Timing belt

I just bought my first TDI it’s a 2002 Golf with 182k it seems to run good and I have a bunch of records for the car but doesn’t have a record for the last timing belt the owner said it was done at around 80k I want to have it done so I have a starting point with it who in Maine do people recommend to do that for me and is there anything else I should do now with the car?

Let's hope he did a much better job of keeping up with maintenance on the rest of the car.

I'd be afraid to even start it. If I were you, I wouldn't even drive the car other than to the mechanic to have it replaced.

Also, is it a manual or automatic? If its an auto I'd replace the trans fluid also.

http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=130044

This is at the top of TDI101

Yes it’s a 5 speed and everything else looks up to date oil changed etc also done on time or sooner I took the car for a test drive before I bought it to make sure it ran good and shifted fine etc then I loaded it on my trailer and parked it I won’t drive it until I find someone to change the timing belt

Contact Herm Pasker (HermTDI here). He's in Richmond, ME. One of the original TDI gurus and also one of the best.

Just get the belt (and all the other associated bits) changed before driving the car - would hate to see that overdue belt break...

A friend of a friend of mine had a 2005 audi TT. Timing belt is due at 80K. He had it on the way to the mechanic in rush hour traffic in stop and go traffic going 10mph. BANG BOOM, 80,012 miles on the clock, belt broke and trashed the engine, car was totaled.

Point is........ you got it, a $45 belt is worth more than the cars total value. dont skip on this.

true story

IndigoBlueWagon said:

Contact Herm Pasker (HermTDI here). He's in Richmond, ME. One of the original TDI gurus and also one of the best.

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X2 on Herm. You'll probably have the best luck getting a hold of him by phone.

You should probably check with the previous owner as to what oil he used.
If it wasn't a good synthetic oil, there are some things you might want to check such as the cam wear.
I am using Mobil 1 synthetic 0w/40.
Walmart has it in 5 quart jugs for around $25.

ugenetoo said:

You should probably check with the previous owner as to what oil he used.
If it wasn't a good synthetic oil, there are some things you might want to check such as the cam wear.
I am using Mobil 1 synthetic 0w/40.
Walmart has it in 5 quart jugs for around $25.

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The OP tdi is an 02 Alh , there usually not associated with having cam issues, and I'm not aware of any bad synthetic oils out there.


Bajan

belome said:

Let's hope he did a much better job of keeping up with maintenance on the rest of the car.

I'd be afraid to even start it. If I were you, I wouldn't even drive the car other than to the mechanic to have it replaced.

Also, is it a manual or automatic? If its an auto I'd replace the trans fluid also.

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While I totally recommend holding to schedule, this doesn't sound like total neglect to me. Car's got 182k miles and the TB was said* to have been changed at (about) 80k miles. This is just about dead-on for schedule. Yeah, we like to be under that interval, but the interval was given for a reason: VW figured that statistically everything would hold for 100k miles; risks increase past this, but they're not going to drop enter into the imminent failure category in only a couple thousand miles. TIME would be the other big thing, and here is likely the greater reason why the TB should be changed ASAP.

* Buyer beware. Unless there's documentation (or the person's word is proven to be bankable) pitch the statements in the trash. In this case, however, the seller was likely being honest- little value in lying about the TB needing to be changed now (100k interval); if he'd said it had been changed 50k miles ago, and it was really changed 100k miles ago, then THAT would be deceitful.


Hand the car over to Herm. DONE!

red16vdub said:

The OP tdi is an 02 Alh , there usually not associated with having cam issues, and I'm not aware of any bad synthetic oils out there.


Bajan

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True, but with any kind of oil being used, everything wears.
I just bought an ALH that had every kind of oil out there used in it and the cam did show pretty bad wear for only having 250K miles.

And, on the flip side, I've seen numerous TBs go way beyond 110k miles (10% over on a 100k belt) with zero issues. However, beyond 100k miles, I'm more concerned with the water pump biting the dust, idler lock-up or the tensioner going bam! If a TB (high quality name brand as supplied by the vendors on this web site) "breaks" before 100k miles, it happened due to 1. Age related plus high miles, 2. oil/fuel contamination, 3. critter nibbling on the belt, or any combo of the three.

I saw one solidly document at 149k miles and still running fine. I've seen one at 138k miles and running fine (I installed on a friend's car.). And, I saw one with 119k miles on the TB in an 03 JSW that had had 15w-40 oil used in it after break-in! The car is still on the road pushing 200k miles with the proper oil. (the cam looked fine)

I'd suggest the OP pop-off the TB cover to see if the belt has been contaminated with oil or fuel. If not, find a guru to do the TB job and drive the car there for the work.

The carnage below took place at about 50k miles on the TB. The water pump (new with TB job) locked up. This TB did not break nor did it jump time! (Yes, I dodged the bullet even with my bad hearing!)

Andy, how did you know the belt was shredding? did you just happen to notice it? any symptoms other than some odd dust?

Mongler98 said:

Andy, how did you know the belt was shredding? did you just happen to notice it? any symptoms other than some odd dust?

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Well, here's the full version of the story.

I was heading into town (I live out in the rural about 14 miles.). A nearby friend was needing a ride to his friend's house to get his vehicle (had a sound system installed).

Anyway, on the main road, I took the Van up to about 75 mph to blow-out the cobb webs as it had not been driven in about a month. About 3 miles shy of my destination was where I had to drop off my friend (he's a big talker). As we were cruising along he was gabbing. The gabbing, road roar, my horrible hearing, etc., I did not hear anything unusual (engine ran great). When I stopped to let him out was when I heard the horrible sound. I immediately shut down the engine. I raised the deck lid and could smell antifreeze and see a bit of steam (did not over heat).

Well, I wasn't exactly off the highway. So, I fired it up and moved to the shoulder. Immediately, I popped off the TB cover and saw the carnage.

My destination was 3 more miles down the road. There was no way the TB would have held up another mile.

Luckily, my uncle's garage was nearby. So, he pulled me there with his tractor.... I did a complete TB install at his garage! The engine did stay in time without any doubt. We drove it to Saskatoon, Saskatchewan in late July on the way to Alaska where we had issues (another long story). After solving those issues, we decided to head back home via the Badlands, Rushmore, etc. (that would have been our 3rd trip with this Van to Alaska).

So, there's no doubt the engine is fine. ..... I sure did dodge the bullet!

EPIC, I am taking you to Vegas!

Mongler98 said:

Andy, how did you know the belt was shredding? did you just happen to notice it? any symptoms other than some odd dust?

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Shredding happened to me to due to the water pump locking up too.

http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=419669

My symptoms were:
1) initial jerking in the shifter and clutch pedal as I was shifting.
2) could hear more engine noise while still driving.
3) then coolant light comes on.
4) when I was stopped, i could hear a whirring sound while engine was running.
5) went to look under the hood and see steam coming from the engine/ TB area and puddling of coolant on the ground.

This is one reason i love the AHU, that and other things, too bad its not as build able as the ALH

Jokila, I'm sure all those sounds were there in my situation. But, my incident took place while in top gear running about 70 mph. So, I felt zero jerking and only observed the circumstances (loud noise, steam, coolant on the pavement, etc.) when I stopped to let my friend out. Of course, I need to invest in a $3,500 set of Hearing Aids (ask my wife....LOL).

Actually, I kind of believe a "squeaking" sound we heard a ten months earlier, while we were in Dawson City, Yukon, may have been the Water Pump. I never was able to confirm where the sound was coming from. It did go away. So, I assumed it was a gravel or other debris that got inside the Alternator while we were driving on the Dempster Highway (dirt road) the day before.

I recently had my timing belt done and was cruising country roads on the beginning of a 500 mile journey. 30 miles in a terrible racket began, it sounded as if the timing belt was rubbing on it’s cover. It was all I could imagine for miles with nowhere to pull over. I became desperate and just as I decided i had to stop now, the noise became a rock dislodging itself. What relief! I decided to motor on, and made the trip. So even with hearing aids, the only good noises are the ones you want to hear!