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Superb V6 TDI Cambelt cost

sheppardnias
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  • 2 years later...
Ferret101 Enthusiast

Ferret101

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I wonder how difficult the DIY cambelt change is on these cars, so long as you can lock the cams somehow I'd not expect it to be that difficult...

You need 2x belts, 3x tensionners and 1x waterpump? Euro parts puts the job in the

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rotodiesel Experienced

rotodiesel

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The main difficulty on the V6 - other than a lot of dismantling - is timing the fuel pump after changing the belt. This is just not a user friendly job and involves a measure of trial and error and general fiddling around. I would find it very hard to see a dealer having the expertise and patience to get it right.

The water pump on the V6 is stupidly highly stressed with a big belt wrap angle. Any bearing failure here will wreck the engine without question. It should be changed without fail at each belt change.

rotodiesel.

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Ferret101 Enthusiast

Ferret101

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The main difficulty on the V6 - other than a lot of dismantling - is timing the fuel pump after changing the belt. This is just not a user friendly job and involves a measure of trial and error and general fiddling around.

Does the pump not have a lock mechanism on it for locking the timing in place - doesnt the same go for the crank etc? I must find a bentley or equiv manual for this engine and have a look. Fortunately mine's only had its belt done 20k ago so there's quite a while yet.

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rotodiesel Experienced

rotodiesel

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You can't time a V6 using the "mark and pray" method or by aligning marks. The timing is adjusted electronically inside the pump, but the static injection timing has to be brought somewhere near the centre of the permitted tolerance, otherwise the system cannot adjust itself when running because it will go out of range one way or the other. You need VAGCOM - and a lot of patience - to set this.

The PD is a much better system because the engine is timed (as it should be) from the crank. The timing belt plays no part in the injection timing (the camshaft transducer simply tells the engine controller which cylinder to deliver fuel to) so mechanical pegging of the crank and cam wheels is sufficient - as long as the vernier adjustment on the camwheel is properly used.

The PD cambelt is an easy DIY proposition - the V6 certainly is not. That, together with the sheer inefficiency of the V6 compared with the PD, is why I dislike it so much. Who wants to spend a fortune on a car which has undergone cliff-edge depreciation already?

rotodiesel.

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CRC Community Regular

CRC

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The cam belt change for a V6 is due at 80k miles or 4 years - which ever comes first.

I've seen that written a few times on forums, but the workshop manual and the service book state that it should all be changed at 120,000 km (about 75k miles), making no mention of a time based period, only a mileage based period. It makes a big difference to me as the car will be 4 years old in just over a years time, but with a current mileage of 28,000, and doing 9,000 a year, it will take me about 5 years to get to get to the point where it all needs changing (plenty of time to save up)

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johannapam1 Rising Star

johannapam1

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I've seen that written a few times on forums, but the workshop manual and the service book state that it should all be changed at 120,000 km (about 75k miles), making no mention of a time based period, only a mileage based period. It makes a big difference to me as the car will be 4 years old in just over a years time, but with a current mileage of 28,000, and doing 9,000 a year, it will take me about 5 years to get to get to the point where it all needs changing (plenty of time to save up)

My Dealer says 60,000 or 4 yrs. The car will be done at the 4 yr stage with about 30,000 miles on the clock. I also have extended warranties (Skoda) so I am not going to jeopadise that with not changing the cambelt - its just not worth it.

If it goes you are looking at a good few grand to replace.

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Supurbia Experienced

Supurbia

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I've seen that written a few times on forums, but the workshop manual and the service book state that it should all be changed at 120,000 km (about 75k miles), making no mention of a time based period, only a mileage based period. It makes a big difference to me as the car will be 4 years old in just over a years time, but with a current mileage of 28,000, and doing 9,000 a year, it will take me about 5 years to get to get to the point where it all needs changing (plenty of time to save up)

The miles is correct, but there is a time limit also of 4 years.

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CRC Community Regular

CRC

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If you believe VAG UK. Nobody else worldwide refers to a 4 year limit, although I would not let a belt run for longer than 5 years.

rotodiesel.

It's a good point. I've read and re-read the service Skoda service schedule and cannot find a single mention of a time limit for the cam belt change on a V6. On every inspection service, it recommends inspecting the toothed belt.

I fully realise that in an interference engine, if that little belt breaks then it's "good night Irene", so it's always a good insurance policy to replace it at correct intervals, and "you pays your money and you takes your choice" if you ignore that. However, with the V6, that insurance policy is a pretty expensive insurance policy, so it's not really something you want to pay, if there's no real need to pay it.

What are the factors that cause a belt to snap? Presumably there's a limit to the number of times something can flex before it starts to degrade, however, in the case of a cam belt, it's obviously designed for many millions of cycles given that it will get through thousands of cycles every mile. Another cause would be the failure of bearings in the tensioners or water pump that causes the belt to rub and get hot, rather than to roll over the pulley. The belt would probably UV degrade in sunlight, but as it it lives where the sun don't shine, I wouldn't think that's a problem.

So, given that the reasons for belt failure (assuming no manufacturing defects) is likely to be cycle related (bearings or degradation due to flexing), and that ageing of the belt is likely to be minimum, why make it a time based interval rather than a cycle based interval, especially when Skoda say that it's not?

Now I know that it's up to me, and I can pay for peace of mind, or choose to take the risk, but as a logical question, what effect does age have, and where do I find the information saying that it does?

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