Whilst I have no qualms about carrying out a full service on the Skud, I `m a bit more reticent about tackling the cam belt change. Having been to my local dealer for a quote however (£470ish) I`m inclined to do it myself.

Question is this....Is there anything to watch out for or is it fairly straight forward? Oh, its a 2001 Octavia 1.9 tdi 90 bhp.

Any help / advice appreciated.

Andy

Easy enough to do, just a little cramped to get your hands in.

I am shortly going to be doing my 2nd cambelt change (dealer did the first one at 60k).

Allow yourself plenty of time for annoying bits of plastic which just seem to get in the way / silly electrical clips which won't undo. I did my first change without removing the headlamp as the lock-clip on the loom was broken :-( That made it a right royal PITA.

Might as well change the water pump and new engine mount bolts too (as they are stretch ones).

£470 for a cambelt change!!!!!!! £250 is what I would expect inc parts & labour.

£470 for a cambelt change!!!!!!! £250 is what I would expect inc parts & labour.

£250 I think would be quite cheap, the parts tot up to over £100 if you include the pump, iirc. I had a feeling that around £300 was closer to the mark, but I am tight and do it myself, so only get a feeling prices when I read stuff on here.

£470 for a cambelt change!!!!!!! £250 is what I would expect inc parts & labour.

That was main dealer quote just for the cambelt, the service alone was £250, so would have cost me around £730 to have both done...Not going there. I service my LandRover Discovery, so the Skud should be straight forward..

My long trusted garage changed 2 cambelts & water pump on 1.8T's for me last year & charged me £250 both times

My long trusted garage changed 2 cambelts & water pump on 1.8T's for me last year & charged me £250 both times

I need to visit this garage then..... :-) I wonder if the 1.8T is easier to do than the TDi.

Edited 25 March, 201115 yr by mbames

Yeah, where is it, it's almost worth the journey from where ever you might be in the county!

Tom

Whilst I have no qualms about carrying out a full service on the Skud, I `m a bit more reticent about tackling the cam belt change. Having been to my local dealer for a quote however (£470ish) I`m inclined to do it myself.

Question is this....Is there anything to watch out for or is it fairly straight forward? Oh, its a 2001 Octavia 1.9 tdi 90 bhp.

Any help / advice appreciated.

Andy

To give you an idea, Jabbasport charge £365 on the TDI for a cambelt swap with water pump and tensioners. Just had a 20k service done there and they're top notch, if a little hard to get into at the mo...

thats a bit steep i work for a bosch car service center and we tend to use genuine dealership parts so the work is at the same level as the dealership with out the cost so i would recomend u use a well approved independant garage and request dealership parts

thats a bit steep i work for a bosch car service center and we tend to use genuine dealership parts so the work is at the same level as the dealership with out the cost so i would recomend u use a well approved independant garage and request dealership parts

Ha! I know this wasn't your place but it was a Bosch service centre who told me I didn't need PD oil...... haven't been back there since.

mbames,

As you have done this before:-

On the Mk1 Octavia 1.9TDi 110 - do I need to take the brake vac pump off as in the Haynes manual? Also, the book also talks about slackening off bolts on the camshaft etc then after final assembly getting the engine 'dynamically timed', whatever that is. Ever had it done???

I was going to set the engine on TDC firing stroke of No1 cylinder after slicing the timing belt in two along its length. Then cut off the outer half before putting the new belt on and forcing the inner half of the old belt as far as possible towards the engine. When at least half(preferably more) of the new belt is on then cutting off the inner half of the old belt. This should maintaing the allignment of the crank, camshaft and injectors.

Water pump, could you advise on the correct up grade unit??

Comments/observations or dire warnings??

Thanks in anticipation.

mbames,

As you have done this before:-

On the Mk1 Octavia 1.9TDi 110 - do I need to take the brake vac pump off as in the Haynes manual? Also, the book also talks about slackening off bolts on the camshaft etc then after final assembly getting the engine 'dynamically timed', whatever that is. Ever had it done???

Nope (x2), did not have to do that on mine. I was going to look out the guide I read in a car mag which overs the belt change on a mk4 golf (so essentially the same). I'll scan it in and stick it on here when I can find it....

Water pump, could you advise on the correct up grade unit??

Comments/observations or dire warnings??

Thanks in anticipation.

Metal impella one thought to be better on the water pump front. New engine mount stretch bolts should be fitted too. I could not actually get my engine mount out.... think I needed to adjust the engine height, so when I changed the belts I get the belt past the engine mount by using the water pump hole :-)

Edited 26 March, 201115 yr by mbames

So would I be right in assuming that standard practise is change water pump and engine mounts when doing the cambelt then?

Just wondering about the lifespan of waterpump and engine mounts as although my Octy is a 2001, its only done 47000 miles(documented) from new...Would these need changing purely on the age of the vehicle rather than the mileage done?

The water pumps have a habit of failing (more so on the 1.8T), but it has been known on the diesels too. Either the impella breaks up (not so common), or is separates from the drive shaft. I changed my water pump at 120k, and I am going to change it again at 180k (better safe than sorry, as the cost to change it = that of a cambelt change).

The engine mount itself does not need changing, but the stretch bolts should be changed.

Ha! I know this wasn't your place but it was a Bosch service centre who told me I didn't need PD oil...... haven't been back there since.

haha glad it wasent us we have 5 different grades of oil that wee keep instock in bulk

The water pumps have a habit of failing (more so on the 1.8T), but it has been known on the diesels too. Either the impella breaks up (not so common), or is separates from the drive shaft. I changed my water pump at 120k, and I am going to change it again at 180k (better safe than sorry, as the cost to change it = that of a cambelt change).

The engine mount itself does not need changing, but the stretch bolts should be changed.

Thanks for that, I`ll look into cost of parts etc and see what happens!!