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Timing Belt

48K views 28 replies 22 participants last post by  athompson 
#1 ·
Just took the 04 Touareg in for the 80K service, they want to change the timing belt for $1200.00. The car has 83K on it, and I will be keeping the car until 100K and then get a new car. Has anyone been told this? Does anyone have 100K on there car? By the way no complaints of motor problems they just want to do it as prevenitive maintenance.
 
#2 ·
The owners manual clearly states the timing belt is to be replaced at 80k.
 
#3 ·
Trust me on this, do it before it breaks. I had a friend who just lost his on his Passat. It cost him almost double that for he needed head work when it went out. So as they say, pay a little now or a lot later!! ;)
 
#4 ·
The timing belt (why the hell do foreign car manufactureres still use belts? They should be chains, they'd last pretty much forever!!) connects the crankshaft to the camshaft(s). If the belt (or chain) breaks, the cams will be out of time with the crank, causing the valves to hit the pistons, breaking them, bruising the pistons, breaking the rocker arms, and pretty much obliterating the entire top half of the engine. The entire engine will need to be torn down, the pistons replaced, and the entire top half replaced (other than the heads themselves). It's pretty labor intensive work (especially on a DOHC engine) and is therefore pretty expensive to repair.

I don't buy $1200 for the timing belt change, though. All they need to do is take the cover off the front of the engine and change the belt and reset the crank timing. Unless the belt is in the back of the engine? Anyone know?

Note to self: sell car before 80k mile service.
 
#5 ·
AZBob said:
The timing belt (why the hell do foreign car manufactureres still use belts? They should be chains, they'd last pretty much forever!!)
LOL.... VW's VR6 uses a timing chain.. What your forgetting is a lot of the time it's not the belt/chain that fails on new cars, it's the tensioners
 
#16 ·
Hey Nefarious thanks for mentioning my latest diagnosed problem - tensioner ?belt? The camshaft crankshaft, hitting the pistons, bruising the something all sounds familiar ie: I had a "tapping" "ticking" noise and with 3 mechanics in my engine and a modcom on - they said $2400.00 and she'll scream down the road for another 90K. She has just over 81K now - 04' V8 Reg - Luxe interior - I am still finding whistles and bells. Anyway, I've always changed the oil (yes SYN!), and driven her a little whimpy. Having said that, another mechanic recently told me that I my engine was sludged, after he got into it to change the oil, after the OIL PRESSURE light came on. I had the car towed and he changed the oil and looked at it. I had the 80K "tune up" done, but the paperwork doesn't indicate they changed the tensioner(s), however, VW told me someone had taken them apart and there were "hash marks" for them to realign the belt with "gasket?" when they reassembled it. I am a woman, a nurse, and not an auto mechanic. HELP!
 
#6 ·
I buy the 1200 if that is what they want charge. My friend just had his replaced on his Passat 1.8T and it cost him 2600 because he needed head work. I say follow the manual and get it done for a little now or pay a lot more later.
 
#8 ·
I do not know for sure but i believe just about the whole front of the car needs to come off to get to it. I know this is the case with the audi and since this is pretty much the same engine.......
 
#9 ·
What's the deal the with the V10 TDI? I thought they need to have the timing belt changed at the same time. I haven't looked at the manual in a while so don't quote me. I had a Jetta TDI 2000 and it needed a timing belt change every 60K. I was a good boy and did that. However on my 120K change, they didn't change the tensioners....cost me a whole new head!!!! I got a fantastic deal with a new head at cost for $1200!!! Not including labor. So, is there something different with the v10 TDI???
 
#10 ·
drmark50 said:
What's the deal the with the V10 TDI? I thought they need to have the timing belt changed at the same time. I haven't looked at the manual in a while so don't quote me. I had a Jetta TDI 2000 and it needed a timing belt change every 60K. I was a good boy and did that. However on my 120K change, they didn't change the tensioners....cost me a whole new head!!!! I got a fantastic deal with a new head at cost for $1200!!! Not including labor. So, is there something different with the v10 TDI???
http://www.ricardo.com/download/pdf/Reports_Benchmark.pdf

Look for V10 tdi and R5 tdi, they are both 'gear driven' valvetrain, no belt, no chain, very robust and low maintenance, but like motorcycle engine with gear driven valvetrains, can get noisy with high mileage (so I'm told).
cheers
 
#12 ·
Timing belt self-service

I changed my own timing belt on a 2004 at 80K miles. It cost me $200 in special tools and 2 days' work. If you follow the shop manual, it works out fine. There are some challenges, like a certain alternator bolt that caused much cussing. And manhandling the bumper on and off and getting everythiing lined up is challenging. Car now has 104K and runs great. I used a Gates belt.
 
#13 ·
I had mine replaced for $1800 incl waterpump and serpentine belt Alo had to pay for overnite shipping since do not carry anything in stock.
I could not wait since my waterpump had quit working. Renting a car was more expensive than overnaight shipping.

Also the gear driven stuff sounds great until one of those gear driven parts quit working.
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
 
#14 ·
I have 2005 Touareg with 61000 miles on it.
Recently I experienced cold start problems, check engine on.
VW dealership state that timing is off and to fix they need to replace timing chain & camshaft for $6,000.
Timing chain and camshaft should last 200,000 miles.
I see that i am not the only one with this problem; I suggest we organize and initiate recall action from VW?
I was told by VW "costumer care" that if we all report the problem directly to them we might get something. Their phone # is 1-800-822-8987
 
#15 ·
What is the factory warranty on these Touareg's anyway?...V-6 3.5
The standard 36.000 or 50.000 Miles on the engine and its internal moving parts...or 5 years which ever comes first....
hope I don't have to find out the hard way....grrrr
we have 22.000 miles on our 2008 V-6

We were lead to believe it was 50.000 and the usual standard if you have extended premium warranty it takes over or pays what the factory warranty won't cover?

anyone know?
 
#18 ·
I have this problem now, vw dealer says needs new chains. Cost about €6,000. Chains are at the back of the engine and the engine needs to be taken out with special tools. Aghaaaaaaaaaaaaa:(
Its starting fine, no noises or anything. 58k Miles.
 
#19 ·
Hmmmm, is that a V6 TDI? (Not sure when they were introduced in Europe)
How many kms?

Chains and whips (err, tensioners) are supposed to be "lifetime", but what's that?
 
#21 ·
Not too bad replacing the timing belt on V8 models.Chains on 3,2/3,6 VR6 models are a nightmare. And when chains break, they do the same damage as bust belts and more.

The flailing chain smashes everything it hits, when it drops into the chain chest, if the engine was turning fast enough when breakage occured, the chain will attempt to lock the crank. The result is the sprocket loses its teeth, worse case scenario is a twisted crank. I've seen this occur on a 2005 3,2L VR6 at 88,000 miles. Needed a complete new engine, as the old one was pretty messed up.
 
#22 ·
I think you may find more info on this on the Audi forums where it seems to be more common.
 
#27 ·
Timing Belt?

A hauntingly familiar story where a dealer performing the 80,000 km service on my '04 V6 recommended the timing belt change. I had this checked out at a reputable service centre and low and behold the '04 V6 is not a belt but a timing chain! :confused:They were able to check the deflection of the chain for condition and suggested that it was fine and should be good for many more miles.
 
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