Old Topic?

[greenbeltvr6 0]

Have recently bought a VR6 (march) and it runs like a beauty (have beaten an Audi TT 3.2 nutter off the lights), apart from having to replace the radiator. I took it to the local specialist and asked for a full service and general quality report.

Seems like the car is sound, but the report mentioned a worn 'auxilliary belt'. Now I know the VR6 runs with a timing chain, so what belt might they be talking about? There's no evidence in the FSH of any repairs to belts or chains, and it's done almost 140k. Should I be worried about this? If this belt is worn, may there be problems with the timing chain? Is the engine gonna explode on me?

I should mention that the wife :evil: hates the car, so i'm looking at minimum expenditure...

[samm_cvr6 0]

Auxillary is just something minor like a fan belt. The problem with the chains, although I think they are very good as they are stronger then belts, is that it is very difficult to tell when it will break, where as with belts, you can see the wear on them. I wouldn't worry, my VR has done 142k, so a tad more then yours!

If you are concerned, run a compression test, that will tell you how strong your engine is.

[Kevin Bacon 5]

The auxillary belt is the big fat thing as you look at the left side of the engine, it drives the alternator, water pump and pas pump (and air con if you have it).

 

If you have air con, a new Continental belt will cost you a whopping £53+VAT, or £20 from GSF. It's a 7DPK1360. 7 is your ribs, D is double sided, PK is serpentine type and 1360 is the length in mm. If you don't have air con, sigh a breath of relied as the belt is under £20 and it's a 7PK 1290 from the motor factors.

 

They're good for about 40K. That belt has nothing to do with the chains. The chain upper tensioner needs inspecting at 140K as they tend to wear out by 100K. Plenty of threads on that mate, try the search.

 

My girlfriend hates my VR too and it has a supercharger on it, which makes her 1.4 Rover 25 look like a moped by comparison, so I hear you on that one! Don't give in to her though, force her to like it 8)

[greenbeltvr6 0]

Cheers for the advice (kev, sam). So we're saying that if this auxilliary belt breaks then it's not gonna cause me huge amounts of damage as long as I watch the temp(I have no acon)?. The only time i've had any probs with the pas is when the car cuts out(different story) , but it only does this when I drive to max mpg like a grandad in 5th then corner in 3rd - I think the car is making a point -'I'm a V6 coupe -don't drive me like a maestro!'

I've read the recent threads on timing chains which gave differing opinions - some said no worries, some said get it checked out. I took the poor mans (husbands :roll: ) option of ignoring it...

Yeah Kev, i'm trying to force her to like it - she thinks it's a money pit even though it's not losing value (apart from the dents from the punks with bricks)and it picks her up from work every night! I back this up with the fact that she can't drive and that her (my ex) car is losing £80 a month in value sat in the garage. Use this - it works!

[Supercharged 2]

greenbeltvr6, If they says it's worn then get it changed, this belt drives the alternator so you car will break down if it snaps, as Kev says, only about £20 from VW for the proper poly-ribbed belt.

 

You may also want to check the aux belt tensioner, these bearings tend to wear out also, whole unit is £70 but you can change the bearing yourself for about a tenner (again, have a search)