I'm planning to change the cambelt and water pump myself on my furby vrs (59000 miles) and was just wondering if anyone can post any links to service guides / manuals for doing this job. Needless to say i'll be buying the Haynes, but i'd like to get as much info as possible first so I can figure out whether i can do the job myself or not. Even though i've changed a few cambelts on cars i've owned before, i've got the feeling this might be a bit of a badger to do.

If there are any technicians who view this site, can you offer any advice/tips on carrying it out please?

Also, will i need to get hold of any specialist tools/equipment specific to VAG engines?

Cheers guys!

If you are a Freedom member you can post in the Ask a Tech section which is where the techs normally reside.

You need a cam wheel locking pin 3359, crank pulley locking plate T10050, hydraulic tensioner lock plate T10008, adjuster tool 3387 and a 4-mm drill bit. This assumes you have the hydraulic tensioner; the friction tensioner is easier and doesn’t require T10008. Replace all the engine mount bolts and use a genuine belt kit

Be utterly paranoid about getting the cam and fuel timing on the new belt right. Literally go to the extent of painting timing marks on the cam and fuel pulleys and old belt, and count teeth on the new one to transfet the timing marks over, then get them lined up with the ones on the pulleys before proceeding..

Painting marks on the pulleys isn't accurate enough and unnecessary with the correct VAG locking tools. Cam and injection pump timing are the same thing on a PD.

Its easy enough to get it spot on using VAGCOM too.

Painting marks on the pulleys isn't accurate enough and unnecessary with the correct VAG locking tools. Cam and injection pump timing are the same thing on a PD.

That advice was given to me by a garage who were using the VAG locking tools.

Tom

Its easy enough to get it spot on using VAGCOM too.

PD Commencement Of Injection isn't set on VAG-COM, that is for conventional VEP injection TDI's.

the Haynes manual has a "how to" in it , whether you'll be able to follow it is another matter , as it flys about all over the place

All vRS Fabias have the friction tensioner which makes the job a bit easier as mentioned. The mounting can be a pain as it doesnt come out, you have to work around it.

The early Fabia VRS I did three weeks ago had the hydraulic tensioner which surprised me as all the other ones I have done were the friction type and ETKA insists the Fabia VRS only has the friction type, but then ETKA 7 is always right isn’t it!. I hate the hydraulic tensioner so much that one day I am going to convert one to friction damper to see if it works. The only trouble is if I get it wrong...

Ive not seen a 130 PD with a hydraulic tensioner, that seemed to e the older 100 and 115 PDs.

Your not alone hating them, however I was shown a much easier way of doing them a while back, I dont worry about the drill bit now, having done so many I know the position of the tensioner to give a suitable clearance.

I found it odd to see a VRS with the hyd tensioner, I suspected some history of tampering but it appeared to be an original and unmolested car. The belt kit we ordered arrived wrong because we assumed it would be a friction tensioner and it caught us out, luckily we had the parts in stock so it didn’t slow us down. The most common one we do with the hyd tensioner is the PD Passat and I have a friend coming in with one to have the belt done so I may take a gamble and try converting it, I can't envisage any problems after spending a little time comparing the two. The other week we had a 115 Passat and a late 130 Passat in for belts at the same time and I can't see any problem with the idea, can you?

The only thing im not sure of is the location of the lower roller on the friction tensioner, assuming there is somewhere to mount it where the damper was.

I struggled with the 2.0PD cambelts at first, have now found a way to do them that means you dont wrestle with the mounting at all.

What I meant was that you can use vagcom to trial and error set the fuel pump timing.

The 1K0 type mounts aren’t as much of a pain as the 1J0 type.

thanks to everyone for your replies.

can anyone recommend a good supplier? i've been in contact with GSF and they said that the parts weren't listed on their system and that i'd have to go to the dealer...

What I meant was that you can use vagcom to trial and error set the fuel pump timing.

Nope, there is no function for COI setting on a PD at all, it is purely done with the locking tools and tensioner setting. Try it out on your Passat.