Timing belt replacement interval - time, not mileage

[Sprocket]

Has VW or the timing belt manufacturer's (Gates or Continental) given us a time limit or time interval change on our timing belts? I know the mileage interval is 80k, but what about time? I don't drive my car nearly as much as I used to, so it'll be years before I hit the next mileage interval.

 

[oilhammer]

I think on the PDs and late type VEs, 10 years is probably a good round number. The CRs I feel can go longer, they seem to be more forgiving. But honestly, I've never seen one that looked "bad" due to its age on the later textured type belts on any TDI.

I've been doing my BHW at 80k intervals, I would normally have just done 100k, but the belt came off when I ditched the chain at right about 80k, and not long after that, wife quit working so that second one took a while. Now I am about to do #3 as it is less than 1000 miles away from 240k as she is back to work and piling 85+ a day on it again.

My '99.5 Golf is, oddly enough, also about to hit 240k, and it will have been ELEVEN years this May since I put it on, but only about 95k miles.

I think my AWM Passat went about that long, too, but its water pump started weeping.

 

[Windex]

Never seen a published time interval. For me its 5 years. This may be aggressive, but the alternative is a trashed engine, so I go conservative.

 

[Mongler98]

Word was 5 years but realistically it's more like 8 to 10. The 5 year was back with the old belts. In 2003 they got changed to a better kevlar belt that is also wider and good for 100k or 10 years.
Imo 8 years or 80k miles is what I and some others live by.
There have been cases where some (very few but sum) members have had it fail at 100k but usually not by age. The by age deaths are usually from an unknown just got new to me car....

 

[Sprocket]

Thanks for the feedback guys, I appreciate it. Looks like I'll be ordering a TB kit!

 

[Sprocket]

Does anyone have the timing belt replacement procedure / how to available to share? The one on myturbodiesel is missing the 2nd part of the installation process.

 

[Windex]

Does anyone have the timing belt replacement procedure / how to available to share? The one on myturbodiesel is missing the 2nd part of the installation process.

Which car?

EDIT - Hmm B5 forum, I should look harder...
is this what you are looking for?

2004 and 2005 VW Passat TDI timing belt DIY replacement procedure 2 - install

How to DIY timing belt on 2004 and 2005 VW Passat TDI BHW engine interval tips and parts

www.myturbodiesel.com

 

[Sprocket]

Which car?

B5.5 / BHW engine

 

[Sprocket]

I started disassembly last night and came across this

 

[oilhammer]

Stay tuned for a hidden wiener scribble somewhere, LOL....

 

[Sprocket]

I've run into a small issue (hopefully) and I'm looking for some advice please. Here are a couple of pictures showing the crank lined up and locked in place along with the camshaft lined up. It looks like my camshaft sprocket is off and rotated to the right by 1/3 of a turn. From the pictures I've seen the torsion adjustment window should be at the top and mines at the 4 o'clock position. I'm assuming it was from when the camshaft was replaced and the sprocket wasn't put back on in the correct position.

My question is assuming that everything is lined up correctly (cam and crank), once I remove the existing belt, can I pull the camshaft pin, remove the cam sprocket and rotate it into the correct position without the camshaft moving? I'm worried about pulling the camshaft pin tool and having the camshaft move too far out of alignment. Should I not be worried about it moving?

The tb14 picture is from my turbo diesel website. The other two are mine.

 

[oilhammer]

Pin the cam, which holds the inner hub to the head... the hub is bolted rigidly to the cam itself. Then, you loosen the three screws, and you can move the sprocket wherever.

I like to start with the sprocket slightly turned to the right (clockwise) when I put the belt on, so when the belt gets tensioned it moves more to the center area of the adjustment window. That way, if you need to tweak the KW, you can go either way.

The cam sprocket HAS to move slightly when the belt is tensioned, that's why those three screws are left loose during that process. The older VE TDIs were the same, except they had the whole sprocket loose and turning on the cam itself, which is locked in place at the other end by the cam bar. PDs, having an actual cam sensor, allow for a slight adjustment in the cam/crank correlation, so they made it like they did with the two pieces (hub and sprocket) with the sprocket easily adjustable.

 

[Sprocket]

Pin the cam, which holds the inner hub to the head... the hub is bolted rigidly to the cam itself. Then, you loosen the three screws, and you can move the sprocket wherever.

I like to start with the sprocket slightly turned to the right (clockwise) when I put the belt on, so when the belt gets tensioned it moves more to the center area of the adjustment window. That way, if you need to tweak the KW, you can go either way.

The cam sprocket HAS to move slightly when the belt is tensioned, that's why those three screws are left loose during that process. The older VE TDIs were the same, except they had the whole sprocket loose and turning on the cam itself, which is locked in place at the other end by the cam bar. PDs, having an actual cam sensor, allow for a slight adjustment in the cam/crank correlation, so they made it like they did with the two pieces (hub and sprocket) with the sprocket easily adjustable.

I'd need to remove the cam pin tool in order to rotate the sprocket 120 degrees counter clockwise though. Does this make sense? I just want to make sure the camshaft isn't going to spin once I remove the pin to remove and rotate the sprocket.

 

[Windex]

Yes. The valve springs may make the cam rotate slightly when you have the pin out and belt loose, but just keep an eye on where it moved relative to the pin hole behind, and rotate the cam back into position after you have realigned the sprocket.

 

[Sprocket]

Yes. The valve springs may make the cam rotate slightly when you have the pin out and belt loose, but just keep an eye on where it moved relative to the pin hole behind, and rotate the cam back into position after you have realigned the sprocket.

Thank you and thank you for the 2nd part of the TB procedure, I appreciate it!!!

 

[oilhammer]

Jason, I see now in your pic what you are talking about.... yeah, whoever put that cam in there really messed that part up. The serrated slotted hole is always 'up' when the engine is at TDC. The 3 bolt holes are equal distance from each other, so obviously the sprocket can go on one of three ways. I didn't realize what you were asking before, as I've never seen one that was put on wrong like that. So yeah, just pull the sprocket, pull the pin (yours is the L-shaped one, so you cannot slide the sprocket off with it in place, the straight ones with the removable knob you can), put the sprocket back on correct, then put the pin back in. Chances are the hub/cam won't even budge.

 

[Sprocket]

Thanks guys, I pulled the old belt, water pump tensioner, & roller. Pulled off the cam sprocket and repositioned it in the correct orientation and now all is well.