serpentine belt tensioner???

[golfgrrl]

I just had the timing belt replaced twice. Apparently a bolt sheared off twice, and had to be replaced. At a cost of $1500 each time. I'm still crying. Now I've noticed a ticking sound, and will not return to the last mechanic, beause I don't trust him. I took it into the nearest dealership for a diagnostic, and they informed that that the serpentine belt tensioner needs replacement, as does the alternator pulley.
They said the tensioner costs $500, plus labour= $1000+ tax.
Please advise! This car is running me into the ground. Oh, and I had the a/c disconnected because it was putting too much load on the engine.
Just call me lost in the woods, with interest.

96 golf TD

 

[Wingnut]

If the mechanic who did the first TB job did not replace that bolt, then he is responsible for the damage. The crank bolt on those cars needs to be replaced at every TB job. The fact it happened a second time is even more weird. It just goes to show that he is not taking responsibility for his errors. There is a TSB about that bolt. Just call up your local dealer & ask about getting a copy of it. I had the same thing happen to my 96 and the mechanic who changed the belt for me denied responsibility. Once I showed him the TSB and suggested a court might be a better place to discuss the matter, he ponied up $1000. I ended up putting a whole engine in the car for $2000, so he paid half.

As for the tensioner, it is a common problem on those cars. The part is not expensive. I think i paid about $120 for it, but that was 5 years ago now. And certainly not $500 worth of labor to change. Its less than an hour job. I did mine in a parking lot with limited tools and bad light

 

[Wingnut]

Just did a quick search. The tensioner is around $75 aftermarket:

http://catalog.eautopartscatalog.com/archsoftware/canadiancarparts/quote.jsp?partner=cheap&partnerSession=85eeddfdc81c69f96301eb63efc8705e&product=028903315r

Or $65 from this place:

http://www2.pythonparts.ca/python/quote.jsp?product=028903315r

I bet Brian Harrison could even get it for less. The part number is: 028 903 315R

Its literaly 2 bolts out & 2 bolts in to replace it.

 

[TheTDIWagonGuy]

It's not the car running you into the ground. It's the mechanic.

 

[Brian B]

$1000 will definately be a stealership price. I got mine from Brian Harrison at a great price(maybe under $100). I haven't replaced mine yet but it does sound pretty easy. Does anyone have the steps?

 

[Wingnut]

The tensioner on the ALH TDI is a bit harder than the 96. Remove the serpentine belt using a 16mm or 5/8 box end wrench. Then remove the 3 13mm bolts holding it to the bracket. Its hard to reach, but doable. Then replace the 3 bolts and then replace the belt. You can see the orientation of the 3 bolts by looking at the holes in the new tensioner. They ar pretty close together.

 

[Precisiontuning]

In case you are still looking for one. I sell the tensioner for $54

 

[TDIzEnuph]

Serpentine belt tensioner

Hello - I recently had to replace my serpentine belt tensioner...it was making what I can only describe as a 'clicking' (or a 'ticking') sound...it sounded like a fan blade hitting something while I was at idle at a street light or stop sign (that's actually what I expected first off)...turns out it was the tensioner...once replaced, this problem went away

I don't recall how much it was but I can guarantee that it was nowhere neat the $1,000 + that you paid! Did you get any other work done in the process or was it just the serpentine belt tensioner

regards,
eric

 

[Wingnut]

The $1000 quote was probably for the tensioner & the alternator. Those are not cheap. $500 in parts sounds avbout right for dealer prices. the $500 in labor is on the high side though. Even at $100 an hour, there is no way it takes 5 hours to re & re an alternator & tensioner. The ensioner is about 15 min IIRC, but I honestly can't remember how hard the alternator was. It was almost 5 years ago when I took it out. But there may be nothing wrong with the alternator at all. When I had my 96, I had the exact same issue. And I thought it was the alternator pulley too. So I took it out, had it rebuilt & put it back in. The noise was still there. I should have know better and started with the cheaper of the 2 and done the tensioner first. Its a cheap part and easy to change. If there is still noise there after the tensioner is replaced, then consider doing something about the alternator.

 

[golfgrrl]

Thank you all so much! Now I have something to work with. I love this site.

 

[casey_tdi97]

Wingnut, does this apply to my 1Z engine. Because reading the original post, it seems to be a TD and not a TDI. Which bolt and year/model is the TSB for? Please enlighten.
Casey.

 

[Wingnut]

That bolt is for the 96 TD engine

 

[BrianHarrison]

Hi golfgrrl;
The $500.00 for the tensioner may not be too far off as the whole bracket assembly 028 903 139T is $501.35 at the dealer. I have the tensioner spring 028 903 315R for $49.75 but that is only one part of the whole assembly. There is a shaft 028 903 308G and an idler pulley 028 145 278E as well as a few other small parts. When the assembly gets really worn the bushings in the assembly casting wear out and the only solution at the dealer level is to replace the whole part for $501.35. I have had them fixed at a machine shop by having new bushings made and installed for the shaft. The alternator pulley that the dealer was probably talking about would be the newer one that has a built in clutch so that it will only turn one way. This was added to the TDI models in 1997 and 1998 with the 120 amp alternator. It helps reduce the load on the belt and keep it from vibrating as much. It is a common update to the older turbo diesel models as it does reduce some of the vibration on the belt which is what wears out the tensioner assembly. I did it to my 95 Passat turbo diesel (381,000km ) a few years ago. That pulley sells for about $140.00 at the dealer. So by the time you replace just those two parts plus a few hours labour at flat rate, which is what most car dealers use, then you probably would be close to $1000.00.
I have the alternator pulley in stock for $80.00 as well as the special tool needed to install and remove it.
You should try to find someone trustworthy to look at the tensioner assembly to see how badly worn it is. This will determine what parts you really need.
Hope this is some help.
Brian

 

[shadetree2]

The $1000 quote was probably for the tensioner & the alternator. Those are not cheap. $500 in parts sounds avbout right for dealer prices. the $500 in labor is on the high side though. Even at $100 an hour, there is no way it takes 5 hours to re & re an alternator & tensioner. The ensioner is about 15 min IIRC, but I honestly can't remember how hard the alternator was. It was almost 5 years ago when I took it out. But there may be nothing wrong with the alternator at all. When I had my 96, I had the exact same issue. And I thought it was the alternator pulley too. So I took it out, had it rebuilt & put it back in. The noise was still there. I should have know better and started with the cheaper of the 2 and done the tensioner first. Its a cheap part and easy to change. If there is still noise there after the tensioner is replaced, then consider doing something about the alternator.

I do believe the OP said "Timing belt tensioner" ...or did i read it wrong

 

[steve6]

Thread revival from 2006!

 

[Wingnut]

This is an 8 year old discussion!

Not sure it matters anymore, but she was definitely talking about the serpentine belt tensioner.

 

[shadetree2]

OOOOOPS......just read the date steve...........guess it got fixed by now lol