Its that time nearing 54k miles after 2.5 years on the tdi octy 130 bhp , considering the Timing Belt change , dealers have quoted circa

Not sure what the difference is but for comparison I had the full belt kit and water pump done at a Skoda dealer for £280 all in (Octy vRS).

if £320 is for belt tensioner kit and water pump using genuine parts bite their hands off as I couldn't get that price from a third party. The genuine belt and tensioner kit for a TDI i was being quoted £170 for.

My dealer in Oxfordshire has just quoted me

Don't lose any sleep over it. There seems to be quite a mix of opinion on here about belt replacements - not helped by the fact that the models all vary, however, as I have my service schedule open on my lap as I type, I will quote the following from it

1. Petrol engines - inspect at 60,000 and thereafter every 20000miles

2. ATD Petrol Engine - 80,000 miles - toothed belt and tensioning pulley replaced

3. Diesel Engine - 100,000 miles - replace toothed belt and guide pulley

4. 1.8ltr Petrol Engine - 120,000 - replace toothed belt.

Sleep easy my friend and don't let the dealers take you for a ride!!

I always go for the 'if you have to spend money checking it, properly, you might as well do the work - again mix of opinions

That said if you do it, replace the waterpump & the usual as per Morley's post - again IMHO - as the labour is the expensive stuff, rest is quite cheap

Don't lose any sleep over it. There seems to be quite a mix of opinion on here about belt replacements - not helped by the fact that the models all vary, however, as I have my service schedule open on my lap as I type, I will quote the following from it

1. Petrol engines - inspect at 60,000 and thereafter every 20000miles

2. ATD Petrol Engine - 80,000 miles - toothed belt and tensioning pulley replaced

3. Diesel Engine - 100,000 miles - replace toothed belt and guide pulley

4. 1.8ltr Petrol Engine - 120,000 - replace toothed belt.

Sleep easy my friend and don't let the dealers take you for a ride!!

There was no way I was leaving the cambelt to 120k. It came off after 5 years / 43k!

Remember that the new 4 year maximum service life also applies to toothed cambelts.

Mine will be done bang on it's 4th birthday in May. The car will only have about 44K on it by then, but I'd rather be happy that the belt isn't going to go pong and the valves don't go ping

Interestingly I popped into my local dealer today on another matter but asked about the cost for the cam belt change and he quoted me £260, however that would be without the water pump.

The later 1.8t don't really have the water pump problem any more

I think there are 2 problems affecting the water pump - the impeller breaking free of the drive shaft, and the vanes breaking up. My car's water pump suffered from the latter problem at only 18738 miles (and 4 1/4 years). The replacement modified water pump fitted had a more robust method of fixing to avoid the first problem, but whether or not the plastic impeller is less prone to breaking up is yet to be seen. Whatever, I will continue to have the water pump changed each time the cam belt is changed.

Is the water Pump still likely to be a problem on a 2004 mark 1 tdi octy , or was it only on earlier models before i pay out and have one done . My thoughts on the Time Belt were to get it done just before the 60 k warranty runs out in August this year , in case any other faults are found that could be rectified with in the warranty , like the water pump etc . What do you think .

The water pump issue was fixed around late 2002 early 2003, the pump impeller is made from a different plastic now.

My local dealer wants

i think an exchange water pump is only £25 so that plus G12 for the coolant change.