Timing belt confusion, 2000 ALH?

Bought a 2000 Jetta TDI from a friend. He was always up on maintenance.
Timing belt was replaced at about 191,000 miles by the VW dealer. I have the invoice which he provided, listing all the part numbers, etc. With an oil change the total was over $1,200.

That was almost 50,000 miles ago. I have seen recommendations of changing every 40K, or 60K for manual transmission (mine), but with improved components and belt materials, that is now 105K intervals.

Can I determine from the VW part numbers listed on the invoice if the newer (improved) belt, tensioner, water pump, etc were used, to determine when I should plan on the next timing belt change? The belt P/N installed is 038-109-119-M.

If I recall the belt material upgrade was only part of the interval extension to 80-100k miles in the ALH series (auto and manual). The large idler roller was also enlarged perhaps. The "newer" belt has a slightly textured surface, the old style belts were smoother. All the roller/idlers should be replaced each interval but many dealerships skip them unless they feel they are in rough shape. Others sell the whole package and, of course, charge accordingly.
Personally, I feel 100k is pushing it a bit unless it's miles put on relatively quickly. My interval will likely be 75-80k (or less) miles since I don't commute to work any more and split the driving between two TDIs and a couple other vehicles. Some belt manufactures recommend a service life of 5-6 years max if the mile recommendation isn't met.
Do your research and decide accordingly. A TB failure almost always is caused by a failure of some other component that destroys the belt. Both of the "project" cars that I picked up had TB "events". One had the tensioner fail, the other had a WP seize up. Both had about 165k mikes on the original belt and components.

Belt job is not difficult of it's still good. It's only when things go bad that it takes forever.
Just buy the belt and roller and whatever the service calls for and DIY it on the weekend. A few hundred bucks vs more than a grand? You must hate money!

To go to the 100k interval, the belt was improved, the large roller had a larger bearing, and the tensioner was improved. All of these items were small, incremental improvements, but it all adds up.

The water pump helps - generally, selecting a metal impeller is supposed to be better. But I don't think the bearing and seal in those is any better than previous iterations. So you will probably avoid the polymer impeller separation problem, but the leakage/seizure problem is still the same.

The upshot of all this is you need to pay attention to any warning signs that show up. And of course, if you do your own work, you'll save lots and it won't be a really expensive to change out the belt a little early if you so desire.

Personally, after reading of many goofs by self avowed independent "VW experts" and dealerships, that ended with denial of any fault and proper compensation to the owners, I decided that trusting other than a genuine TDI expert was silly. And a lot more than I wanted to pay in any event. So I do all my work myself, and if I screw the pooch, then it is all on me. And bad parts, but that probably isn't worth pursuing anyway.

Procuring good replacement parts for this is relatively easy by visiting good vendors on this site, so we're golden. Yay!

What you'd look for when inspecting components is that which you would ordinarily suspect. Cracks in the belt: if they go to the fiber plies in the belt, replace as soon as possible. Roller bearings that are noisy, rusty, or loose appearing, broken or cracked tensioner parts, especially the ones you can't see on the back where the tang inserts into the block/backing hole or where the stop impacts the tensioner stamped backing parts, or a leaky water pump - these are all signs that replacement should happen sooner than later.

Just let reason be your guide, and good luck!

Cheers,

PH

Mongler98 said:

Belt job is not difficult of it's still good. It's only when things go bad that it takes forever.
Just buy the belt and roller and whatever the service calls for and DIY it on the weekend. A few hundred bucks vs more than a grand? You must hate money!

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That was the previous owner that put over a grand into the timing belt change, he just provided me with most of his receipts when he had it serviced, and always at the dealership.

The belt should be 038 109 119 M, tensioner 038 109 243 N, big roller 038 109 244 M.

Metal Man said:

The belt should be 038 109 119 M, tensioner 038 109 243 N, big roller 038 109 244 M.

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Parts list from invoice the previous owner provided...


038-109-119-M TOOTH BELT
038-121-011-AX WATER PUMP
G-012-A8G-1G COOLANT AD
038-109-244-M ROLLER
038-109-244-Q ROLLER
038-109-244-D ROLLER
038-109-243-N TENSIONER

Looks good, nice to see a honest seller

80-100k OR if anything starts showing distress. Like a water pump leak, etc.

CHECK AT EVERY OIL CHANGE (10k miles); if you don't like what you find, it's time.

Genesis said:

80-100k OR if anything starts showing distress. Like a water pump leak, etc.

CHECK AT EVERY OIL CHANGE (10k miles); if you don't like what you find, it's time.

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The point is to do it before that happens.

Genesis said:

80-100k OR if anything starts showing distress. Like a water pump leak, etc.

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My "100k" kits have all failed prematurely because of this (or a complete shaft failure). I haven't gotten over 65k on one. A bit frustrating to say the least.

KrashDH said:

My "100k" kits have all failed prematurely because of this (or a complete shaft failure). I haven't gotten over 65k on one. A bit frustrating to say the least.

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Where are you getting your kits?

jokila said:

Where are you getting your kits?

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Both have come from IDparts