T5.1 Cam Belts.

[pjm-84]

A friend had his belt changed but not the tensioner. This failed and caused about £1200 worth of damage.

It would be interesting to find out if VW are offering differing advice depending on the intended market for the vehicle.

 

[Zebedee]

I had mine changed at 4 years. Do I have to have them changed again at 8 years then?

 

[briwy]

In this case, there is no time interval. Only mileage (km). Checking is not that hard. You open the top case of the cam, turn one wheel while in gear, the belt rotates and you can check.

Check what. Yes you may be able to spot physical damage to the belt but I don't see how you can check the structure of the belt material which what most belts would fail on.

 

[WelshGas]

I had mine changed at 4 years. Do I have to have them changed again at 8 years then?

If I still have my van at 8 tears it will have the Cambelt and water pump changed for the 2nd time.

 

[AlanC]

I had mine changed at 4 years. Do I have to have them changed again at 8 years then?

Yes, every 4 years or 140k miles, so year 8 or 280k miles which ever comes first. Doubt you will hit that mileage on a Cali though.

Alan

 

[Bellcrew]

Yes, every 4 years or 140k miles, so year 8 or 280k miles which ever comes first. Doubt you will hit that mileage on a Cali though.

Alan

The discrepancy between Continental and UK cam belt replacement criteria is not just marginal it is absurd, 30 miles across the channel and the garage tell you there is no age limit and to wait until 130,000 miles even though they could make decent money changing the belt. Presumably if the belt failed after telling you it was fine they would be liable for the damage caused.
Perhaps they use engineers to assess the life expectancy of critical components and we consult accountants.

 

[pjm-84]

I'm more curious about how they inspect it. The only way to do this properly would be to provide full access and turn the engine over via a socket on the crank

 

[AlanC]

I'm more curious about how they inspect it. The only way to do this properly would be to provide full access and turn the engine over via a socket on the crank

So if you are having to access that much of the front of the engine...might as well change the belt?

Alan

 

[pjm-84]

Yep........

 

[TripleBee]

I'm more curious about how they inspect it. The only way to do this properly would be to provide full access and turn the engine over via a socket on the crank

If you put your engine in gear (manual) or D (automatic), put one wheel on the ground, another off the ground, turn that wheel, you will turn your crankshaft around, turning the belt so you can check it completely. You only need to take off the top cover over the camshaft to see the top part of the belt. But if you turn it around, you can see all of it.

 

[californiakid]

After 50+years in the motor trade as an apprentice and seeing OH camshafts starting to come on the scene it seemed things were getting more advanced. Here we are years later and the dreaded and costly replacement cambelt still gives us headaches as when to replace it. Think I must have done over an hundred over the years and some easy and others a pain in the butt. Sometimes I've looked at the belt and it looks serviceable but when turned inside out cracks can be seen on the toothed side of the belt. You can easily snap a belt say when you arrive at an uphill junction stop and then give it the gas and let the clutch out fast and bang you come to a grinding halt. Best to replace it as recommended or take that chance. Do not know of anymore who has had extended warranty, vehicle over 4 years old not had cambelt relaced and had a failure and successfully had repairs carried out under warranty. Certainly be interested to know. Anyway mine is due shortly and I'm not a gambling man.

 

[californiakid]

Thanks Welshgas. Since reading about forum members topics on cambelts I find myself composing this from my memory bank at 4.30am unable to sleep. Must be some odd kind of sign. Getting back to cambelts I think back to days much early in my working life(circa late seventies eighties ) when the majority of valve trains were gear driven which in its self was never bullet proof. In Fords case they produced the V range of engines named Kent, Essex and Colonge. These engines were fitted across Fords entire range even the famous Transit range. Petrol based they were fitted with a type of fibrous material camshaft gear which could and did strip/shear gear teeth. We used to think it was designed like this to reduce noise but even then things failed. Cambelt replacement is never simple due to transverse engine fitment, confined space fitting timing pins etc sometimes using twist drills as a substitute to lock gears because timing pins get damaged or lost or you never had them. I've worked in dealer franchises where my fellow workmates look at the workflow for the following day and will try to avoid a big service because it includes a cambelt change. Reasons being jobs are timed, target times are tight and you may well be on a bonus scheme and under pressure to complete on time. Sometimes over running means not everything specified on the service gets done ie tyre pressures, fluid levels and such. Anyways thats what it was like in my day but in the modern day a visual inspection and little video should keep most of us happy and happy to part with hundreds of £££s. Did I mention £100 pounds to rotate my wheels front to rear and thats if they could get them off. The modern day eh!!!

 

[californiakid]

Thanks johntowers46 Next subject. Guess what, belts again. This time auxiliary belts which dependent on makes and models can drive many things ie alternators, power steering, waterpumps ets. Some of these belts if cut in two could have lengths of 4 feet and more. Now we come to fitting said belt, firstly does it drive this ancillary on the outer of the belt or the inner of the belt. May think this is a simple fit but when threading a belt into a limited confined space using say an inspection lamp, its far from it. Hence most workshops will have a manual on the routing of all the different manufacturers belt. So even what seems like a simple DIY or professional job these days isn't. Yep a manual on how to fit a belt. Anyway some will say things have changed for the better...

 

[JohnEast]

Can anyone advise me on the frequency of cambelt change on my California; I can't find any reference to it in the Service Schedule. Hence I'm convinced that the cambelt has never been changed.
The vehicle is a 2009 California with a 5 cylinder diesel engine, the service schedule gives the engine & gearbox codes as 128KW TDIAUT.

 

[jts46]

Can anyone advise me on the frequency of cambelt change on my California; I can't find any reference to it in the Service Schedule. Hence I'm convinced that the cambelt has never been changed.
The vehicle is a 2009 California with a 5 cylinder diesel engine, the service schedule gives the engine & gearbox codes as 128KW TDIAUT.

I also have the 5 pot engine, no cambelt needed as it is chain driven, may need some work on it after 250,000 miles

 

[westfalia]

No belts or chains on a 2.5 5 pot.
Look at it ! Its like a Swiss watch.