Getting ready to change the timing belt and waterpump on my chariot,however not sure what manufacturer i should purchase,my son is a mechanic and he says the gates are a good product but how much better is genuine ?

Well IIRC the original are now conti, but the gates stuff was good and probably still is.

At the end of the day how old is the car. If it's old enough that the cost of genuine is high and the gates is sufficiently cheaper, while still quality, then it makes sense.

At the end of the day I'd rather do a gates kit inc tensioner, plus waterpump and coolant, than just a genuine belt or belt plus tensioners only.

Car is 6 years only vw golf mk6 1.6 tdi match spec bluemotion tech so i will probably go genuine on all products

I have used Gates belts and belt tensioners in the past and always found them to be of good quality. An example of their quality and price was when I replaced the drive belt and belt tensioner on a Mazda 3 Sport I previously owned. The Original Mazda tensioner lasted 40k miles before it started to rattle and a new one believe it or not was £240 from Mazda. I nearly fell on the floor!! So I then bought a Gates tensioner from a car parts company for around £45. That was still okay when I sold the car at 106k miles. So that means the Mazda one lasted 40k miles and the gates one was still okay having done 66k miles. It probably is still working perfectly on the car even now. Hopefully the VAG parts are cheaper than the Mazda ones were.

Go for genuine vag kit as its covered by 2 year warranty against defects.

Gates is OE quality in my eyes so I would say go with whatever you like. I do normally go for an OEM waterpump though.

Go for genuine vag kit as its covered by 2 year warranty against defects.

This is a good point.

Should anything go wrong most motor factors will tell you to go jump. A dealer is more likely to listen given the 2 years warranty on parts failure (proving such may be tricky however).

We used Gates belts on our automated test equipment at my previous job. Some of which had done equivalent of 500,000km without a change and not much down time. 

 

Very pleased with the quality and when we had the odd failure the FA. 

 

Obviously this was for industrial automation but they were still tooth-belts 

Does anyone know who supplies the belts to the VAG group?

Well apparently they are made by conti

I thought VAG ones were made by Gates, but I must be wrong. I would only use and trust either.

 

However, for water pumps wasn't there a bit of controversy over the material of the impeller. VAG are plastic, but you can get metals ones (or vice versa). VAG ones did have a reputation of breaking.

However, for water pumps wasn't there a bit of controversy over the material of the impeller. VAG are plastic, but you can get metals ones (or vice versa). VAG ones did have a reputation of breaking.

Whilst true originally it's one of those internet stories that grew and grew and became folklore. Yes the genuine water pumps were and are still plastic. The factory equipped water pumps had a plastic impeller that is pressed onto a knurled shaft. The plastic would crack and then slip on the shaft loosing drive and thus reduced or no flow. VAG recognised this and changed the plastic. I have not seen a replacement pump fail before in my many years experience.

Whichever kit you buy, be it Gates,Conti, INA, Ruville, then you can pretty much guarantee that the components inside will be of OE spec, possibly even identical to the ones you would buy from the dealer. It's only when you get to the less identifiable end of the price range that you need to be worried, and as long as the correct tensioning procedure is followed, then nothing should go wrong.

The most common cause of belt failure is usually incorrect tensioning, leading to excessive strain on the belt and tensioners.

Go for genuine vag kit as its covered by 2 year warranty against defects.

IIRC this is only if fitted by an approved garage.

I'm not sure if that means dealer or what, but I'm fairly certain it won't cover DIY fit.

Ross would know more than me I'm sure.

IIRC this is only if fitted by an approved garage.I'm not sure if that means dealer or what, but I'm fairly certain it won't cover DIY fit.Ross would know more than me I'm sure.

Correct, not DIY that's for sure.

(well depends who the DIYer is)

Gone here with genuine

http://www.avwbosch.co.uk/

I thought VAG ones were made by Gates, but I must be wrong. I would only use and trust either.

However, for water pumps wasn't there a bit of controversy over the material of the impeller. VAG are plastic, but you can get metals ones (or vice versa). VAG ones did have a reputation of breaking.

Years ago yes, VW revised the part and replaced it with a harder plastic thus much harder wearing.

I heard they were cases of the original impeller melting/deforming. Not the case nowadays luckily.

JRJG

Well timing belt done , alternator , water pump all genuine used , also brake fluid flushed and replaced , front tyres changed to the rear and and health check done, total cost with labour £460