Worried owner

[joebrent 0]

my 1.8 16v has 123k on it, drives lovely. no complaints, has quite a bit of service history but no evidence of a cam belt change!! i know i should get it done right now but can you tell if it is about to go? also what happens if it goes while driving, heard some real horror stories but not sure exactly what happens!!!

thanks in advance guys!

[G60Jet 1]

you can't, GET IT DONE the parts for a G60 cost bout £40 in your money, cant be much different for the 16v. a could garage should change it in less than 2 hours at MAX

[Bally 0]

Hi mate

 

I was in the same sort of boat, myns done 124k, has VWSH but not receipt of cambelt change..

 

From what peeps have said if it was left this long, it would have gone by now, saying that, take of the cambelt cover and see if the belt is spliting etc, if the bottom pully is noisy, then the tensioner is facked, meaning the cambelt could go..

 

Hope this helps.. :D

[joebrent 0]

thanks a lot mate, do you know what happens if it goes?? im going to my mechanic tommorow so ill get it done then!!

[G60Jet 1]

lots of engine work, head rebuild as the pistons hit the valves, new pistons, basically an engine rebuild.

[Bally 0]

The valves etc go bang, engine will stop running, loss of power, would cause alot of damage, get it looked at to be sure :D

[lesarcsneil 0]

Make sure you get the tensioner changed at the same time as the belt. Plenty of people have had the tensioner seize despite changing the belt.

 

neil

 

Flash Red 16v

[Majik 0]

And a 16v has alot of valves to bend compared to 8 and 12 valves, could be worse, coud be BMW 24 valve

[Henny 0]

The 16V KR engine IS an interference engine... This means that without the cambelt set properly (or a snapped one when the engine was running) you WILL bend valves. :? On a 1.8 16V the cambelt change is easier than on a G60 as there isn't a charger belt tensioner to deal with, just the P/S and alternator belts. :)

 

Whenever I do a cambelt now, I change the tensioner as a matter of course. The parts shouldn't cost you more than £40 from Euro for genuine bits and should only take a reasonable mechanic about an hour to fit. It may be worth changing both the other belts while you are at it, they are practically pence and have to be taken off anyway... 8)

[Kevin Bacon 5]

Only use a genuine belt.

 

Takes about an hour to change. VW say the tension needs to be set with a dial guage but I've always done the usual bend it through 90 degree trick with no problems. You may need a C Spanner to adjust the tension as not all 16Vs had a regular bolt head to adjust the tension with.

 

There is a timing mark on the top pulley which aligns with the head when no 1 is at TDC.

 

Kev

[Jim 2]

General rule of thumb is if you are unsure of recent history for the cam belt, get it changed.

 

As others have said, if the cambelt goes, there will just be a noise and your engine will just cease / stop. You'll then be looking at up to £1000 in repairs.. so for the sake of 40 quid, get it changed!! :)

[woody 0]

Recently me mum bought a new polo from the steeler. I dropped her down there and while talking to the to saleman i asked about cambelt changes recommended milage etc, He said that VW used to recommend every 60,000 but this has now dropped to a recommendation of every 50,000. does this mean that recently they have had cambelts go before the 60,000 mile mark. Moral of the story get that cambelt changed if no proof that is has been done.