1.9 TDI Cambelt - definitive time to change

Jan 22, 2007
2,074
0
some may say lala land....
i look at this topic like a wallet thing:
4yrs OR 60k, whichever is sooner
the longer one OR other may take to appear MAY cost more in the long run.

i like to keep my money so do jobs as they need not when i can do.

a lot, myself included, say which EVER comes FIRST do
 

Georgel

Full Member
Aug 10, 2005
497
0
I've just checked and my service schedule reads;

- Every 80,000 mi toothed belft for camshaft drive: replace (only TDI engines with injector pump, except for Alambra model)

-Tension roller for the toothed belt: replace (only TDI engines with injector pump, except for Alambra model).

And to add to the confusion it also states.

Every 100,000 mi

- Toothed belt for camshft drive: Replace (TDI and SDI engines)

So its either 80k or 100k. I'll work towards 80k to be safe?.....
 
Last edited:

TornadoRed

Full Member
Aug 22, 2004
184
0
Saint Paul, Minnesota, USA
I've just checked and my service schedule reads;

- Every 80,000 mi toothed belft for camshaft drive: replace (only TDI engines with injector pump, except for Alambra model)

-Tension roller for the toothed belt: replace (only TDI engines with injector pump, except for Alambra model).

And to add to the confusion it also states.

Every 100,000 mi

- Toothed belt for camshft drive: Replace (TDI and SDI engines)

So its either 80k or 100k. I'll work towards 80k to be safe?.....
VE engines have injector pumps. I'm not sure when the VE engines were phased out in Europe, it was 2004 in North America.

If you have a Pumpe Duse (PD) engine, then you do not have an injector pump.

Also, if you have a common-rail (CR) engine, then I don't think you have an injector pump.

So the cambelt/toothed-belt/timing belt replacement interval for your engine is probably 100k miles. I would suggest taking a look at it every 10k miles from 60k miles onward... to have it inspected by an expert at 80k miles.. and to be prepared to replace it at any point if it shows unusual wear or is making weird noises. (shwooshing, chirping, etc)
 

Husbandofstinky

Out from the Wilderness
Nov 8, 2007
1,515
12
Temperate Regions
So you've read this thread and you're toying around with the idea of 80,000 miles?? :blink:

Dealer said four years, thread says four years..... :headhurt:

Your motor, your choice. Had mine done at 36k and four years (04 LC PD). My motor, my choice.
 

Georgel

Full Member
Aug 10, 2005
497
0
We'll its clear from this thread mate we all know **** all about the belt service intervals. Cambelts don't fail anyway, not within there life expectency.

Tornado its a PD 130 common rail mate, so according to my service manual its either 80k miles or 100k miles. I'll see how it looks after 4 years.
 

Tartan58

Ex Seat Owner!!
Apr 10, 2008
204
0
Edinburgh
On the subject, does how you drive the car have a bearing on how long the cambelt lasts?
Just wondering cause I do mainly town driving so rarley gets revd over 2.5k and is mostly short stop start journeys and don't drive it hard.
My TDi is coming up for 8 years old and is on 65k miles - not sure if the cambelt has been done or not (I've only had it 6 months) - getting it done next week anyway to be on the safe side, as I rekon even if it was done at 4 years (30k ish) it'll be due another one now anyway.
 

Husbandofstinky

Out from the Wilderness
Nov 8, 2007
1,515
12
Temperate Regions
VAG Group as a whole has a 4 year time limit on timing belts (reduced from 5 years a while ago). One dealer not knowing about it is no surprise at all. In fact I'd be surprised if half of them were aware of the correct time and distance requirements for servicing and cambelts.

Your book was written before they scrapped long life belts/service intervals. I had to correct the local dealer.

'4 Years/60,000 miles' - SEAT UK.

And yes its the tensioner that usually goes and not the belt.

And yes we all know **** all about cambelts as was clear from this thread.

Your service manual has been superceeded/updated call it what you like. The dealer was right.
 

cheshire cat

Full Member
Dec 28, 2002
1,813
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cheshire
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Cambelts don't fail anyway, not within there life expectency.

Tornado its a PD 130 common rail mate, so according to my service manual its either 80k miles or 100k miles. I'll see how it looks after 4 years.
who told you that I wasn't Ford Fiat Vauxhall or any one else who has reversed their optimistic service intervals, with regard to PD130 being common rail - don't want to be pernicketty but as far as the loading on the cambelt goes it's much greater than your "average common rail" as they do not get the shock loading a PD does
 

muddyboots

Still hanging around
Oct 16, 2002
5,739
1
VE engines have injector pumps. I'm not sure when the VE engines were phased out in Europe, it was 2004 in North America.

If you have a Pumpe Duse (PD) engine, then you do not have an injector pump.

Also, if you have a common-rail (CR) engine, then I don't think you have an injector pump.

Careful of the terminology - "injector pump" and "pump injector" have opposite meanings !
"Pump injector" means a PD engine, however when the manual says "TDI engines with injector pump" I would suspect it's actually referring to the PD engine ! All diesel engines have injector pumps, I think because it's added the specific wording it's referring to PDs.

Just to add to the confusion :)
 

TornadoRed

Full Member
Aug 22, 2004
184
0
Saint Paul, Minnesota, USA
On the subject, does how you drive the car have a bearing on how long the cambelt lasts?
Just wondering cause I do mainly town driving so rarley gets revd over 2.5k and is mostly short stop start journeys and don't drive it hard.
My TDi is coming up for 8 years old and is on 65k miles - not sure if the cambelt has been done or not (I've only had it 6 months) - getting it done next week anyway to be on the safe side, as I rekon even if it was done at 4 years (30k ish) it'll be due another one now anyway.

In my opinion, a better measure of cambelt life would be hours of engine operation. So more miles accumulated in the city would mean more hours of operation >>> earlier cambelt replacement than if the same miles were accumulated on the highway at 60-80 mph.

I also don't think whether the engine is babied or not, whether it sees high revs frequently or not, will make any difference. Stress on the cambelt is mostly about the same regardless of engine speed or load.

Regarding your driving style: TDI engines are tough little engines, but they need exercise. From the description of your driving style, I don't think you are doing your engine any favors. Short trips, where the oil never gets very hot, is hard on the oil and hard on the engine. Short-shifting, keeping the revs down, allows soot and deposits to build up inside the engine, tends to keep the piston rings from seating properly against the cylinder walls, keeps the engine from achieving its potential cylinder pressure -- resulting in loss of power and poor fuel economy -- and finally it might cause the turbo vanes to get partially blocked.

Occasionally you need to take your car out for 20-30 miles at least, getting the engine hot, so that any condensation inside the engine can boil off. Do a series of hard accelerations, mainly 2000 to 4000 rpm but don't be afraid to rev higher. Take normal precautions to avoid any legal complications, of course. Exercise the engine and the turbo, they both need the exercise.
 

ChrisGTL

'Awesome' LCR225
Nov 17, 2007
2,459
2
Huddersfield
Occasionally you need to take your car out for 20-30 miles at least, getting the engine hot, so that any condensation inside the engine can boil off. Do a series of hard accelerations, mainly 2000 to 4000 rpm but don't be afraid to rev higher. Take normal precautions to avoid any legal complications, of course. Exercise the engine and the turbo, they both need the exercise.

ere ere...........and what a good excuse for a blast!! :D
 

Tartan58

Ex Seat Owner!!
Apr 10, 2008
204
0
Edinburgh
In my opinion, a better measure of cambelt life would be hours of engine operation. So more miles accumulated in the city would mean more hours of operation >>> earlier cambelt replacement than if the same miles were accumulated on the highway at 60-80 mph.

I also don't think whether the engine is babied or not, whether it sees high revs frequently or not, will make any difference. Stress on the cambelt is mostly about the same regardless of engine speed or load.

Regarding your driving style: TDI engines are tough little engines, but they need exercise. From the description of your driving style, I don't think you are doing your engine any favors. Short trips, where the oil never gets very hot, is hard on the oil and hard on the engine. Short-shifting, keeping the revs down, allows soot and deposits to build up inside the engine, tends to keep the piston rings from seating properly against the cylinder walls, keeps the engine from achieving its potential cylinder pressure -- resulting in loss of power and poor fuel economy -- and finally it might cause the turbo vanes to get partially blocked.

Occasionally you need to take your car out for 20-30 miles at least, getting the engine hot, so that any condensation inside the engine can boil off. Do a series of hard accelerations, mainly 2000 to 4000 rpm but don't be afraid to rev higher. Take normal precautions to avoid any legal complications, of course. Exercise the engine and the turbo, they both need the exercise.

Thanks for the advice, I do try and give it a good run on the motorway once a week to keep it 'looseded up' and give it a bit of welly to clear out soot and so on. (Did 500 motorway miles at the weekend so that'll help it, but that was an exception!)
I don't delibaratly 'baby' the engine, it's just that most of my driving is in town at rush hour so there's no point doing anything else :(
 

andye1

Newbie
Oct 15, 2005
66
8
Do the cambelt well before the manufacturers recommended interval.Just had mine done at 50k.£380 for belt and service from independant VW specialist.Not worth the risk of leaving it as belts and/or tensioners/idler pulleys do fail well before time.
When working for BMW dealer we had a lot of belts stripping teeth well 5-6k before due mileage and age.After this intervals were lowered.It's your choice but given it's 300-400 quid for the belt change or thousands for new engine I know what my choice would be!
 

danwfr

Active Member
Feb 21, 2008
135
0
Tredegar, south wales
mine was changed at 58t housand for £200 but my uncle had his changed in his 130 golf at 52 thousand and the belt was splitting cracked and starting to fray
 

TornadoRed

Full Member
Aug 22, 2004
184
0
Saint Paul, Minnesota, USA
mine was changed at 58t housand for £200 but my uncle had his changed in his 130 golf at 52 thousand and the belt was splitting cracked and starting to fray

I've seen Gates, Dayco, and Conti belts rated for 100k miles, when they were swapped out after 100k miles, and they still looked to be in excellent condition.

In most of the cambelt/timing belt failures reported at TDI Club, the problems mostly resulted from incorrect installation, a failure to replace roller/idlers or torque-to-yield bolts, or (rarely) a tensioner problem.

The right parts, properly installed, rarely need replacing before 100k miles. To be on the safe side, some of our members replace at 90k miles or even earlier.

But if the belt looks frayed or otherwise shows signs of imminent failure, then either the belt was inferior to begin with, or other components were misaligned and caused extra wear and tear to the cambelt/timing belt.
 

danwfr

Active Member
Feb 21, 2008
135
0
Tredegar, south wales
also the man that remaped my car has a skoda octavia and he showed me his belt which had split into two but that was his own fault cause he dropped a bolt down into the cover
 

Torquemonster

Active Member
Nov 20, 2007
301
0
:) I read just about every post i could find about cambelts on the forum.
4yrs or 60k miles seemed to be the way to go.So i got mine done at 63k(4.5 yr old).
Cost me £330(including water pump and coolant) from a Seat dealer.
Lot of cash,but i sleep better at night now.The question is:do you feel lucky?.:shrug:
 

silver surfer

Full Member
Mar 31, 2006
470
2
out there over the edge vw tech
i love these cambelt threads when people who no nothing about engines or pd cambelt loads (as it gets a lot of load when it compresses the fuel in the injectors ) also did you know the bottom pulley is oval on most pd to allow more of the belt to be in contact with the pulley at injector firing point and at vw were i work and do a hell of a lot of belt and engines £300-400 is a lot cheaper than a smashed engine. because some ones not listening it been 60k or 4years for a long time at vw and there the the same engine as yours but hey don't listen and don't cry when it all goes tits up
 
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