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When Should I Change The Cambelt On My 9N Its Gettin On For 70K?

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Vw recommend every 40k or 4 years now

Not a cheap job either what with 3 tensioners and the water pump all needing swapped aswell as the belts

chewy wrote:When Should I Change The Cambelt On My 9N Its Gettin On For 70K?

At least 10k ago!

Manual says 60k which is when I did mine but its every 40k for safety now.

My mates cambelt snapped at 72k!!! Was a Fiat Punto though

As a matter of interest, is it 4 years across the board for VAG cars or on certain engine types?

ihpj wrote:As a matter of interest, is it 4 years across the board for VAG cars or on certain engine types?

These business-wise people at VAG rolled this advisery out to cover all "cambelted" engines. Just an indicator of how smart some of these VAG garages are, when I booked my 2000MY Passat B5 2.8V6 4-motion in for a cam belt, I had to force the service people to agree to do this work as they said "its not got a cambelt" - I replied that these cars have a wide(sh) angle Audi engine model type APR and it has a cambelt. Eventually the senior tec was called for and still tried to get me to run along as this engine has not got a cambelt - I asked them to check the parts list maybe - red faces, car booking accepted and belt changed. Yes VAG dealers know their products (not)! Incidentaly, I could have found out from Audi what the rules were for this engine - but they never seem to want to discuss engines in VWs as they are different - but an APR is an APR where ever its used within VAG!

Incidently, its not normally the cambelt that fails - it gets destroyed by the tensioner pulleys or idler pulleys starting to stall due to seizing. If you are getting the cambelt changed on a 1.4 75PS or 100PS engine, I'd suggest you also get them to change the small idler pulley that is fixed to the end of an arm high up on the engine, as this one is not included in the VAG cambelt kit - but why is it not included? My indep VAG specialist knows the score and changes this as well as he has seen quite a few siezing - and this part only costs about £25 - why skimp when you are spending quite a lot of money already - infact just get your local VAG indep specialist to do this work and save a fortune.

Oh and new water pump is good advice - VAG do an exchange so its very cheap and will now have a metal impellor - remember a seized/failing water pump will sort out the cambelt just like the tensioners and idler will.

Just rang my local vag garage £195 for the cam belt, with the water pump and idler pully £297. This a good price?

£300 sounds about right for all that work TBH [at a Main Dealer] - remember you should get a 2 year unlimited mileage guarantee with the work having been done @ the Main Dealer too.

chewy wrote:Just rang my local vag garage £195 for the cam belt, with the water pump and idler pully £297. This a good price?

Thats pretty good. I paid £300 at AMD (Thurock) in Jan for cambelt, tensioners and water pump.

I was quoted £475 by VW to do the work

Well Mums car will be that age next year - so a little while to go as yet. I cannot understand how VAG can produce a vehicle whose belt needs changing as soon as 4 years (for whatever reason) when people like Lexus will warrant theirs for up to 7 years or 100K...and then that takes me onto my next subject: cambelts Use chains people!

i got my kit for 65 quid. this had 2 pullys in and the belt and my water pump cost me 20 quid. these were all from my work as i work at a supper store so if u no anyone who works at one like me then get them to get em for you. wasnt to bad to do either got one of the lads to do it for me bout 4 hours in all so you canget the bits cheeper if you no the right people. dont always pay vw. oh and bare in mind if you use a goodyear timing belt kit you get a lifetime gurantie on the belt and tentioners aslong as the work is done at a vat registerd garage so if it snaps and totals your head they pay for the lot including the new labour charge. mite be worth thinking about