I have seen posts on here about when to change cam belts due to age, so i will add my little bit. I bought a 2007 1.4 tdi with 29000 genuine miles on it last week and had the cam belt replaced today. The mechanic said it was the original belt he took off and that it was still OK . It either means the recommended change  at 4 years that the manufacturers are pushing is a bit of a con ,  the belts are not as good quality as they used to be, or me and the One previous owner have been incredibly lucky

When I changed the belt in my first 1.6, 2002 Octavia it was on year six and about 57000km. Then the manual was talking about 90000km or 6 years.  It was also fine without any signs of damage.  

The more reliable cars  get the more some manufacturers  seem to be shortening the life of some components to keep profits up

They give a timing belt service life based on idler and tensioner pulley bearing life expectancy,

it's very rare a belt will fail without some outside intervention such as foreign object damage or a stiff/worn pulley bearing under rotating or mis alignment over heating the belt.

 

Just had my belt changed. Bought the SKF set.

So, interestingly, my mechanic firstly said the SKF pack is good. It's the OEM part. Next, he said the belts often fail because the water pump leaks from the seal and the coolant breaks down the integrity of the belt. Then it fails.

So, to anyone that is going to get their belts changed (with water pump), may I suggest that you request the mechanic to apply something like 'Hylomar Blue' to the pump before fixing to the block, at least to reduce the probability of a leak.

I got told this news AFTER he'd fitted my kit, otherwise I'd have requested the Hylomar Blue. It's amazing stuff.

Edited 25 January, 20197 yr by Skoda_newby