First time owner

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Homebrew01

Active member
Joined
Jan 21, 2018
Location
Washington
TDI
01 Beetle TDI
Hey group I just bought my first VW, it's an 01 beetle 1.9t. It has 182k miles on it. The previous owner told me the timing belt was done at about 100k. I discovered that the timing belt cover has numbers written on it which I'm guessing is the mileage from when the belt was changed last(82xxx) if that's true I'm likely driving on borrowed time 120+ on the belt. Any way I was looking into doing it myself to save some money, found the kit for around 300 with pump and new hardware and other misc items. In addition to that I would have to buy the tool kit as well $200. I was told I would have to have a shop adjust the injectors using a special VW computer. Just looking for some advice on what to do here.
 
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wonneber

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Oct 12, 2011
Location
Monroe, NY, USA
TDI
2014 Jetta Sportwagon,2003 Jetta 261K Sold but not forgotten
Welcome. :)
The forum is a wealth of info, many willing to help.
Some companies rent the tools with the purchase of the belt kit.
You will need them.
Do the water pump & thermostat at the same time.
If the water pump seizes and the timing belt jumps you will have at a minimum bent valves up to thrown rod and the entire motor trashed.
I did mine last year getting all the parts from idparts.com
They are a trusted vendor here.
Replace all the TTY bolts s/a the passenger motor mount bolts unless you want to risk the motor dropping going down the road. :eek:
It only hurts while your typing in the credit card numbers. :D
 
K

KLXD

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 22, 2009
Location
Lompoc, CA
TDI
'98, '2 Jettas
I use a drill bit to pin the pump and made a spanner to adjust the tensioner. Prolly could use 90* snap ring pliers.

Made a tool to index the cam.
 
H

Homebrew01

Active member
Joined
Jan 21, 2018
Location
Washington
TDI
01 Beetle TDI
The kit I'm looking at has what looks like everything that I may need including seals and hardware. I've watched a few videos on the process, it doesn't look overly complicated. One concern that came up is the need to have the injection timing checked / set. I understand the need, but is the car going to be safe to drive if I can't get it done right away? There aren't many shops near me that work on vws. I hate paying for auto repairs that I can do myself but I'm debating biting the bullet on this one.
 
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burn_your_money

Veteran Member
Joined
Oct 16, 2012
Location
Missouri
TDI
99 Beetle, 96 B4V, 05 Passat wagon
Odds are that it will be fine to have the pump timing refined after you install the new belt. VCDS isn't that expensive, especially compared to shop time though.
 
K

KLXD

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 22, 2009
Location
Lompoc, CA
TDI
'98, '2 Jettas
Can you remove a stuck socket head screw without damaging it?

Can you follow written instructions verbatim even if you don't fully understand the logic behind the order. It's better if you do understand, of course.

If so you can get the timing tools for under $50 on Amazon.

The money you save doing it yourself will pay for VCDS to check the timing.
 
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maxmoo

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 19, 2011
Location
Lakefield, Ontario, Canada
TDI
2000 golf, 2001 golf, 2000 beetle, 2003 wagon, 2004 golf, 2004 jetta, all diesels
Make sure that you read and follow the following instructions before and while doing this procedure....you must be meticulous.
www.tdiclub.com/articles/pdf/a4timingbelt.pdf
http://www.myturbodiesel.com/wiki/a...nt-vw-jetta-tdi-golf-beetle-1998-2003-part-1/

Also I assume you purchased a quality kit....they can be had for about that price....but you can also end up with a chinese knock off for that price.

You can do this without vcds and get the car running but you will likely not get optimum performance, milage and ease of starting until you fine tune the inj pump timing with vcds.
 
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Tdijarhead

Tdijarhead

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Nov 10, 2013
Location
Lawrenceville PA
TDI
2003 TDI Jetta Daughters Car, 2001 TDI Beetle, Wife’s car, 2005 Golf TDI Mine, all 5 spds
Some trusted vendors that sell a complete kit.

Idparts.com

Metalmanparts.com

Cascadegerman.com

Dieselgeek.com

I know metalmanparts will rent the tools with a deposit of course. Each of those vendors has the kit for just about the same money you’re talking. Welcome.
 
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09wingates

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 2, 2017
Location
Texas
TDI
2002 Beetle ALH Manual
I was in the same exact boat you are in almost a year ago. I too bought a 02 NB with the 1.9 that needed a timing belt done and I knew nothing about TDI or VW for that matter. I bought the full timing belt kit from ID Parts which has everything you will need to do the job right. I bought the timing tools in a kit off ebay for around $50. They are not professional grade by any means but they will do the job. I didnt have access to VCDS and I got lucky and I had no issues with timing after I did the job. Yes it is better to have the software to do fine tuning but its been almost a year and I have had zero issues with performance. I am not saying that you will have the same results, I am just relaying my experience. Be sure whatever kit you buy has all the one use stretch bolts included. Also be sure and plan for the better part of a day to do this cause you will want to take it slow and recheck your work. Its nice to have a helper as well. Hope all this helps some, this forum is a wealth of information. If you ever have need for parts of questions dweisel on here is the TDI beetle guru.
 
BobnOH

BobnOH

not-a-mechanic
Joined
May 29, 2004
Location
central Ohio
TDI
New Beetle 2003 manual
Homebrew01 said:
................ I was told I would have to have a shop adjust the injectors using a special VW computer. ..............
Click to expand...
Close, you need to dial in the tuning by adjusting the injection pump pulley.
You can do this with any ODBII device that will read measure block 000, field 2.
Or purchase a Ross Teck KII-USB, will come in handy in the future.
Cam belt kit, tools, diagnostic tool around 800 somolians, welcome to the VW world!
The good news is they're sweet cars when they're working, bad news, auto trannies suck and either the turbo or the injection pump cost just under a grand.
 
flee

flee

Veteran Member
Joined
Sep 19, 2011
Location
Chatsworth, CA
TDI
2002 Jetta GLS wagon
Homebrew01 said:
Hey group I just bought my first VW, it's an 01 beetle 1.9t. It has 182k miles on it. The previous owner told me the timing belt was done at about 100k. I discovered that the timing belt cover has numbers written on it which I'm guessing is the mileage from when the belt was changed last(82xxx) if that's true I'm likely driving on borrowed time 120+ on the belt. Any way I was looking into doing it myself to save some money, found the kit for around 300 with pump and new hardware and other misc items. In addition to that I would have to buy the tool kit as well $200. I was told I would have to have a shop adjust the injectors using a special VW computer. Just looking for some advice on what to do here.
Click to expand...
According to what you have typed, you only have 100k on the TB. No worries.
Read and watch everything you can and don't hesitate to ask here as you DIY.:)
 
H

Homebrew01

Active member
Joined
Jan 21, 2018
Location
Washington
TDI
01 Beetle TDI
I just ordered a kit from dieselgeek. I've been watching videos of the procedure and saw one where the guy drilled a hole in the inter cooler to drain oil out of it. What's the deal with that? May be a dumb question but I've never worked on a beetle before, where is the safest place to jack/position the jack stands on the car?
 
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wonneber

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Oct 12, 2011
Location
Monroe, NY, USA
TDI
2014 Jetta Sportwagon,2003 Jetta 261K Sold but not forgotten
The turbo seem to seep oil into the boost tube and it accumulates in the bottom of the turbo.
If the seal blows it dumps it in.
Problem is when to much accumulates it blocks the air until the boost pushes a lot of it and the motor over revs (run away) until something breaks.
Usually it's catastrophic. :eek:
If your fast enough and shut the engine the ASV closes the air going in and saves the damage.
Having a hole in the bottom gives an easy way to drain it.
 
K

KLXD

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 22, 2009
Location
Lompoc, CA
TDI
'98, '2 Jettas
It's a fix looking for a problem.

Easier way is to open it up on a freeway onramp once in a while.
 
UhOh

UhOh

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Dec 24, 2014
Location
PNW
TDI
2000 & 2003 Golf GLS (2005 Mercedes E320 CDI)
09wingates said:
I was in the same exact boat you are in almost a year ago. I too bought a 02 NB with the 1.9 that needed a timing belt done and I knew nothing about TDI or VW for that matter. I bought the full timing belt kit from ID Parts which has everything you will need to do the job right. I bought the timing tools in a kit off ebay for around $50. They are not professional grade by any means but they will do the job. I didnt have access to VCDS and I got lucky and I had no issues with timing after I did the job. Yes it is better to have the software to do fine tuning but its been almost a year and I have had zero issues with performance. I am not saying that you will have the same results, I am just relaying my experience. Be sure whatever kit you buy has all the one use stretch bolts included. Also be sure and plan for the better part of a day to do this cause you will want to take it slow and recheck your work. Its nice to have a helper as well. Hope all this helps some, this forum is a wealth of information. If you ever have need for parts of questions dweisel on here is the TDI beetle guru.
Click to expand...
Excellent post!

Note, however, that having the timing coming out well isn't "luck," it's a sign that you've performed the work correctly!;) I've now got about 50k miles on my first TB job (my car) and I've never touched the timing: performance (w/mods) is outstanding; FE is over 50mpg (that's my average since owning- over 3 years!). I have VCDS.

OP, jack points- google for them (toward the ends of the rockers, pinch welds, or K-member bolts). Drilling the lower IC is a way of periodically checking for oil accumulation w/o having to pop off the hose (can be a pain): I did this on the wife's car because I was concerned about the turbo- after about 40k miles I stopped checking; I make sure to beat on it when I get my hands on the car, as that ensure I push most all oil out). I have bought my TB kits from DieselGeek as well (two now). Regarding altering injector performance via VCDS (or other), no, you cannot- you can alter overall injected quantity, but this is not an individual injector tweak: you can, however, see how each injector is fueling; rather, how each cylinder is performing (fueling is adjusted, to a degree, -by the ECU/computer- based on a sense of crank speed produced from individual cylinder firings [injectors and compression come in to play here- requires additional diagnostics to determine which of the two might be problematic, if there's an apparent problem [shown by VCDS]).
 
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09wingates

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 2, 2017
Location
Texas
TDI
2002 Beetle ALH Manual
UhOh said:
Excellent post!

Note, however, that having the timing coming out well isn't "luck," it's a sign that you've performed the work correctly!;) I've now got about 50k miles on my first TB job (my car) and I've never touched the timing: performance (w/mods) is outstanding; FE is over 50mpg (that's my average since owning- over 3 years!). I have VCDS.

OP, jack points- google for them (toward the ends of the rockers, pinch welds, or K-member bolts). Drilling the lower IC is a way of periodically checking for oil accumulation w/o having to pop off the hose (can be a pain): I did this on the wife's car because I was concerned about the turbo- after about 40k miles I stopped checking; I make sure to beat on it when I get my hands on the car, as that ensure I push most all oil out). I have bought my TB kits from DieselGeek as well (two now). Regarding altering injector performance via VCDS (or other), no, you cannot- you can alter overall injected quantity, but this is not an individual injector tweak: you can, however, see how each injector is fueling; rather, how each cylinder is performing (fueling is adjusted, to a degree, -by the ECU/computer- based on a sense of crank speed produced from individual cylinder firings [injectors and compression come in to play here- requires additional diagnostics to determine which of the two might be problematic, if there's an apparent problem [shown by VCDS]).
Click to expand...
Well don't get me wrong I do plan to buy the software when I can but after 20K miles since I did the job everything has been smooth sailing. It makes it extremely gratifying that you can learn to do work on your car and save the $1k+ dollars that a shop will charge to do a timing belt service. :cool:
 
0

09wingates

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 2, 2017
Location
Texas
TDI
2002 Beetle ALH Manual
BTW I usually pull the lower hose off the intercooler and drain whatever oil is in it when I do my normal oil changes. I am at 277K on a factory turbo and I get very little oil in the intercooler between changes. The general rule of thumb is if you get more than a cup of oil then you are using borrowed time for your turbo to go. With all that being said the TDI beetles are a blast to drive and it will make people turn there head when you pull up to the pump next to one ton pickups and get diesel.lol
 
UhOh

UhOh

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Dec 24, 2014
Location
PNW
TDI
2000 & 2003 Golf GLS (2005 Mercedes E320 CDI)
I stopped checking after many such inspections turned up only about 2-3 ounces of oil in 5k miles (that was my interval for checking). W/o a doubt, proper driving takes care of everything.

09wingates, pretty certain that when you finally check your timing that it'll be fine (likely no need to adjust). What ultimately matters is how well the engine runs.
 
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hey_allen

Veteran Member
Joined
Nov 25, 2006
Location
Altus, OK
TDI
2000 Jetta TDI
That looks like one of the many copies of the ross-tech cable, that should only run vcds lite, unless they are providing a hacked version of the full software.

If it is running vcds-lite, you can do most things, but the timing graph that makes setting up the IP timing so much easier requires the full version.

That said, a Chinese cable to run the lite software can be had for less, or you could spend a little more and buy a used cable from one of the people in the buy/sell/trade part of the forum.

I use an older vcds KII-USB USB cable that I bought cheap from a guy who sold his VW, and since I am only working on a couple of mk4 cars it works well.
I can't use it on a newer canbus equipped car, but I also don't own one, so no need for a new cable.
 
Tdijarhead

Tdijarhead

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Nov 10, 2013
Location
Lawrenceville PA
TDI
2003 TDI Jetta Daughters Car, 2001 TDI Beetle, Wife’s car, 2005 Golf TDI Mine, all 5 spds
The cost of a fully functioning genuine Ross-Tech cable ($249-349) is so small when compared to other similar readers. Mac, Snapon, Consult and others that run several thousand yes thousand often 3-5k. On top of the purchase price some also require a several hundred dollar subscription each year for updates.

With that in mind I fail to see why anyone would buy a cheap Chinese pirated version. Yeah it might work fine but the folks at Ross Tech are active on this forum and have an investment in the cars we drive. They also often answer questions here on the forum and if you call them for help guess what? They speak English. Where do you call for support and help with the knockoffs.

I saw one guy ask a question about his cable and one of the Ross Tech people started to help but it was determined that his was a pirated version so that ended that, and rightly so.
Now the guy has a useless cable he purchased at a bargain price that has little if any value.
 
UhOh

UhOh

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Dec 24, 2014
Location
PNW
TDI
2000 & 2003 Golf GLS (2005 Mercedes E320 CDI)
^^^ Yup.

Read the following three words over a few times: Cheap, Diagnostic Tool. And then ask yourself what your intent of using a diagnostic tool is.
 
K

KyleMillione

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 27, 2017
Location
Yaphank, New York
TDI
02 Jetta, 03 Jetta
hey_allen said:
If it is running vcds-lite, you can do most things, but the timing graph that makes setting up the IP timing so much easier requires the full version.
Click to expand...
The free version has no timing graph. The $99 version provides most functionality needed for a shade tree mechanic, including the graph. I’m not suggesting that he uses stolen software, I’m suggesting he buy a $10 chinesium cable and use it with a legal licensed copy of VCDS Lite for $99 from Rosstech. I feel that that’s better than praying that the mechanical start of injection is right after a TB change if you don’t have the dough for a better interface.
 
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