Timing belt VW Passat - Can I change it myself

JoeySully

lomb wrote:

also i would get a torque wrench and torque the bolts correctly on refitting.

read an article yesterday about TBelt pully mount bolts shearing (on golf i think) because they were fitted with the incorrect torque so this is V-important. Your TBelt wont break, the pully will just fall off ofter time and leave the belt loose.

Tony255

Darragh29 wrote:

Can't understand this mentality. Why are you driving a car if you can't pay for maintenance on it?

quite possibly one of the worst replies that i have seen on the motors forum to date.


but back on topic OP i share your views i love to do as much work myself and it is not just for financial reasons its great to know that you CAN do it but in this case i would never touch the timing belt and i have read numerous topics about this. I also have a haynes manual for my car and it is three spanners there too but everyone says that the timing belt is even a bitch of a job for a qualified mechanic so god only know how much of a mess rookies like us would make of it. Best of luck with it though it you choose to proceed and keep us updated.

craichoe

Was 380 euro for an Indy to do the Timing belt and Water Pump on my 1.9TDI

500 euro sounds like a dealer job !

lomb

here is a good write up except its the 1.8t petrol engine. priniciples should be similar
http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=2840728&page=1

Darragh29

pa daly wrote:

You made me laugh there. It is only the bad or inexperienced mechanics who need to bleed the rad. Fact is not all the hoses need to be disconnected from the rad, the better mechanics know the trick of turning the rad around the wheel arch to tie it up. Doing this means that you do not have to bleed the rad, saving time and money.

Sounds like you might be one of those bad or inexperienced mechanics you are describing there. You might be good enough to advise me how you can replace the water pump without having to bleed the cooling system, and don't come back and tell me the OP's engine has a water pump that is driven by the alternator belt. Maybe you don't replace water pumps, you just wait for them to fall apart and charge your customer the another few hundred for this as a seperate job???

SouperComputer

lomb wrote:

i checked the haynes manual for the mkiv golf. it says to replace the timing belt one needs an engine hoist in order to unbolt the right engine mount for access. is this normal procedure?
also i would get a torque wrench and torque the bolts correctly on refitting.
what is to gaurantee an independant mechanic would not make a balls of the job? i sent in a mkiv to have the belt changed and the engine def seemed to run rougher afterwards. i think the timing may have been out by a tooth or two. i never found out haveing sold the car a few months after.
i personally would either do the job myself with ALL the appropriate tools and knowledge or send in to a main dealer and get a gaurantee.

You dont "need" an engine hoist as such, you can jack it up on a block of wood from the sump. Be careful to spread the load though.

IMO you should use a torque wrench wherever possible, its not just to get the correct torque, but to ensure even torque. You will want a torque wrench and a degree indicator to replace the engine mount bolts. IIRC its x torque + 45deg. Of course you could guess 45deg if you wanted too .

Amtmann

milmo wrote:

My 98 1.9 TDI Passat is due a timing belt change.

I am led to believe that this could cost many hundreds of euros.

Should I attempt this myself??

I would be confident enough around engines and the Haynes manual rates the jobs as "3 spanners".

What do ye all think??

Thanks

Milmo

I got the timing belt done on my Golf recently for 280 EUR, which was much cheaper than I'd been expecting. If you're around Cork, I couldn't recommend Dennis Henderson Motor Services (at the Marina Commercial Park, Centre Park Road) highly enough.

tred

milmo wrote:

My 98 1.9 TDI Passat is due a timing belt change.

I am led to believe that this could cost many hundreds of euros.

Should I attempt this myself??

I would be confident enough around engines and the Haynes manual rates the jobs as "3 spanners".

What do ye all think??

Thanks

Milmo

Hi Milmo. Anything is possible. Worry i suppose you might have is if you come across a problem you mightnt have the sufficient tools to progress. I know someone who is quiet profecient in mechanics having being involved in training mechanics in FAS for years. I noticed with the timining belt, he just got it done in a garage, yet his done everything else on it. Around galway, ring the guy across from Ottos in liosban he does timing belts and is a lot cheaper than Western. But if you do it, let us know how u get on. your dead right to consider doing it if your fairly profecient, and your only asking in this thread to see did anyone else do it. i think its 650 main dealer for VW timing belt passat...where a young lad wiht less knowledege than you will probably do it!!

milmo

Just a quick post to say thanks to all those who offered their advice.


After the balancing the pros and cons I decided to play on the safe side and get it done in an inde garage in oranmore I found in the yellow pages. He was very reasonable and no bullsh*t. Still had to take a day off though.

My heart says I could have taken it on but the head says it was a big risk for the sake of pride. If I squeeze another 60k out of her over the next two years I might just give it a go for ****s and giggles. Won't have anything to lose at that stage!

Again, thanks to all who contributed.

Milmo