Here is an updated Timing Belt DIY rebuild. I started this thread immediately following the work I did (twice) 4 months ago and the draft function failed so I lost everything. Here is my best memory with a number of pictures. I did it twice because after I got it all together, the water pump gasket was pissing everywhere, so, did it again.
You don't need to pull the front of your vehicle off - there is enough room. Tight but enough. I would suggest you disconnect the battery before you start.
Use a 24mm socket to turn crank to TDC (about 20° to the right of centre). Remove the two cam gear covers on the front of the engine. The notch "A" is on the bottom 1/3 plastic cover over the timing belt. I removed it after I got TDC in place.
Get the crank pin (part T3242) in place. There is a little 8mm hex plug that should come out pretty easy. Then insert and gently tighten the pin. This picture is looking up under the Touareg.
I was replacing the water pump too (good idea while way in there) so I drained the coolant. Take off the coolant refill cap to let go of the pressure and here is the best place to drain the system.
You can take off the serpentine belt while you're there. a 19mm on the tensioner to release. Here is where the tensioner is.
While you're under there, you can also take off the tensioner pulley. You will need to do that to get to the housing behind it. It's a single 8mm hex directly south of the 19mm you just used. A little recessed into the body of it.
Get the top rad hose out of the way too.
Here's what I did with the top hose. You can also put the cam lock on now too.
Next, get the piston tensioner cover outta the way (below). There are three 12mm bolts on the front and one "pain in the rear" 8mm hex bolt on the side. Mine was seized and I ended up having to cut it out. Even then, it tends to hit the top of the alternator (love that German engineering).
I would also take off the crank pulley. It's 8 6mm bolts. They're a little tough to get at with the rad still in. Once you get the hang of it, it goes smoothly. The pulley has a notch to keep it in the right spot... it should just wiggle off. It's heavy, don't drop it on your face if you're underneath (I'm not talking from experience here, or anything).
Once you get the piston tensioner plate off, you can use an 8mm hex and loosen the right hand tensioner. Hopefully you will also be replacing a number of pulleys (the piston, the tensioner pulley, the roller at the top and the water pump. I bought a kit that had all these. The piston tensioner comes out with three 10mm(?) bolts. In the picture below, you can see where I also wrote the date and mileage (km) so I knew for next time... or if I sold it).
Once the tension is all let off, you can remove the belt. The cam lock bar can come off. If things move, you can use a wrench or ratchet to move them back in place. As long as the bar goes back on and everything is lined up, you're in time.
I then removed the umteen bolts around the water pump and removed that, replaced the gasket and pretty much do the whole thing in reverse. The only tricky part is getting the tensioners tightened. In the picture above, and if you read through the shop manual you will need to adjust these two places.
- Get the new timing belt on...
- Ensure the cam tool is on and lined up again.
- put a 5mm (5/16") drill bit between the lever and the piston case on the left side as a spacer
- I didn't have the proper T40009 tool that would be WAY better to adjust the tensioner on the right. So I used two hardened bolts and a screwdriver to lever the tension. An 8mm hex to tighten it in place.
- Once the right hand side is tense and the left hand side is tense against the drill bit...
- You can pull the pin on the left side and it will tension everything.
You may need to use an 8mm hex in the left hand lever above the piston to slowly push the piston in and adjust the belt so the two tensioners are close to the right tension. Then once the right one is tightened well, you can pull the pin on the left one.
Then, as stated, reverse everything above. Don't forget to put coolant (proper VW coolant) back in. You will likely have to run it a bit to let it burble around and get the thermostat open and whatnot.
If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to reach out. Not an expert but certainly experienced in doing this now. I was limited in pictures so I'll add a few in another post.