporting from bottom with a jack won't do, you'll need to support from the top...plastic cover can be taken off
7. Remove passenger side motor mount and bracket (new, one-use bolts should be included with the kit)...I usually need to raise/lower the engine to get the bracket out
8. Remove serpentine belt, harmonic balancer (bolts might strip), lower TB cover, upper TB cover
9. Find TDC, lock crank, lock cam, lock HPFP
10. Remove tensioner, remove TB, remove water pump (WP), remove rollers
11. Install new WP, new rollers, new tensioner, new TB
12. Tension TB, rotate engine twice by hand, to make sure timing wasn't somehow lost
13. Close it up and fire it up
14. Pat yourself in the back

bringing this back alive. I have CJAA timing belt tool kit. What exactly do I need to buy to work with CJAA tools for CVCA? I know I need one or two tools to make this possible.

Need crankshaft sprocket lock, camshaft and hpfp lock pins.

^^ this. I took pictures and intend to amend my existing common rail timing belt how to with the cvca differences.

greengeeker said:

^^ this. I took pictures and intend to amend my existing common rail timing belt how to with the cvca differences.

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ok awesome! cant wait.

nedyalkov said:

i have the repair manual, give me an email and i will send it over if the size permits

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Can you possibly send me manual as well? I am changing timing belt now. my email kopanski.jerry@gmail.com

I just noticed today, in our main page to the right, there is a panel called "resources" and it has this one:

Plus PD timing belt and ALH procedures. You can study any of them and apply the differences, which again, are not that many. The early CR engines had a sprocket with 3 bolts, the CVCA/CRUA engines (I have both) only have a single bolt which doesn't even need loosening.

Just got a 2015 Passat with the CVCA engine. Going to do a timing belt on it would anyone have the procedure on how it's done? I bought the car wrecked and the timing belt has eaten into the crank pulley seal cover (plastic) and allowing oil to dump out of the cut. I'm going to pull the pan tomorrow and secondary pan and see if I can get that plastic piece out of there. Of course I'm going to lock everything down as if prepping for a timing belt change. I'll try to upload some pictures if I can figure out how.

@powerram250 it is nearly identical to the procedure for CJAA link posted above your post. The crank lock works the same, the cam sprocket has one tiny torx screw you need to loosen (not remove) to allow for the sprocket to move when tensioning the belt. The fuel pump has a similar setup with I believe bolt(s) holding the moveable gear pulley to the actual hub to allow for movement when tensioning. When tensioning the belt, those two gear pulleys will want to move counterclockwise, so have them "preset" clockwise to allow for enough movement before they bottom out in the range of motion. Also, the fuel pump does not need to be perfectly spot on with the pin, but should be close.

Very important: do not disconnect the radiator hose, as you might risk issues with air pockets afterwards. Just replace what comes out when you disconnect the water pump, ~0.5 gal. Replenish coolant before you restart the engine, so that there is no air in the system to circulate and get trapped.

I recommend not using the silly variable speed water pump:


This one out of my Passat (didn't check the one out of my golf) was definitively sticking. Retracted is the default position, as there is a spring that takes it there, but it could get stuck in "sleeve out" position and that would be a bad day.

Also, just undo this whole bracket, instead of fiddling with those individual sensors. Other people have reported them melting after a TB job, perhaps not related, but just be gentle with sensors in general:


Finally (I just readjusted timing in my Passat), I found the best way to install the new timing belt is to start at the crank, then use a wood clamp (with plastic or rubber feet) to hold it gently in position, then route the rest. Try to keep all the slack on the tensioner side.

I didn't loosen the cam sprocket. There is no bolts on the HPFP as previous CR engines, just let the pump move to let you position the new belt. Use the top roller also to your advantage, I installed it last after I had all the slack on the left (tensioner side).

I would not do a TB without loosening the cam sprocket as described in the erWin manual. It needs to be able to rotate when tensioning. That the point of the torx screw. It allows the follower to stay pinned while the sprocket rotates during tensioning.

Also, a vacuum fill tool takes out all guesswork for coolant filling on these.

adjat84th said:

I would not do a TB without loosening the cam sprocket as described in the erWin manual. It needs to be able to rotate when tensioning. That the point of the torx screw. It allows the follower to stay pinned while the sprocket rotates during tensioning.

Also, a vacuum fill tool takes out all guesswork for coolant filling on these.

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Yes and yes, but I don't have one of those vac tools...and yes, a moving cam sprocket makes it easier, but not 100% necessary as I was able to have it spot on. In any case, you do want all the slack on the tensioner section.

Yikes! Yes, the camshaft sprocket needs to be loosened, as does the HPFP sprocket. I'll hopefully find time this xmas break to amend my CR TB procedure to include the EA288 instructions.

pedro - I'm not sure why you would have trouble getting air out of the cooling system. They all are self bleeding...they just need a long test drive with varied engine speeds to burp all the air out.

@greengeeker : nope, I had no issues with either my CRUA or CVCA and coolant, but others struggled. I just filled the bottle back up, but I did not disconnect anything else but the water pump.

Both CRUA and CVCA have electric pumps in the way sectioning the cooling system, with the potential for trapping air indeed.

Thanks so much for the helpful information. If I get a non variable water pump will the computer throw a code for it not being plugged in?

@powerram250 : you need to transfer the solenoid to the new pump and the engine is none the wiser

I'm at 124k and I'm beginning to gear up for a January 2022 TB DYI job on my cvca 2015 Passat SEL.... I found this thread helpful. I will add to it as I proceed. Any request for pictures out there?

Since on the CVCA engine the pulley for HPFP just has one big nut does that have to be loosened (I'm guessing not) for a timing belt replacement?

@powerram250 : No, the HPFP for both CVCA and CRUA doesn't have the adjustable sprocket.