A4 timing belt (new twist to the topic)

[Leon R]

I was at my purchasing dealer last week and discussed my upcoming 60,000klm belt change. Their explanation of why the prior to certain production number engines require more frequent change and that the new belt will not make any difference is that in the newer cars the timing and pump pressures were changed to give longer life to the belt. So what this means to me is that I am going to have to do mine every 60,000 kls. Does anybody know if the pump pressures and timing was changed?? I did buy the extended warranty when I purchased the car so I have another three years/100,000kls left and do not want to fool around with longer belt changes as any failure would not be covered. Also if their explanation is a fact then anybody installing the new belt in the older model may not be getting the protection they think and the new belt may fail as well.

 

[GoFaster]

Regarding "timing and pump pressures" - that's a load of bull. The pump pressure is determined by the mechanical stuff inside the pump, and that hasn't changed (the injector pump has the same part number). Injection timing won't make a difference to what the belt sees, and in any case, there's very little leeway to change it (and in fact, it has not been changed).

The other thing that puts stress on the timing belt is the valvetrain - but again, it's the same camshaft, the same valve lifters, the same valve springs, the same valves. Same, same, same.

The ONLY things that have been changed are the part numbers of the belt and the tensioner.

You're right about the extended warranty, though. If you have one of those ... you're STUCK doing it by the book until the warranty is finished if you want to keep it valid. That's the hidden cost of keeping a warranty valid, and that's largely why I've never owned a vehicle with a valid warranty, and certainly won't pay for extra coverage.

 

[OneBadBug]

Somewhere around here is a picture of both belts together. The new one looked considerably thicker.

 

[dzcad90]

I doubut the new 80K belt came from the PD.. That doesn't have an injection pump setup like our engines do.

 

[car54]

Originally posted by e-VOLVed:
IIRC, the new 80k belt came off of the PD115 and is quite a bit stronger.

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">You definently dont remember correctly, as the PD engines dont have a bosch fuel pump to drive!

The new belt came from VW when they realized 40k changes on the increasing number of TDI autos being sold was a joke.

 

[e-VOLVed]

IIRC, the new 80k belt came off of the PD115 and is quite a bit stronger.