Timing Belt Blues

[Turbo Girl]

So I have heard some conflicting information regarding my timing belt and I am hoping that someone can help set me straight as well as give me some pointers on the most cost effective way to get it replaced.

I drive a 2006 VW Jetta TDI 1.9L. It roughly has 120,000 miles on it. I was under the impression that once the vehicle reaches 100,000 I NEED to replace my timing belt. My friend who is a mechanic and seems to have a lot of experience with VWs told me that it needed to be done (my friend is kind of a scammer so I am not sure if I entirely trust him to work on my car).

However, I have been asking around and many people have told me that I can wait until it reached 150,000 miles before it is completely necessary and I've also been told that I can wait until my car reaches 200,000. I am planning a trip in June that will require about 2,000 miles worth of driving.

Please help!?

 

[04SlvrJetta]

GET IT DONE! NOW! Not doing so is very costly and causes lots of damage! Ask me how I know!

 

[04SlvrJetta]

Oh, and pointers...if you're not doing it yourself then you need a trusted mechanic. Only quality parts should be used and can be obtained through vendors such as IDParts.com. The good vendors that support TDICLUB offer all of the parts as a kit.

 

[Lightflyer1]

IIRC the requirement was reduced to 80k miles. You are already on borrowed time here. If it breaks you will do damage to the engine itself. Please check the trusted mechanics thread and get this done as soon as possible. It may last or it may break tomorrow. Do you want to take that chance with ruining your car?

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

Please get one of these mechanics to do it correctly. Don't let your scammer friend do it. It requires a kit and some special tools and the knowledge of how to do it right. Spend some time on here reading about others who have had this issue. Some self education here is in order so you aren't taken advantage of.

 

[Jeepaholic]

Yes, don't push it. You've made it to 120K, be thankful. When the belt brakes it'll cost you substantially more than if you do it now. The cost of a broken belt will easily stretch into 4-digits.

 

[jettawreck]

Way over due and running on borrowed time!
Do you have an owner's manual with the TDI car?
The TB schedule is in there for documentation.

 

[jasonTDI]

Boom.....$4000 later.....

 

[cleaver]

Boom.....$4000 later.....

Jason - you are always so eloquent...but are 100% correct.


As the above persons have said, you are far past the scheduled maintenance to replace your timing belt and all parts along the belts path.


Find a good mechanic that has the necessary lockdown tools and use quality parts. If you don't find a guru near you, ask some more questions here - definitely don't let the dealer or just any mechanic do the work.

Doing the job wrong or with inferior parts is just as bad as not doing the job in the first place.

 

[Jeepaholic]

Boom.....$4000 later.....

Can I add these to your otherwise perfect statement?

 

[WalrusBurger]

Go ahead and get it changed. I just got mine changed (although it was due to a leaky water pump). The mechanic doing it has another engine in his shop that's he's repairing to the tune of about $3000 because the timing belt broke.

 

[Turbo Girl]

Thanks everyone! I am going to get this done ASAP! I am pretty new to this forum and I really appreciate your input. It is nice to be around so many knowledgeable people!

 

[mac11]

bloomington indiana?

 

[Turbo Girl]

Boom.....$4000 later.....

This scared the pants off me! Do you all know anyone in the Central Illinois area that I can consult about getting this fixed?

 

[mac11]

http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=130044&highlight=guru+state

 

[Ol'Rattler]

However, I have been asking around and many people have told me that I can wait until it reached 150,000 miles before it is completely necessary and I've also been told that I can wait until my car reaches 200,000. I am planning a trip in June that will require about 2,000 miles worth of driving.

Please help!?

Be really careful about maintenance by consensus. Because you are female, a lot of male folks will puff up a bit and offer you advice that doesn't have much basis in reality.

There is a maintenance schedule in your owners manual that should be treated as fact.

for a 2006 BRM, the original recommendation for changing the T/B is 100K miles which VW later changed to 80K miles.

 

[jasonTDI]

Or just drive up and I can do it in under 3 hours.

 

[IndigoBlueWagon]

Assuming the cam is OK.

 

[jasonTDI]

OK, 4 hours. lol.

 

[Chris Tobin]

Can I add these to your otherwise perfect statement?

Those look like small block Chevy pistons... not like any diesel piston I have ever seen...

 

[Curious Chris]

Jason is good guy to go to and I like idparts: http://www.idparts.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=931 I think this is the timing kit for your car but Jason can confirm/deny it.

3 hours is nothing in a tdi.

 

[Chris Tobin]

3 hours is nothing in a tdi.

It is if the belt breaks on the way!!!

 

[ymz]

Oilhammer in St. Louis is a tiny bit closer than Jason...

Two of the best...

Yuri

 

[Turbo Girl]

bloomington indiana?

Bloomington, Illinois

 

[Turbo Girl]

Great guys! I am on this...JasonTDI, where in WI are you? My family is from northern IL so another hour drive would not be that big of a deal!

 

[IndigoBlueWagon]

He's in Oregon, near Madison.

 

[Green_Streak]

Boom.....$4000 later.....

Wait... Are you talking about the timing belt or the 01M transmission?

 

[jettawreck]

Wait... Are you talking about the timing belt or the 01M transmission?

The engine.
The original poster has a 5 speed in her signature line.

 

[montyypythonss]

There is a shop in Lawrencville il called lazy 8, he does all the work on my friends tdi, you could check with him 618-392-5222 make sure whoever you use replaces everything in the kit, look and see what comes with them. rollers can fail before belts. ask many questions, if you don't feel comfortable with his answers, find a guru like jasontdi or oilhhammer, i have used oilhammer before, plenty to do in st louis while you wait. the city museum is awesome.