[Charlie_M]

I guess I missed it in the service requirements printed in the manual, but I'm at 90 now and still on the original serpentine belt. I figure I may well be on borrowed time here so planning to replace soon.

For the people who've done it for this vehicle/motor, I have a couple questions:

1. Is there any particular brand that is better than the others, or any particular one to avoid? I did search on this and saw Conti mentioned but that was for a V8 which seems to be quite a different deal.

2. Looking around on the web I have not seen any "kits" for this job for this motor but I do notice that there is an idler pulley offered also. Given that I'm at 90k, it is time to replace that also?


Thanks in advance for tips/advice.

Charlie

 

[Charlie_M]

oops I see that the first sentence is a bit unclear. I am at 90k miles now. Thx, Charlie

 

[Charlie_M]

finally got it done

OK replaced the serpentine belt tonight, and decide while I was at it to go ahead and replace the idler pulley assembly. I used these two products here by gates (from Amazon):

Amazon.com: Gates 38317 Belt Tensioner: Automotive

Gates DK070817 Serpentine Fan Belt : Amazon.com : Automotive

It was a pretty quick job. On the package that the belt came in it advised that one should make a sketch of the belt routing prior to taking the belt off. The sketch was really helpful.

So, I guess I got a little over 93k out of the original belt and pulley. I still don't know what the rated life is on the belt but I suspect I may have been overdue. I didn't think there was anything wrong with my idler pulley assemby but the pulley itself was $30-$50 depending where you got it and the entire assy was on amazon for $50 so it seemed an easy choice.

Considering that it took about 1/2 hour to do and cost just a little under $100 to replace both the belt and idler pulley assy, I suppose I'd change the belt only in about another 50k, and change both again if I make it all the way to anther 100k with this vehicle.

Charlie

 

[Charlie_M]

One more quick observation on this... this morning I gave the old belt and idler pulley assy an inspection before throwing them away and found that the OEM idler pulley assy is in fact a Gates product, so I figure the assy I got for $50 on Amazon is as good as the OEM unit (same part number I figure). I also double checked the manual and nowhere in the service specs does it call for any replacement of the belt or idler pulley (all the way up to 120k). Who knows maybe that belt could've gone a lot longer but seems cheap insurance. Also I noticed that the bearings on the old idler pulley assy that I puled out seemed to have enough play that they seemed to be near the end of life. Based on these observations I'd probably modify my recommendation above to this: just go ahead and replace both belt and idler pulley assy at 50k or 60k.

Certainly not expecting any issues with the Gates unit since the OEM was Gates also, but if I do have any issues I'll report them here.

 

[jonmc56]

Thanks for sharing. Gates makes great stuff, I would be confident that it is going to hold up well.

 

[noobytoogy]

I think it is Gates that recommend changing their belts at 6 years.

 

[Stono-see-um]

If your old belt isn't torn or fraying, it's always good to throw it in the back of your car for a spare. A "Boonie" kit is always good to have (belts, hoses, filters) Belts always go bad when you're way out in the boonies.

 

[Baltimore Touareg]

Thank you for this info. I have to replace my serpentine belt very soon. Shop says I have roughly 1,000 miles left on it, and my car is currently at 64,000 miles. May ask them to inspect the pulleys as well when they get the car into the shop. Will report back if anything pecular arises.

 

[agon]

So is Gates the OE for the touareg belts and tensioners? Thanks for the info as well. I brought my Touareg in for a coolant flush and they told me the tensioner is running rough. So I should probably replace it soon, I'm at 97k now.

 

[Charlie_M]

For mine the OEM unit was a Gates product. The one I got off Amazon was Gates too and it looked identical to the one I replaced. Not sure if the 2005 and 2008 v6 motors are the same or not in this or other respects, so cannot comment on that. I would recommend to check amazon, and use the feature they have which allows you to look up your car parts by model, make, year, etc... The pricing they have on most car parts seems pretty good, and this way you're sure to get the right part. Also the carry Gates. To do the job was pretty easy, just make sure that you do make a sketch of the serpentine belt routing before you take the old one off.

 

[agon]

Yeah, the Amazon finder already identified that it will fit my 2005 v6. That's great, that will save a bunch of cash, considering the VW tensioners are $107 plus shipping at the moment. Thanks for the info.

 

[Spiegelglatt]

Old thread I know...doing this tomorrow on my 07 3.6 at 112k miles. Anyone have torque specs on the tensioner ...I purchased new hardware for this too as I wanted to be safe incase they were stretch bolts...

 

[kippyman]

My dealer just quoted me over 300 bucks Canadian to replace mine, I have done a few on other vehicles
Is the belt on my 2012 3.6 difficult to do ?

 

[TRespect]

just for fun:

 

[Spiegelglatt]

My dealer just quoted me over 300 bucks Canadian to replace mine, I have done a few on other vehicles
Is the belt on my 2012 3.6 difficult to do ?

It is very easy. Took me 15 minutes and most of that was drawing the sketch of the belt route (do this to make life easy). I had help to pop the belt off the alternator while I took tension off the tensioner with a breaker bar and a 17 mm socket.

The just remember the route of the belt and finish at the alternator.

I replaced the tensioner too. Mine was bad and made a terrible rattle at a certain rpm. The four triple square bolts have a 20nm torque specification. New tensioner is so quiet and smooth. No more rattle. Belt was 111k miles old and had zero cracks, but texture was aged feeling.

 

[G6mdxvct]

It is very easy. Took me 15 minutes and most of that was drawing the sketch of the belt route (do this to make life easy). I had help to pop the belt off the alternator while I took tension off the tensioner with a breaker bar and a 17 mm socket.

The just remember the route of the belt and finish at the alternator.

I replaced the tensioner too. Mine was bad and made a terrible rattle at a certain rpm. The four triple square bolts have a 20nm torque specification. New tensioner is so quiet and smooth. No more rattle. Belt was 111k miles old and had zero cracks, but texture was aged feeling.

The sketch is a good idea as the VW study guide for the VR6 has a different routing than my actual routing. You can take one of the tensioner mounting bolts and if you notice the tensioner has a threaded hole on top . Screw the bolt into the hole and it will take tension off the belt the more you screw it down and belt will come right off. No Ned to pry belt off.