VR6 chains mileage survey

[OSV 0]

I think Portent has got a bee in his bonnet about this chain and tensioner issue as seen by his frequent posts and comments on the cars for sale thread. Its not a service item in the schedules like belts but as stated there is evidence that they usually need changing as age or mileage increases. Despite the apparent wear on removal you hear very few accounts of catastrophic failure in use.

What I don't think is fair is to make the chains/ tensioners such a big issue on cars for sale implying a less than thorough service record or neglect if they haven't been done. Yes its a cost of ownership if you keep the car any length of time but the seller can hardly be expected to cover the full cost of this work at the time of sale.

[dr_mat 0]

I think the earlier quoted figures of £600 for doing the chains are desperately optimistic .. though that depends on where you live and what the labour rates are like. In the south east you'll be lucky to see change from a grand doing the timing chains on a VR.

That said, I agree with the points being made here. Despite VW confusing their arse with their elbow this is just another service item that they missed. It's a big one, but it's not uncommon for timing belts to cost many hundreds of quid and hey .. this is an old car with a very rare pedigree so don't get hung up on it.

Just get it checked from time to time and stump the cash when you need to.

Just try buying an OE exhaust complete. It'll make the timing chains seem like a walk in the park.

[fla 9]

my lower chain snapped :shock: , yes snapped, at 55k. This was because oil got blocked to the intermediate shaft through fitting the mocal cooler bolt the wrong way around! Upper chain was fine. Anyway, all replaced,chains, guides, head (because of bent valves) so its pretty much ok now and on 70k.