VW TDI timeing belt service
 

I'm about ready to buy a new Jetta TDI and a friend at work told me about the difficulty of replacing the timeing belt on his old ( around 2001 ) Jetta TDI. It sounded like, at least on the older TDI, the timing belt service was a major pain to do yourself, and that would make it pricey to have a shop do it.

Does anyone done a belt service on one of the newer TDI?

I need to consider this service before I buy

If it's such a concern make the replacement part of the deal when you buy the car.

2.0 TDI CR Timing Belt
 

I have done a few, the expense is the special tools & time needed to lock down various pulleys and ensure correct timing. If done earlier than recommended, are you replacing the water pump and tensioners? One of those while in there deals. The belt is a massive width, made to last.
I doubt anyone will sell you a car with a free timing belt change, it does not need to be done until 120,000-130,000 thousand miles...SmileWavy

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I have done 6 of the ALH engines and it's not hard. The tools will run you about $250, the belt kit is $295, and the VAG Com is $350 + a computer to run it on. This is for 01 ALH TDI and it takes about a days work.

I have not done the newer one, but I already have the VAG COM. The tools are $150 and the belt kit is $330.

I've got a 2001 Golf TDI as a daily driver. Coming up on 255K miles soon.

Yes, the specialty tools are a must. I bought mine for $100 from a guy on TDI Club. Got the Vagcom for $175 used. There are several very detailed write-ups on the procedure, including lots of photos. Not a difficult job, but you do need to be carful and double check everything.

Took me about 6 hours the first time, but much less than that now.

BTW, I would NOT wait for 120-130Kmiles. Most experts agree a reasonable change interval with top quality belt and rollers is 100Kmiles. For some of the cheap crap timing belt kits out there, it's more like 40Kmiles :^) Rule of thumb is, if you don't know when or how it was done last, do it now.


Gary

thanks for the answers, everyone

is the VAG Com needed when the timeing belt is replaced?

You really need the Vagcom to accurately reset the timing after a timing belt replace.

Gary