Timing belt question

Hello everyone. I had wonderful success when I posted a couple of years ago, so here I go again. My 2003 Beetle has over 280K. I drive a lot. A couple of years ago, thanks to a forum connection, the timing belt was changed and the valves were remachined (I think that was what you call it). Well today the car died on the highway after doing a couple of hesitations. At the garage, when they opened the hood, the timing belt fell right off. They say they can change the belt and tensioner for $1K, but I'm worried there may be more damage they can't determine till after changing the belt.
I know I don't know all the terms, etc, regarding the motor, but I'm hoping someone might give me some guidance. Thanks

Chances are there is valve damage. At a minimum you should pull the valve cover and take a close look at the lifters. If I was working on it there would be no question the head would have to come off for inspection.

Having them just slap a new belt on it is a waste of your $1000. it will drop a valve into a cylinder within a short amount of time if you go that route. The head needs to come off and likely be refurbished but at least inspected.

No self respecting mechanic would do that, unless he had no idea what happened.
Issue needs an assessment before belt r+r. From what we're reading there was almost certainly interference contact, at highway speed that's pretty bad.

So your last post said you had a broken timing belt at 230k miles. You had the head/valve work done and new belt. Now 50k miles and 4 years later another broken belt. Should have gone 100k or so. You might try Powder Hound again as that is who helped you last time. You should be able to contact him through this site. Assuming you were happy with him last time and he is willing to help again.

http://forums.tdiclub.com/member.php?u=816

Lightflyer1 said:

So your last post said you had a broken timing belt at 230k miles. You had the head/valve work done and new belt. Now 50k miles and 4 years later another broken belt. Should have gone 100k or so. You might try Powder Hound again as that is who helped you last time. You should be able to contact him through this site. Assuming you were happy with him last time and he is willing to help again.

http://forums.tdiclub.com/member.php?u=816

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Who lets their TB crap out twice?

This doesn't sound right.

Bug46 said:

At the garage, when they opened the hood, the timing belt fell right off.

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The timing belt is inside a cover and wouldn't be likely to fall off.

Are you sure it was the timing belt? If so follow the above advice. If was the accessory belt there shouldn't be too much damage but a thousand bucks seems excessive.

Agreed KLXD - the serp belt could fall right off, especially if it's original...$1k is way too much though!

Count me as another vote for serpentine belt.

From the way you describe it, this sounds more like a problem with that belt, which would be visible as soon as you open the hood.

The timing belt is concealed beneath some covers and can't just fall off as soon as you open the hood.

If your serpentine belt fell off, the car would run until the battery voltage got low, and then it would start to run poorly (hesitate) and then stop running.

Unless there's more to the story, like the mechanic did in fact remove at least the top cover for the timing belt....

Well if you guys are interweb guessing correct, and I think you are, Good news for Bug46. Serpentine belt repair should be well under $500.

Sounds like if someone were to help her it would be under $40.

https://www.idparts.com/serpentine-belt-gates-green-stripe-a4-alh-p-3615.html

Fix the belt and charge the battery. If I was her I would try another contact with Powder Hound.

Thank you all. The thing is that he was able to start the car and drive it into the garage. Said it ran very ruff but started and ran. Also the belt fell off when he took off the housing. Codes say the pump is out of time or something like that. It would be great if it's repairable and I get a new timing belt. Thanks again.

the belt fell off when he took off the housing
Oh dear, oh my.
I really hope your mechanic is on the trusted list. If not, I predict you're in for a nightmare.
Assuming you described your symptoms to him, he should have never tried to start that engine before checking the belt.
http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=130044
but I'm worried there may be more damage they can't determine till after changing the belt.
If they told you this, it's proof they have no idea what they are doing.
If you want to keep your car, tow it out of there after you find an actual TDI mechanic.
Really sorry to be a downer, but it is what it is.
EDIT: and 1k bucks for a TB change is highway robbery.

If he drove it, the timing belt was intact enough that it wouldn't fall off when its cover was removed. Has to be the serpentine belt. Maybe he's means the engine cover?

The fact that it's out of time doesn't mean the timing belt failed. Could've been like that all along. Maybe caused by the serp belt thrashing around?

Needs to be looked at by someone who knows what he's doing. Could be your guy does and info is being lost in translation.

Can you get some pictures under the hood? Then we'll know what you're talking about.

As mentioned, if the timing belt had fallen off, the engine wouldn't run at all. Not for one second.

The only belt that can fall off, and still have the engine run, would be the serpentine belt.

As others have said, if this is in fact Timing Belt failure, do not slap another TB on.

Yes, it is highly likely the engine will run just fine with a new TB........ for about 500 to 1500 miles or you might get lucky as my brother did and make it 11k miles. However, the end result could be a completely destroyed engine or if you are lucky, only the head.

I cannot imagine a failed Serpentine Belt interfering with the Timing Belt unless the TB cover was left off.

How did the mechanic determine that the engine timing is off?

Yep! $1,000 is too much for a TB job............. and, a serp belt is durt (dirt) cheap and an easy install!

I cannot imagine a failed Serpentine Belt interfering with the Timing Belt unless the TB cover was left off.

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They can and do find themselves wrapped around the lower timing gear with the covers in place.

Update

I have my car back ($950) and it's running nicely. It will take time to get my confidence in the car back though. The first person I spoke with was not the mechanic. I think it was the surpentine belt that fell off because the tensioner had failed. The mechanic told me the camshaft and crank shaft stayed coordinated but the pump got out of time. He did a timing belt service which involved replacing the water pump, serpentine belt, tensioner, timing belt and three rollers. Then he had to bleed the fuel lines. Service cost $520 and parts $432. Everything seems to be working, although I think the idle seems a bit lower.

Bug46 said:

I have my car back ($950) and it's running nicely. It will take time to get my confidence in the car back though. The first person I spoke with was not the mechanic. I think it was the surpentine belt that fell off because the tensioner had failed. The mechanic told me the camshaft and crank shaft stayed coordinated but the pump got out of time. He did a timing belt service which involved replacing the water pump, serpentine belt, tensioner, timing belt and three rollers. Then he had to bleed the fuel lines. Service cost $520 and parts $432. Everything seems to be working, although I think the idle seems a bit lower.

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Sounds like a great outcome at a good price.