BRM Alternator Pulley and Serpentine Belt Failure

nhkayaker17

Active member
Joined
Sep 3, 2012
Location
Fayetteville, NC
TDI
2005.5 Jetta TDI
Driving down the highway I hear a thud and my battery light comes on. Sure enough my alternator pulley failed. I've ordered a new INA pulley and removal tool from Amazon to shave a few days off shipping. I'd like to do the same with the serpentine belt. I ordered this pulley:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00279B196/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

and this Bando belt:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000CAYT0K/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Does anyone see any issues with these parts? I've been told INA makes the VW OEM pulleys. I know people like the Continental serpentine belts, but is there any issue with the Bando belt?

Also, is there any way to test my tensioner pulley to make sure it didn't get ruined by the bad pulley? I don't want to take out the alternator but should I try to replace the brushes while I'm at it?

Thanks in advance.
 

Spiked1Z

Veteran Member
Joined
Oct 2, 2013
Location
Austin, Texas
TDI
2006 Jetta TDI
Interesting.. I've read that the alternator pulley has a clutch in it, never new a failure could be this bad! did your vehicle show any other signs it was going bad? any idle issues?

Also the belt is probably fine, but the higher quality Gates or Dayco maybe a better option
 

nhkayaker17

Active member
Joined
Sep 3, 2012
Location
Fayetteville, NC
TDI
2005.5 Jetta TDI
The belt began to chirp and squeal under idle but it didn't seem imminently destructive. I had decided to get the parts I needed when I first heard the squeal on Saturday. I was going to order them on Sunday and I thought if I replaced them within the week that I would be ok. Unfortunately the pulley decided to fail much sooner. It was surprisingly quick that it went from fine to the side of the road. There was a curious engine vibration after the pulley let loose. I'm not sure if it was partially off balance due to the lighter load or maybe there were torque issues I'm not aware of without the belt on place. Is the engine vibration normal after an issue like this?

Where is a good place to order or pickup a Gates or Dayco belt? Is it carried at any of the standard brick and mortar auto part stores? I'm not opposed to going to VW if they have the belt in stock and as long as they don't charge me 4x the price of a non OEM part.

I looked online and it seemed like INA built the pulleys for VW. I picked mine up on Amazon for ~$33 shipped while my local VW dealer wanted ~$120 for the OEM pulley. Is that a smart move on my part or am I completely of base?

Thanks for your response.
 

Spiked1Z

Veteran Member
Joined
Oct 2, 2013
Location
Austin, Texas
TDI
2006 Jetta TDI
I'm definitely not the guru qualified to answer all the questions, but you should be able to find Dayco belts at Advanced Auto, and Gates at O-Rileys I believe. If in doubt about part fitment check out the site Vendors like Idparts, ECS Tunning, and others.

Also I would assume it would be pretty violent if the serpentine belt broke... you may want also want to get a new belt tensioner.. also probably be a good idea to check all the other pulleys for smooth balenced operation, and make sure the belt didn't damage things when it broke, like fuel lines, vaccum lines, coolant lines ect.
 

meerschm

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Apr 18, 2009
Location
Fairfax county VA
TDI
2009 Jetta wagon DSG 08/08 205k buyback 1/8/18; replaced with 2017 Golf Wagon 4mo 1.8l CXBB
No direct experience with those parts, but mixed results with auto parts in general from amazon. just double check when you get the parts.

I have been sent used parts a couple times. they are not good about checking returns, and sometimes just ship em back out.

the belt should not be folded on itself past a certain point, (like you would fold paper)

I think you may end up having to pull the alternator to use that amazon tool I think there is a shorter one on recommended vendor sites here.

(idparts....)
 

nhkayaker17

Active member
Joined
Sep 3, 2012
Location
Fayetteville, NC
TDI
2005.5 Jetta TDI
I'm definitely not the guru qualified to answer all the questions, but you should be able to find Dayco belts at Advanced Auto, and Gates at O-Rileys I believe. If in doubt about part fitment check out the site Vendors like Idparts, ECS Tunning, and others.

Also I would assume it would be pretty violent if the serpentine belt broke... you may want also want to get a new belt tensioner.. also probably be a good idea to check all the other pulleys for smooth balenced operation, and make sure the belt didn't damage things when it broke, like fuel lines, vaccum lines, coolant lines ect.

You're correct. Advance has the Dayco belt and O'Reilly has the Gates belt. Are they preferred over the ConTech (Continental) belts? From what I've seen ConTech makes the OEM belts.

Also, I think I'm just going to go ahead and change out the whole tensioner assembly. O'Reilly also sells a Gates model. I'm guessing that if the Gates belt is OK then the tensioner assembly will be OK as well. Does anyone have an idea if that is a correct assumption? I'm looking to source parts locally so I don't have to wait any longer to get my TDI back on the road.

Thanks again for your help.
 

GreenLantern_TDI

Veteran Member
Joined
Feb 27, 2014
Location
Iowa
TDI
2015 GOLF SEL
Put on what u have to ta get it back on the road then order the good stuff from idparts soon (20,000ish miles) and swap that cheap stuff out. I did the alternator pulley when i did the timing belt cuz i heard they had issues. Will next time too. If ya get 100k miles outa that $50 pulley then be thankful and replace.
 

nhkayaker17

Active member
Joined
Sep 3, 2012
Location
Fayetteville, NC
TDI
2005.5 Jetta TDI
Put on what u have to ta get it back on the road then order the good stuff from idparts soon (20,000ish miles) and swap that cheap stuff out. I did the alternator pulley when i did the timing belt cuz i heard they had issues. Will next time too. If ya get 100k miles outa that $50 pulley then be thankful and replace.
Ok. How do you release pressure on the tensioner so I can get the belt on? I've been working on it for about 2 hours now and I can't get the tensioner to the point that I can stick a nail through the lock hole. I've destroyed 3 long screwdrivers and I think I've broken a finger. I also bent the fuel filter mount. ***? This has to be one of the most idiotic ways to release a tensioner that I have ever seen. Why no wrench hookup? What am I missing? At this point there is no way I can finish this job. I've replaced entire engines but I can't figure out how to replace a serpentine belt on a German car. Now I know why they lost WW2.
 

d2305

Veteran Member
Joined
Jun 26, 2004
Location
Pensacola FL
TDI
14 Ram EcoDiesel
16mm open end wrench on the nub of the tensioner will move it to the position to pin it.
 

meerschm

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Apr 18, 2009
Location
Fairfax county VA
TDI
2009 Jetta wagon DSG 08/08 205k buyback 1/8/18; replaced with 2017 Golf Wagon 4mo 1.8l CXBB
I think the helpful hint is to go at it from the top with some kind of open end wrench on that rectangular extension.
 

GreenLantern_TDI

Veteran Member
Joined
Feb 27, 2014
Location
Iowa
TDI
2015 GOLF SEL
Google google google man. These cars are alot different then American cars and you cant google them enough from what ive seen. I always research the job on google b4 i attempt anything cause these cars are full of tricks ya need to know or else you break something expensive like a finger or even worse part of the car thats insanely expensive.
 

nhkayaker17

Active member
Joined
Sep 3, 2012
Location
Fayetteville, NC
TDI
2005.5 Jetta TDI
I got the damn tensioner locked. I was trying to google the answer for a BRM engine but I couldn't find anything. I found plenty of pictures and videos but they all seemed to skip over how they disengaged the tensioner. They would say you have to do it then skip forward to when it is done. I'm not going to lie, murder suicide popped into my head a few times.

The belt is in place and I took the car for a ride. It seems to be working Ok but there are still two issues I don't understand. I am wondering if I should replace the tensioner now. Watching the car while it's running, the tensioner seems to be vibrating a bit. How do i know if it's no good or not.

Also, when the belt first broke the car threw a CEL. I pulled the code after I got the car mobile again. It read P2112 which has to do with the throttle body regulating flap. I've never heard of this code before so I'm in the dark. Addmittedly the car has been throwing a P0299 code every now and then. It may be the wastegate or perhaps a boost leak. I'm going to build a boost check guage tomorrow and see if theres a leak this weekend.

Are the to codes related? could it be a faulty EGR valve? Any ideas would be greatly appreciated and thanks for all the advice so far.
 

Bobt250

Member
Joined
Apr 21, 2009
Location
Pittsburgh
TDI
1998 Jetta, 2000 Jetta
*WARNING*

I just had a serpentine belt failure due to the alternator pulley being bad. The serpentine belt shredded and significant shards of the belt found their way behind the crank pulley and into the timing belt area and yes...you guessed it. The belt shards got between the timing belt and the crank pulley causing the timing belt to jump time causing the pistons to hit the valves. Total engine rebuild required. Who would have ever thought a simple serpentine belt failure could cause so much pain and anguish. The hole in the timing cover is way too big.
 

bobthefarmer

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 11, 2013
Location
Indianapolis
TDI
2006.5 Jetta Mk 5 192K miles; 2012 Car of the Year, Passat Tdi SE+Nav in blue nightgown, shod in 18 inch heels
I think you are talking about a CR Diesel

*WARNING*

I just had a serpentine belt failure due to the alternator pulley being bad. The serpentine belt shredded and significant shards of the belt found their way behind the crank pulley and into the timing belt area and yes...you guessed it. The belt shards got between the timing belt and the crank pulley causing the timing belt to jump time causing the pistons to hit the valves. Total engine rebuild required. Who would have ever thought a simple serpentine belt failure could cause so much pain and anguish. The hole in the timing cover is way too big.

I know the problem you discuss on the CR Diesel (2009-2015), not the BRM. You had a failure on yours?
 

ssgbulldawg

New member
Joined
Nov 29, 2018
Location
Wichita
TDI
06 Jetta
my tensioner was the culprit of my jetta, i ordered a gates kit 1554097 from rock auto for 90 bucks shipped. about 20 min and tensioner and belt were replaced. no need for extra tools and whatnot.
 

Carlos_TJ

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 3, 2014
Location
Tijuana Mexico
TDI
2009 Bora (BXE PD)
^^^for future viewers:
Accessory belt tensioner replacement requires no specialty tool.
Alternator pulley removal requires special tool for replacing pulley.
 
Top