timing belt trouble -- please help!!

[tntdifan]

Gave up and ordered the tool. Would anyone like a previously-owned T10052 the week after next? Only used once! (Honest: only used once. I will crawl from place to place on all fours before I'll do another timing belt on a Volkswagen.) $50 OBO.

 

[tntdifan]

Well, the good news is, after replacing sprocket and cam hub, I got the timing belt on this past Saturday, and finished the job up Monday night. The "trick" turned out to be exactly as Growler said: turn the "pinned" tensioner fully clockwise and hold it there while slipping the belt over the water pump.

(This doesn't seem to be documented anywhere that I can find. Bentley says nothing about it.)

Car seems to run okay. Seems a little less peppy than I recall, but also smoother. (There used to be some engine "shake" at idle with the tranny in neutral. That's gone now.)

I checked torsion tonight, and it read between -2.5 and -2, but that was on a cold engine. I'll check it tomorrow morning with the engine warmed up and report back.

 

[Ol'Rattler]

Which goes to show you there are a lot of stupid people out there (no offense to the OP).
Man these are SO EASY!!!

That is how I did mine, as well.

What you do is slide the tensioner away from the engine and then start the belt on the waterpump, tensioner and crank and then put the cam sprocket inside the belt and then work everything towards the engine. If the cam sprocket is off, just reclock it and drive on.

Worked very well for me anyway. Absolutely no stretching or fighting with the belt. Just make sure to snug the 3 cam belts to seat the cam sprocket on the hub and then back them off just enough so that the sprocket can move when you tension the belt.

I do agree that the BRM belt is extremely easy to install though.............

 

[Ol'Rattler]

Gave up and ordered the tool. Would anyone like a previously-owned T10052 the week after next? Only used once! (Honest: only used once. I will crawl from place to place on all fours before I'll do another timing belt on a Volkswagen.) $50 OBO.

Super easy, as well.

To remove the hub, leave the center bolt in place but several turns loose and smack it from the back (engine) side with a brass drift alternating from side to side. It will come off after the first or second smack. Just lay a rag on the valve cover if you are worried about scratching it.

Does sound like you got in over your head. Sometimes, a proficient mechanic is worth every penny..............

 

[Growler]

Well, the good news is, after replacing sprocket and cam hub, I got the timing belt on this past Saturday, and finished the job up Monday night. The "trick" turned out to be exactly as Growler said: turn the "pinned" tensioner fully clockwise and hold it there while slipping the belt over the water pump.
(This doesn't seem to be documented anywhere that I can find. Bentley says nothing about it.)
Car seems to run okay. Seems a little less peppy than I recall, but also smoother. (There used to be some engine "shake" at idle with the tranny in neutral. That's gone now.)
I checked torsion tonight, and it read between -2.5 and -2, but that was on a cold engine. I'll check it tomorrow morning with the engine warmed up and report back.

YAY someone actually listened ! I am glad it worked out for you.

I learned that trick from MOGolf himself. I have the benefit of living nearby him, so he has shown me many things. and even though its not as clear in his PDF writeup, it is in there. you just have to know how he thinks to reason you way thru it. he is a bit of an odd bird, but when he talks, I listen.

 

[tntdifan]

Nah, not in over my head, just made one mistake b/c I didn't know Growler's procedure. :-0

I tried smacking the hub. A lot, over the course of a day. Did nothing except gouge up the hub. Turns out there was a little bit of rust on the cam, which may have been making the hub stick. When the puller tool finally released it, the "bang" was pretty dramatic. I put a little antiseize on the new one.

Well, torsion is still at -2.0 to -2.5 on a warm engine. What say ye ... adjust it? I don't have an MFC, so I'm not really sure if there's a mileage impact. I do notice a minor loss of performance, however.

I'm slightly concerned that my tension setting didn't "stick". The needle was in the window when I finished installing the belt. Tensioner was torqued correctly. When I got close to wrapping up the job the next day, I checked it again with a mirror and the needle was now at the low edge of the window. (Belt stretch? Temperature change? Both?) I really hope I don't need to tear the car down that far again!

 

[Henrick]

I'd adjust the torsion if this would be my car. Leave the tensioner alone, though.

 

[cobra390t]

One thing i was told by Ross-tech support which am not sure if it's 100% true or not as i was inquiring about their VCDS capability since am new to all this and learning , Is the torsion values can be adjusted so much on the PD Eng using the software but will not Compensate for any mechanical adjustment that the Eng might need after a TB swap

I had to get my TB done by a VW old timer guru to avoid the headache and tool hunt , He did it in a couple of hours & NO VCDS was used after but it's pretty much right on as car drives better than before, seems smoother take of and MPG are the same ..However i located a TDI member near me here in Eastern NC with VCDS to run a health check latter on these values ...

 

[MyAvocation]

I agree with leaving the tensioner as-is... the indicator is not static and will drift as the motor rotates. If it's drifting more than a hair outside the spec window, that's a different story.

 

[texanTDI]

Hey:

I have a spare sprocket I can sell you if that makes life easier, did you fix it already?

 

[tntdifan]

Yep, all done, thanks anyway.

Tweaked the timing up to the +1 to +1.5 range (actually it's pretty stable at +1.0 when the engine is under load) over the weekend. Makes a huge difference in performance! At this point, I'm not sure the car ran better when I brought it home from the dealership, 6 1/2 years ago.

The TB tensioner indeed does wander all over the place. I saw that it was inside the window, and also outside the window on the high side, after different engine runs while adjusting timing. Of course I left it alone.

So I'm done. Thanks to everyone who helped out.

I can write up what I learned, a/k/a "putting timing belts on BRMs for dummies" and post it here if anyone's interested. I may write it up for myself anyway, in case I ever have to do the job again.

 

[Henrick]

dummies should not be touching any timing belts, especially on TDIs. Expensive repairs afterwards $$$$$$$. So better you don't.

 

[tntdifan]

It's a reference to a popular series of books on various topics. Sorry you didn't get the joke.

 

[Growler]

its always good to note your "lessons learned" in one good post. others who find it in the future will appreciate your thoughts.