I decided to bite the bullet and replace the Timing Belt on my '08 1.9 Tdi Elegance yesterday. I have a mate who is a mechanic and was on call if I ran into trouble. I also had a copy of Car Mechanics on hand as they covered an Octavia belt change although it turned out that my later car has a different injection system.

The job was OK although the carrier for the engine mounting was very fiddly to remove and replace. The engine needs to be jacked up high and pulled forward (I used a block of wood between bulkhead and engine)

Anyone wanting to carry out this job needs to be a reasonably competent mechanic but I've changed worse, and there is a reasonable amount of room at the side of the engine to work. An Inspection Pit or Lift is also very helpful.

The main reason for this post...I was surprised that I couldn't find an injector pump but only a small toothed wheel low down towards the front of the engine and without any means of locking it. I turned the engine to TDC, locked the cam with a 5.5 mm drill, and marked all three pulleys, and the old belt, with dabs of paint. I then marked the new belt in the same way and fitting was reasonably straight forward.

Can anyone advise, was it necessary to line up the small pulley for, what I assume is, the drive for the fuel /injector pump? I suspect not, as timing may not controlled by it.

Just slightly off topic--what state was the old belt in ?

Teeth missing--half frayed through ? Three inch long flapping bits?

Any photos?

The small pulley is the water pump.

There isnt an injection pump as on the PD the injectors are individual pumps and run off the camshaft.

Just slightly off topic--what state was the old belt in ?

Teeth missing--half frayed through ? Three inch long flapping bits?

Any photos?

Belt and tensioners looked perfect at 94000 miles which was overdue. When I bought the car the supplying dealers in Coventry told me it hadn't been changed as not due until 120,000 miles. Wrong!!! 120,000 Kms or 75,000 miles is the advice in the handbook..

I've probably replaced about a dozen belts over the years, mainly Peugeot/Citroen 1.9 Diesels, all were perfect except for an old Corsa which hadn't been serviced for years, belt was close to breaking.

Getting mine replaced within the next 2 weeks, 75k here. Am interested in seeing what it looks like tbh.