Timing Belt Job, then Engine died

elcamino73

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2003 Jetta TDI Wagon 5 speed
So, I just completed my second timing belt job on my '02, using the how-to PDF in the Articles page.

I followed it step-by-step, set the timing w/ VCDS, drove to work. On my way home (about 50 miles on the belt), the engine made an odd noise (like something let go; hard to explain). I didn't realize that the engine had stopped, as it felt like loss of power, for several seconds while I coasted down the hill and onto my road/driveway (thankfully it stopped rolling 150 yds from my garage). After I saw the battery light come on, I put the trans in neutral (5-speed) and finished coasting.

Not thinking, I tried to re-start it once the car stopped rolling. The starter seemed to spin with a lot less resistance (almost like it wasn't engaging). Then I though, "timing belt" and pulled off the cover and from visual inspection (at night w/ a flashlight) it seemed ok. I bumped the starter and noted that the belt had moved, but now felt for the tension.

The belt was loose (I could press down about 1/2" of deflection). I called a tow truck to get it the rest of the way down my muddy road/driveway.

After the driver and I rolled the Jetta off the flat-bed and into my garage (no pushing!!), I took a peek at the tensioner, it was not aligned properly (the belt seemed tighter than when I tested it pre-tow). I then went to bed (since it was late).

At this point I have not ascertained if the tensioner nut is loose, or pulled any other covers off the belt. As far as I can see down, the belt seems intact and doesn't pull off.

From my visual inspection last night (in my well-lit garage), everything looks intact, and there are no frays on the belt.

At this point I don't tell if the timing belt has shifted/jumped. My next step is to pull the valve cover and try to manually rotate the engine to TDC and check for manual timing.

After that, what do I need to check to see if there is any engine damage (other than pulling the head), and what do you suggest at this point? I'll be digging into this tonight after dinner.

Thanks in advance.
 

BobnOH

not-a-mechanic
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May 29, 2004
Location
central Ohio
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New Beetle 2003 manual
When you realign the marks, if they're within 2 or 3 teeth, it's doubtful you "hit".
Other than a good visual, it's hard to tell if there was contact.
If there is any damage to the tensioner, get a knew one. I'm confident you'll get it right the next time. The common problems are getting the notch in the back and tensioning the wrong direction. Once on rotate the engine by hand a few times and check.
 

jokila

Vendor
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Dec 3, 2004
Location
Houston, Texas
TDI
2003 Jetta GLS, Manual
When you realign the marks, if they're within 2 or 3 teeth, it's doubtful you "hit".
Other than a good visual, it's hard to tell if there was contact.
If there is any damage to the tensioner, get a knew one. I'm confident you'll get it right the next time. The common problems are getting the notch in the back and tensioning the wrong direction. Once on rotate the engine by hand a few times and check.
The critical timing for damage is the crank to camshaft.. Injection Pump timing will cause running issues, but not the disastrous kind of the other timing.
 

jettawreck

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 2, 2004
Location
Northern Minnesota-55744
TDI
2001 Jetta and 2003 Jetta
Stripped teeth on the belt
Yeah, typically when it looses tension it strips teeth around the crank sprocket where it's tough to see in a casual inspection. It doesn't sound too good, but hope for the best. Probably didn't get the tab into the back cover properly. Perhaps
 

UhOh

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Probably didn't get the tab into the back cover properly. Perhaps
I almost got bit with this the first (and to this day the "only") TB job. The tab got a bit bent and pulled out of the slot. The nut had been too tight and when I went to rotate the tensioner it got really stiff. I hadn't torqued down the nut yet so I figured I was OK; apparently it was a bit too tight anyway. I backed out of everything, straightened out the tab and then it all went back together just fine: it's held up for 20k miles so I think I'm out of the woods:)

Not sure if the documentation warns about tightening the tensioner nut too much until you get the tensioner set.
 

50harleyrider

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Did you tension the belt with the 3 IP pulley bolts loose? If you didn't, you only got half the belt tensioned and your timing and tension will be off. Huge mistake made by many.
 

bmwM5power

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Did you tension the belt with the 3 IP pulley bolts loose? If you didn't, you only got half the belt tensioned and your timing and tension will be off. Huge mistake made by many.
I always thought the IP pulley is pinned when you do this and you have to loosen up the camshaft pulley
 

maxmoo

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I always thought the IP pulley is pinned when you do this and you have to loosen up the camshaft pulley
You pin the pump....the injection pump pulley and the cam pulley have to be free to move.....so the belt can be evenly tensioned.
Once the belt is properly tensioned then you tighten the three bolts on the ip pulley and the bolt on the cam pulley....so everything stays timmed.
 
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elcamino73

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2003 Jetta TDI Wagon 5 speed
Did you tension the belt with the 3 IP pulley bolts loose? If you didn't, you only got half the belt tensioned and your timing and tension will be off. Huge mistake made by many.
I did. Will update tonight/tomorrow AM after I dig into it a little tonight.
 

elcamino73

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Update:

Pulled the valve cover off last night and found:
- one lifter in pieces
- gouge on head (not critical damage)
- one cam lobe roughed up

I also checked the torque on the adjuster nut: it's tight

I didn't dig any further, as at this time I learned that I have a lot of work to do, and that was enough for now.

At this point I'm trying to work with the parts vendor to see how to determine how to tell if I had a part failure or assembly failure.

Assuming I did something wrong, how many of you would spend the $6-900 fixing the head/engine on an '02 with 364,000 miles, worn shocks/struts, rusted fender, and wheel bearing about to go? Or do you replace the car and sell off the parts?
 

belome

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2002 Jetta GLS TDI 5-speed
Tough call, my car is in about the same condition. For me, the next time I need to spend a grand on it, it will probably head off to the junkyard in the sky. Of course, I'm also moving closer to work, so fuel economy isn't going to be such a huge factor.
 

mrrhtuner

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You pin the pump....the injection pump pulley and the cam pulley have to be free to move.....so the belt can be evenly tensioned.
Once the belt is properly tensioned then you tighten the three bolts on the ip pulley and the bolt on the cam pulley....so everything stays timmed.

Curious, is this properly documented in the Timing belt DIY/file?

Maybe it's not clear enough and should be revised? I could imagine myself having difficulty with such a crucial part being a first timer to do it also.
 

mrrhtuner

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2003 Jetta Wagon TDI, 2015 Passat TDI, 2015 Touareg TDI

Assuming I did something wrong, how many of you would spend the $6-900 fixing the head/engine on an '02 with 364,000 miles, worn shocks/struts, rusted fender, and wheel bearing about to go? Or do you replace the car and sell off the parts?

IMO, buy a parts car and swap over things you need.
 

Rembrant

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Canada's Ocean Playground
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Assuming I did something wrong, how many of you would spend the $6-900 fixing the head/engine on an '02 with 364,000 miles, worn shocks/struts, rusted fender, and wheel bearing about to go? Or do you replace the car and sell off the parts?
That's a tough call. I've spent thousands of dollars rehabilitating my 2003 Golf, but it only had 170k miles on it when I bought it last year. $800 bucks for a new Mahle turbo, $900 for a new cylinder head, $900 body work, and then another couple grand on misc bits and pieces, clutch, starter, etc, etc. However...on a car with 364k miles on it...I dunno. If you think you can get another year or two out of it, then $600-$900 might not be so bad.

Curious, is this properly documented in the Timing belt DIY/file?
I can't imagine that part not being included, but I haven't looked either. I know it is part of the instructions on Myturbodiesel.
 

jettawreck

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Northern Minnesota-55744
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2001 Jetta and 2003 Jetta
Curious, is this properly documented in the Timing belt DIY/file?

Maybe it's not clear enough and should be revised? I could imagine myself having difficulty with such a crucial part being a first timer to do it also.
It was pretty clear to me when I did my first few.
Read thru the article a few times before starting the job and then take a laptop or tablet as you go step by step and its hard to go wrong.
 

elcamino73

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2003 Jetta TDI Wagon 5 speed
Curious, is this properly documented in the Timing belt DIY/file?

Maybe it's not clear enough and should be revised? I could imagine myself having difficulty with such a crucial part being a first timer to do it also.
I think it's clear; there is a paragraph explaining the why behind doing it.
 

CFTDIdriver

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Aug 17, 2014
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Central Florida
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2003 Jetta TDI, 2011 Jetta TDI Sportwagen
Let us know what you decide.

I have a 2003 Jetta TDI with 160K miles on it and the tensioner broke and the water pump was leaking coolant on it a few weeks ago when it broke down. So far I have spent around $1,100 piecing it back together, but I also installed a new AC compressor, dryer, & expansion valve in it as the AC went out on it a few weeks before Thanksgiving, and also a few other needed misc. items.

$310 for the water-pump / timing belt kit
$222 for the metalnerd ALH engine timing & sprocket puller tools
$255 for the (non-name brand) AC compressor kit
$100 in misc. tools needed that I didn't already have and supplies like AC refrigerant
$100 for a new EGR valve
$45 for a new molded brake booster vacuum line
$20 for 2 sizes of replacement silicone vacuum hose rolls
_____
$1,052

It looks like I dodged a bullet with mine not having head / valve damage when the tensioner went out, but since I didn't tension my belt with the IP bolts loose (the cam sprocket was) I may re-tension the belt and also re-inspect the lifters to see how they are holding up while at it just for the sake of it to make sure everything was done correctly to the T and confirm its still in good working condition.
 
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CFTDIdriver

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2003 Jetta TDI, 2011 Jetta TDI Sportwagen
Shortly down the road the car will need new control arm bushings, alignment, tires, and brake pads. Although this may all cost close to $2k combined after the recent work, this is still cheaper than going out and purchasing another vehicle. With this makeover and good defensive driving, we could easily get a few more years of dependable use out of it.

I also have a 2011 JSW TDI so with the Dieselgate scandal still waiting to be resolved, I'll have to see if it will be worthwhile and cost effective to continue with diesel powered passenger cars. Their future doesn't exactly look very bright at the moment so there is a good chance the 2011 may be the end of the line for us.
 
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turbovan+tdi

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2003 TDI 2.0L ALH, auto, silver wagon, lowered, Colt stage 2 cam, ported head,205 injectors, 1756 turbo, Malone 2.0, 3" exhaust, 18" BBS RC GLI rims. 2004 blue GSW TDI, 5 speed, lowered, GLI BBS wheels painted black, Malone stage 2, Aerotur
Update:

Pulled the valve cover off last night and found:
- one lifter in pieces
- gouge on head (not critical damage)
- one cam lobe roughed up

I also checked the torque on the adjuster nut: it's tight

I didn't dig any further, as at this time I learned that I have a lot of work to do, and that was enough for now.

At this point I'm trying to work with the parts vendor to see how to determine how to tell if I had a part failure or assembly failure.

Assuming I did something wrong, how many of you would spend the $6-900 fixing the head/engine on an '02 with 364,000 miles, worn shocks/struts, rusted fender, and wheel bearing about to go? Or do you replace the car and sell off the parts?
If your still in time, its probably one of those things, :mad:

Tough call, as someone said, if you figure you can get a few more years out of it, $1000 isn't that bad, on the other hand, you could probably find another ALH for $3000 that's in better shape.
 
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