Well, I bit the bullet and decided to do the cam belt change on the V6 at 51,000 miles and 5 years old, though my instincts told me that the 80,000 mile mark was more like when it should be done. Have attached a few photos below so that you can see what it all looks like in there.

I was really lucky to have a mate of mine ( with a lot of V6 experience) to help me with this .... or should I say that he did it and I acted as the gopher, which is much more like the truth, as it really would be a daunting experience if you've only ever done normal maintenace on cars, like me.

Things I learnt.

The bumper comes off really easy and is very light ... all plastic in fact.

The service position does make access very good, and we didn't use any bolts to slide things back, as he said that they never use them, and the front of the car does seem very secure without the long bolts ... there are a lot of tough hoses down there.

You need two 32 mm spanners ( or 1.25" AF) to undo the locking bolts on the fan.

Hardest things ( and the things that wasted most time) were a 10 mm nut on the water pump which has access restricted by plastic cover ... a spanner won't gon on and only the tiniest 1/4 drive 10 mm socket just gets in there because of the plastic stopping the socket from sliding on correctly. Eventually came out using fingers, but an Allen head bolt of similar dimensions replaced the SOB.

The other real fiddly bit was a single small Allen screw on the vacuum gubbins that lives on the cabin end of the near side cam. Needs to be taken off to fit the locking tab, but is a SOB to get lined up and started because you just can't see it and it has to align with a bracket hole that you can't see either!!!. Patience and fiddling and a UJ Allen socket was the only answer.

You need a 17mm Allen key ( bit) to get one of the tensioners off. You need a three legged puller to pull the nearside sprocket from the cam shaft taper and it's pretty tight.

Belts looked pristine when they came off ... all teeth excellent, no signs of wear. Used genuine VW replacement kit and water pump which actually worked out cheaper than patterns. Only wear noticeable on anything was that the water pump bearing / seal squeaked slightly when turned by hand, but apart from that, everything looked, felt and sounded as good as new.

Special tools for locking engine and tensioning fuel pump needed. Fuel pump seemed very easy to set up. Get sprocket aligned on belt so that mounting holes in the middle of the slots, and use the special tool on the tensioner to align the two levers on the tensioner.It's still a bit of a mystery to me how that all works, but it does and the car now starts crisper and more readily and has averaged 50 mpg over the couple of hundred miles since.

How long did it take? About ten hours all up, with two visits to Halfords to get the Allen key and puller, plenty of cups of tea and cold drink breaks, but there is a lot of work in there.

How much did it cost? A lot less than the stealers quote, but having now done it, I can see why they quote in the region of £600.

Would I attempt it on my own? Not a chance. You need someone who knows what he's doing or a lot of self confidence. A good experience though ... we both felt pretty satisfied at the end of the day.

Covers are off.

Belts are off

Belts are still off

Cambelts back on

They are pretty labour intensive, I get about three and a half hours to fit one workshop time.

Despite how many I've done I still don't like them, petrol V6 is a walk in the park in comparison.

I get about three and a half hours to fit one workshop time.

You have a great deal of respect from me.

The 1.9 is a much simpler setup with only one toothed belt - 3 hours would be about the time it takes for me to do one of these.

No doubt you found, as I did on the 1.9 that a belt change at this mileage/time was a complete waste of money. The parts are all well made and will run to 80k miles at least without time limit - although I might not let a belt stay on for much over 6 years. The VAG (UK) 4 year belt life limit is a scam.

The water pump is one Achilles' heel on the V6 - the bearing loadings are insane. On the 1.9PD the small roller is the weak link as it runs so fast the grease is centrifuged out of it. I always fit a pattern water pump with a metal impeller when changing the belt.

I wouldn't pull the front on a Superb without using a couple of long M8 bolts to rest it on - it's heavy. (B&Q sell them).

Glad you got yours done without problems - doing it again will be a breeze.

rotodiesel.

No doubt you found, as I did on the 1.9 that a belt change at this mileage/time was a complete waste of money

Absolutely. I'm now convinced (and I suspected it before )that there is no need to change the belts on a "time" basis. Lift the covers and inspect every year by all means, and if you can still see the writing on the belts then it's not being abraded off by dodgy rollers or tensioners.

I'm looking to keep this car for the long haul, so am not now expecting to be changing belts again until around 120k, but I will regularly have a quick peek and feel under the covers .... if you'll pardon the expression.

My car was four years old last month with 34,000 miles on the clock and I had the belts changed and I also asked them to change the water pump. I thought something was on the way out as it started making whirring noises when cold and they said there was quite a bit of play in the bearings.

I should have asked them to return the old belts to me so that I could see if they were worn or deteriorating. Age and health are not on my side and I wouldn't want to try taking off the covers and inspecting the belts in future. As the water pump needed changing, it was hardly worth having the old belts put back anyway.

I usually change my belt and water pump every year since i drive 50k miles in between (130 1.9 TDI). After reading this i guess i could wait maybe 2 years (100k miles)? I highly doubt that the belts themselves are worn out at that point... But of course it's just a guess and i don't see the belts myself.