Hi

just bought a 67 plate VRS Estate which has almost 69000 miles on the clock, my mechanic friend says i should have the Cam belt and water pump changed asap. the local dealer says five years which would be October next year. should i di it earlier or wait ?

 

any thoughts anyone? it would be going to the main dealer for it.

 

Bc

Welcome to the forum.

 

The age old cambelt debate, to kick start the usual discussion, please let us know what engine is installed in your car. 

 

But I will start by saying if it's a TDI then fives years is generally the most "popular" time to change it, the tensioner and water pump. Estimate around £650 at main dealer or £400-500 at indy garage. TDI. 

 

I will also add ( but sorry,  not wishing to dampen your excitement of a new motor😄),  check the colour of the coolant in the expansion tank,  and also if you have an even heat coming from both passenger and drivers side vents when nice and warmed up.

 

There is a well documented issue on this forum (including my own 2016 TDI @ 55k miles)  with a bag of silica that's in the expansion tank to extend the protection of the many types of alloys used across the engine cooling system and emissions management, that can splits  and blocks the heater matrix. Any sign of horrible colour (it should be nice and pink)  in the coolant expansion tank "brown" or rusty looking is a good indication it's gone south already.

 

Looking forward to more cambelt replies. Regards. 

 

Edited 27 December, 20214 yr by paulski

paulski

 

Thank you for swift reply.

The engine is the petrol version 2.0L VRS, i will check the coolant tomorrow when it is daylight.

 

Bc

quick search on the forum pulls this out: don't think chain will need doing for a while yet....

 

"The 1.0, 1.4 and 1.5 TSi engines ALL have a timing belt which Skoda UK recommend should be changed at 5 years.

 

The 2.0 TSi engine has a timing chain" .

 

Probably worth discussing this with a good independent to see if there are any reasons to check it at any interval 

Edited 27 December, 20214 yr by paulski

Paulski

 

Thanks again for your swift reply.

i did ask at the dealer when i bought the car and they said £600 for cam belt and water pump so i took it for granted that that was it. will have to check if it is a chain.

 

Bc

well the dealer hasn't a clue then as per usual!!! 

 

Like I edited above, ring a good independent Audi/VW/SKODA/Seat garage and discuss with them, you'll get a lot more out of them than the service department at a dealer.

Edited 27 December, 20214 yr by paulski

16 hours ago, paulski said:

well the dealer hasn't a clue then as per usual!!! 

If I had a pound for every time a dealer has emailed me, told me, messaged me, WHY that I need to replace the timing belt when the car I drove had a timing chain I wouldn't need to enter the Omaze draw for the £3m house in the Lake District (slight exaggeration but you get my drift!).

 

My experience is that dealer car knowledge can be written on a small Post-It note using a very large marker pen...

 

I echo the advice to find a good local independent specialist.

Edited 28 December, 20214 yr by PetrolDave

And the cost at a dealer is paying for

 

1.the mechanics, sorry,  I mean "Technicians" because that's sounds more fancy to the uninformed, to have clean overalls everyday due to the health and safety police, safety boots and safety specs in case an employee takes legal action against them when they get an injury.. 

 

2. A person on the service desk that does not know what a 13mm spanner actually looks like but can input a registration into a computer and refer to a list of money making items such as an "air con cleanse" @£60 which would be £8 from Halfords for a can of scent left blasting out for 10mins with the Aircon running😄

 

paulski your comment is oh so true but you missed the "we can't find a fault code so it didn't happen"

I hear what you say and i will be checking with the local specialist as well.

i have checked the coolant and it is looking ok. and i see no chain just a cam belt.

 

thanks for the words of wisdom though 

 

Bc

18 hours ago, briinthesky said:

i see no chain just a cam belt.

Can you please confirm that you have a TDI vRS? (and maybe update your profile...)

 

The TDI vRS has a cambelt but the TSI vRS has a timing chain.

Hi

it is a petrol VRS DSG 2017

@PetrolDave the OP did confirm he has a Petrol 2.0l in one of their posts above but thanks that you also confirmed that the TSI has a TIMING Chain 👍. 

 

From a bit of research this engine had issues with chain tensioners wearing up to revision/warranty recall ~2012 (again confirming to the OP that their car has a timing chain) one other issue is coolant thermostat giving out and coolant loss which is rectified by the thermostat housing being replaced with a modified unit.  

 

Wikipedia references the following engine codes across the group. 

 

2.0 R4 16v TSI/TFSI (EA888)[edit]

Manufacturing commenced March 2008.

identification

parts code prefix: 06H, 06J; ID codes: CAEA, CAEB, CAWA, CAWB, CBFA, CCTA, CCTB, CCZA, CCZB, CCZC, CCZD, CDNB, CDNC, CHHA, CHHB, CJXA, CJXB, CJXC, CJXD, CJXE, CJXF, CJXG, CYFB, DKFA

 

 

HI

 

I looked under the lid for confirmation, i am no expert mechanic but that looks very much like a cam belt to me.

It is supposed to be the same engine as the Golf GTI

 

Bc

@briinthesky That's your auxillary drive belt connected to the alternator (top) and air conditioning compressor or possibly the water pump (i'm a TDI owner so different layout) the camshaft will be driven from a chain or belt (petrol or diesel engine dependent) that is well protected from the environment. 

 

If you want to see how the chain is inspected then watch this video in this link, its  "buried" under some covers and requires some dismantling to get too.  

 

https://www.shopdap.com/blog/post/timing-chain-tensioner-and-chain-issued-for-2-0t-tsi-vw-and-audi-models.html

 

 

Paulski

 

As i pointed out i ain't no mechanic so thanks for your knowledge.

sounds like a timing chain may be less urgent to change,

 

Bc

Paulski 

 

Thanks ever so much for all the video info it was very useful.

kudos to you my friend.

 

Bc