Hi guys,

 

I got a letter from Skoda the other day saying its time for a timing belt change... but thats not what my service book tells me, so I wanted some opinions.

Car info:

59 plate

1.4 TDI PD

61k miles

 

I keep reading around that it should be changed at 4 years old, but the service book says:

"In addition every 150 000km, Replace toothed belt (3-cylinder diesel engines)" Which is about 93k miles!

 

Obviously I don't want to be running this thing dangerously, but I also don't want to be spending several hundred pounds unnecessarily early!

 

On another note - what parts of the car actually really need servicing every 10,000 miles? I do just over that every 6 months, and having to service it twice a year hits the wallet a lot when I consider my last car wanted a service every 20,000 miles!

 

Thanks in advance!

PS. I'm jealous of all you VRS's!

If I bought one my insurance would come and mug me in the street for my money.

Have you had a quote on 1,

surprisingly some say they pay less to insure them than they do on a car the same as yours.

No I haven't, but to be honest I couldn't afford to run one. Doing 60+ miles daily commute so I need an economical reliable runner!

For the 1.9 TDi the VAG-recommended cambelt change interval is 40,000 miles or every 4 years, whichever comes first. This seemed a bit OTT to me but I decided to get it done at 40 k after much deliberation, mainly for peace of mind. I think the interval is different for the 1.4 PD but at 60,000 miles I would recommend getting it changed - if the timing belt fails you'll be looking at a 4-figure engine repair costs. I would get it done by a good independent garage, asking that they replace the water pump (make sure it's metal impeller) and tensioner at the same time.

Thanks for the advice.. Im gonna get a quote i think!

Thanks for the advice.. Im gonna get a quote i think!

No probs. I reckon £250 would be a reasonable quote for the work. It's supposed to be more straightforward than for the four-pot 1.9 engine - more space to work in for one thing.

The timing belt setup on the 3 cylinder diesel is identical to the 4 cylinder pd engines, same belt and tensioners etc, the only difference is that the timing mark on the camshaft pulley is in a different place, funnily enough the amount of space to work in is about the same too.

Thanks for the info! Can't get that from a manual!haha