Timing belt question 2.0 turbo diesel

[Friday1]

I had the timing belt. water pump, tensioner, etc. replaced on my 2012 JSW. It runs good but is noisy like something is rubbing in the timing belt area. I went back to the guy who did the job and we removed the upper cover. The belt is tight on one side of the cam pulley but loose on the other side of the cam. It runs fine so I don't think the timing is way retarded, but I would think the belt tensioner would keep the belt tight at all points around all the things it drives. The belt tracks fine with no runout. There is no belt shavings or dust in the cover anywhere. What do you guys who have done this job think? Thanks in advance.

 

[oilhammer]

I think... I KNOW... a lot of people louse of timing belt jobs on Volkswagens. They don't replace things they should, they M & P the job without the proper tools, etc.

Without seeing the car, though, it would be tough to say.

 

[N2UADTDI]

First off I have never done a TB on a modern VW. But I have done many TB on other cars. I've seen lots of TB jobs messed up. From being off one tooth to missing/loose bolts to engine loss.
If you think there's a problem and the shop that did the work is not a VW expert, I would take the car to a VW shop or even the dealer.

 

[jokila]

You provided enough information that says it was done incorrectly. No way it should be visibly inconsistent on belt tension.

What does your guy say is going on? Has he ever done this engine's belt service before? Any VW TDI timing belt service?

 

[Friday1]

You provided enough information that says it was done incorrectly. No way it should be visibly inconsistent on belt tension.

What does your guy say is going on? Has he ever done this engine's belt service before? Any VW TDI timing belt service?

His 2nd 2.0 belt job. He has done many 1.9 VW diesels. He says as long as no sign of belt parts/pieces/powder in the cover and it runs true that it's OK. The belt stays tracked and does not try to run off the end of the cam pulley. He thinks the slack is on the "return" side of the cam rather than the "tension" side of the cam so the slack is OK. It is not slack enough to be flapping or easy to derail the belt, but I thought it might should be tight everywhere between any two pulleys or tensioners/rollers.

 

[jokila]

The 2.0s have been around at least since 2009. That's an impressive amount he has done over the years.

 

[Seatman]

Any chance of checking the pointer alignment on the tensioner? The new gates tensioners can catch people out as some you tension anticlockwise instead of clockwise. They don't have the tab on the back that sits in a notch in the engine.

 

[Wilkins]

I’m having difficulty imagining how it could be ’slack’ if the tensioner is set right. If this goes wrong there goes the engine.
That said, if the timing belt cover isn’t on quite right it rubs and makes a noise. How would I know that?

 

[osxuser]

I had this happen when I did mine. He didn't loosen all the bolts in the sprockets, he tried to shortcut to fake it. If you follow the procedure in the Bentley manual, it will fix it. No issues with mine once fixed.

 

[Friday1]

I had this happen when I did mine. He didn't loosen all the bolts in the sprockets, he tried to shortcut to fake it. If you follow the procedure in the Bentley manual, it will fix it. No issues with mine once fixed.

So tell me about the bolts in the sprockets. Why do they get loosened? So when you did yours, did you have slack in the belt? I'm thinking that may be where the noise is from. The belt is getting snapped as it gets loaded like when a valve is opening. I am having a guy do the job, I am handicapped with several health issues. I am a retired truck mechanic and having someone else do something for me is hard to let go.

 

[Seatman]

So tell me about the bolts in the sprockets. Why do they get loosened? So when you did yours, did you have slack in the belt? I'm thinking that may be where the noise is from. The belt is getting snapped as it gets loaded like when a valve is opening. I am having a guy do the job, I am handicapped with several health issues. I am a retired truck mechanic and having someone else do something for me is hard to let go.

You lock everything down then loosen the three bolts on the cam and pump, this allows the cogs to move freely when taking up the tension on the belt without affecting the timing.

 

[Friday1]

You lock everything down then loosen the three bolts on the cam and pump, this allows the cogs to move freely when taking up the tension on the belt without affecting the timing.

Thanks for the reply. I watched several youtubes and know what the bolts are now. It will be interesting to see what is wrong with mine. I am thinking it has to be the tensioner adjustment slipped, or was wrong in the beginning. I think the noise is the belt being loose.