Cambelt

Whelmed · Post by **Whelmed** » Tue Feb 19, 2008 6:50 pm

Hiya, I'm a new user to the forums and posted in the MKIII forum previously. I'm the proud new owner of a 1996 3-door VW Polo 1.4L with 84k miles on it. I got her for free and she's got new tires, brakes, battery, etc. Body is in perfect shape and there are only 2 little spots of rust on her.

Now, there are two problems with the car: 1) I need to replace the head-gasket. I've done this on a previous car so it's not a major problem. Which brings me onto the major problem: the cambelt

I'm not sure if it has been replaced, so I have to assume it hasn't. This was one of the few things I didn't do on my A4 golf TDI (due to the -ve clearance issues and the instant death my engine would face if I messed up). Does anyone know anywhere that I can get this done for cheap or is this a pretty easy thing on the Polo? I'm about an hour northeast of London.

Thanks folks

Rmachines · Post by **Rmachines** » Tue Feb 19, 2008 8:16 pm

If you do the head gasket the cambelt has to come anyway?!? And if it comes off you must NEVER replace it with the same one. Always fit a new one. If you can do a head gasket with the help of haynes im sure the cambelt wont be to difficult

Hardcore · Post by **Hardcore** » Tue Feb 19, 2008 9:09 pm

wooo your in the same position as me

im not sure if mine has been changed. and i thought my head gasket has gone. but i found out lyk today its just got water vapour in it s, a qquick oil flucsh will sort my problem out.

however. im changing my cambelt, bu at the same time changing the gasket anyway. because i am fitting a chrome rocker cover.

i wouldnt say its an easy thing. but at the same time not a hard thing.to be onest i reckon you could change the cambeelt youself. its difficult to put a new one on tho. the gasket. iddd get id done by someone who knows what there doing. although.. it might be worth geting it all done at the same time by someonewho knows what they are doing, because it looks good on srvice history

im not sure on prices. but the cambelt will probably be aboue Â£120 and i got told about Â£300 for the gasket :S but i really doubt it mate. cus someone else told me about Â£70 lol. #

theres loads of people on here who wil help you

someone might do it for you

god luck tho!

Whelmed · Post by **Whelmed** » Tue Feb 19, 2008 10:26 pm

Well - I think I'll give it a shot at changing it myself. ... So can anyone recommend a place to buy the belt / should I also put in a new water pump?

Thanks guys!

Polo96CL · Post by **Polo96CL** » Tue Feb 19, 2008 10:48 pm

My polo is due for its 50k miles cambelt change, going to get it done when its ready for service. On a skint budget so can't afford anything special

Going to hurt the wallet though

Mike-Mk4 · Post by **Mike-Mk4** » Wed Feb 20, 2008 12:43 am

Whelmed wrote:Well - I think I'll give it a shot at changing it myself. ... So can anyone recommend a place to buy the belt / should I also put in a new water pump?

Thanks guys!

So I've heard, it is best to and for the Â£26 (what it was at my local parts store anyway) its worth it!

dragon_green · Post by **dragon_green** » Wed Feb 20, 2008 9:03 am

Hardcore wrote: however. im changing my cambelt, bu at the same time changing the gasket anyway. because i am fitting a chrome rocker cover.

You don't need to change the headgasket to fit the rocker cover.

The headgasket goes between the cylinder block and the cylinder head.

The rocker cover gasket goes between the cylinder head and the rocker cover.

Whelmed · Post by **Whelmed** » Wed Feb 20, 2008 10:30 am

Mike-Mk4 wrote:So I've heard, it is best to and for the Â£26 (what it was at my local parts store anyway) its worth it!

Ooo, 17 quid at the local store and 32 for the water pump. Not entirely sure if I should bother with the water pump though.

Spaceghost · Post by **Spaceghost** » Wed Feb 20, 2008 12:28 pm

Whelmed wrote:Ooo, 17 quid at the local store and 32 for the water pump. Not entirely sure if I should bother with the water pump though.

Get the water pump mate. You have to take the cambelt off to change it, so should be done at the same time. Will save hassle in the long run for a negligible cost.

dragon_green · Post by **dragon_green** » Wed Feb 20, 2008 3:21 pm

Yep, if the pump bearings seize (not unknown) then it will have the same effect as a snapped cambelt.

Hardcore · Post by **Hardcore** » Wed Feb 20, 2008 4:34 pm

dragon_green wrote:
Hardcore wrote: however. im changing my cambelt, bu at the same time changing the gasket anyway. because i am fitting a chrome rocker cover.
You don't need to change the headgasket to fit the rocker cover.

The headgasket goes between the cylinder block and the cylinder head.

The rocker cover gasket goes between the cylinder head and the rocker cover.

true. but im not sure if my head gasket is gone lol

so im going to get it changed anyway if ic an find a good price. depends. ill see what goes on lol. if after iv had my oil change then its ok. wont change my head gasket. or though might do and get it skimemd lol. what price would i be looking at for that ??

deffo get a water pump mate

polo-sib · Post by **polo-sib** » Sun Mar 02, 2008 10:00 pm

Head gaskets a pain, I recently bought one and my neighbors a mechanic. They are Â£15, but apparently its quite a hassle yr looking at easily 3hours or more in work according to my neighbor.

But I'be heard the job costing easily at Â£300+ depending on the car. But if your gaskets not leaking/cracked I wouldn't bother, if your worried as you've found yellow/white goo in the engine cap or the breather pipe the cause is usually short journeys as a bi-product of engine oil is water and its caused by condensation in the engine, but it depends on how much of this stuff you produce and wether your coolant level keeps dropping.

Whelmed · Post by **Whelmed** » Mon Mar 03, 2008 10:32 am

polo-sib wrote:Head gaskets a pain, I recently bought one and my neighbors a mechanic. They are Â£15, but apparently its quite a hassle yr looking at easily 3hours or more in work according to my neighbor.

But I'be heard the job costing easily at Â£300+ depending on the car. But if your gaskets not leaking/cracked I wouldn't bother, if your worried as you've found yellow/white goo in the engine cap or the breather pipe the cause is usually short journeys as a bi-product of engine oil is water and its caused by condensation in the engine, but it depends on how much of this stuff you produce and wether your coolant level keeps dropping.

The quote I had was 400 quid ... and so far I've put in 8 hours into this and still not done! Mind you, I'm a hobbiest and not a real mechanic. Given that I don't make much cash (on an hourly basis) I'm still saving a lot of money, and having fun doing it. Unfortunately, I'm still not done, and am going to wait for next weekend to rebuild it. Gotta drill out one bolt as it snapped off when I was removing it. Fun!

The oil in the top of the cam looked like gravy, but the rest of the engine is really clean. The scary thing was that I didn't find any obvious breach in the head gasket. There were only 2 things that stood out to me: 1 - the gasket was split down the centre (i.e. almost making 2 gaskets) and 2 - there was one rip in it, but both those things could have been from removal damage. The only thing that makes me feel assured that it was the head was that the coolant was oily when I took it out.

So now that I have the head out and the engine in pieces, is there anything else I should take a look at here?

Hardcore · Post by **Hardcore** » Mon Mar 03, 2008 9:04 pm

fit the GT camshaft