Hello fellow skoda owners!

 

First time posting here..

Just recently bought totally wrecked skoda superb 3 2017, 1.4 TSI ACT engine. Repaired it myself to almost factory condition.

 

The car has 75kkm, but is almost 8 years old, and from the looks of it, the cam belt has not yet been changed.

So I went ahead and bought full service kit for it, before I get it on the road again (to hopefully have reliable car again)..

 

Now for the timing belt.. I've checked this link:
https://www.vwgolf.org/removing_and_installing_toothed_belt_engine_codes_chpa_czda-1649.html

 

And I'm wondering if the locking mechanisms are necessary to perform this?

I plan to change belt myself, and I'm somehow old-fashioned. I know the engine is timed correctly at the moment, 

so If carefully mark current positions, and only change the belt manually without any locking **** mechanisms... What could go wrong?

 

I plan to manually spin the engine few turns with new belt, to check if it is in correct position and no obstructions (correct timing)...

 

From my perspective, if I do not change the timing (spin the camshafts with belt off), anything should be fine???

 

But than again, I'm having second guesses, since it is an ACT engine...

 

BTW, my first time changing the belt XD

Thank you for the info, but I do not trust either elsapro or 8 year old cam belt!

 

We had engine rebuilt in ford galaxy 2008 because the belt snapped..

 

I do not plan to risk it..

 

For anyone seeking the same question as me (about not needing extra timing equipment), check this video:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eUw0pm4C2cg&t=18s

That engine in the video isn’t an act version.
Even the non act engine there is a locking tool to lock the cams and another one that stops the crank turning.

The garage doing the video have done the old school marking everything with paint method and probably you can get away with it on the non act engines, at least the engine will run reasonably enough.

There is a very expensive tool for timing the act engines that reads the cam sensors via the obd system to accurately check and adjust the cam timing, or there are some less expensive (but still several £100’s) tools that can check cam position without connecting to the diagnostics.

Whilst you might not trust elsapro for some reason, the fact is that the 5 year cam belt interval pushed by all vw uk brands was not necessary on these ea211 engines, and as ootohere posted the uk is now on the same page as the rest of Europe. There have always different recommendations for listed high dust countries in the rest of the world.

1.5act at 8 years old and 75,000 km (or miles), in my opinion, doesn’t need replacing. Take the cover off and inspect it and I bet it is like new. If you really want to get it changed then take it to a vag specialist or Skoda dealer and get it done with the correct equipment. 
I consider myself to be a reasonably good mechanic and worked at a vw/Audi dealership in the past, I run a car with one of these act engines and have had 2 other 1.4 tsi Octavias, and I wouldn’t embark on a timing belt change without the correct tools.

Edited 25 September, 20241 yr by classic

Yes, I'd be interested to hear about any timing belt failures on these engines? I have a 1.4 czca (non act) 125 engine in my 2016 Skoda superb MK3. Mine has done 95k miles now. I first inspected (and photographed for comparison) the belt at 3 years old and 51k. And still looks identical now at nearly 9 years and double the mileage (like new, no signs of fraying etc or wear). My car is kept in an warm garage which probably helps a little too... Photos below nearly 9 years and 95k miles. I don't plan to change any time soon, will keep inspecting every 15k or so.

Update on original post:

 

I sucessfully changed the timing belt (my way), now ive done about 4000km after the change and so far car runs flawless..

 

About the old belt (that some say is timeless).

 

After holding the old belt in my hand and inspecting it, im very glad ive changed mine. The belt was looking fine from outside, but had countless small cracks on the inside (where the teeths are)..

 

Also alot of belt dust around the plastic belt covers...

 

CHANGE YOUR BELTS FOLKS

Photos of old belt

@banzo7 I assume that you are not in UK, ACT came in with the 1.5 evo engine in UK, didn't it? 1.4 non-ACT up to 2016.

45 minutes ago, Warrior193 said:

@banzo7 I assume that you are not in UK, ACT came in with the 1.5 evo engine in UK, didn't it? 1.4 non-ACT up to 2016.

 

No...   There are 1.4ACT engines in the Superb and Kodiaq up to 2018.

1 hour ago, banzo7 said:

Photos of old belt

 

Are they actual cracks as they look like the belt material weave showing

Hi all, was researching this for a while, and seen comments on Seat forum stating that in 2023 VWG changed the recommendation on belt changes. So i contacted Skoda directly and they confirmed that my 1.4 TSI engine is on a lifetime schedule! 67 plate by the way, might consider an inspection in a few years. 66k on the odo at the moment

Edited 30 August30 Aug by Komap

On 01/12/2024 at 20:30, banzo7 said:

now ive done about 4000km after the change and so far car runs flawless..

Come back at 40,000, or say 140,000.

I think the complex procedure is about maintaining the long service intervals. Eg 300,000km belt change interval.

On 25/09/2024 at 17:53, classic said:

The garage doing the video have done the old school marking everything with paint method and probably you can get away with it on the non act engines, at least the engine will run reasonably enough.

I would agree that this will probably work in most cases, but its a bit of a botch job.

Cam timing may drift a bit due to inherent tension imbalance between the cam pulleys and crank etc.

Also, by loosening the pulleys and tightening the belt before unlocking the cams, you are ensuring the tension is consistent or at least correctly distributed around its length.

By doing this, they can run the cam belt out to 300K no worries, probably even longer.

Remember many cam belts had 100k or even 60K intervals (thinking Opel Corsa from early 2000s.)

On 01/12/2024 at 20:30, banzo7 said:

CHANGE YOUR BELTS FOLKS

Probably more importantly, change the idler. The bearing in the idler is the most common failure I have seen.

Obviously junks the belt thus engine when they fail

Edited 11 hours ago11 hr by BlueWagon