I have a 2003 Jetta 1.8 turbo w 150k miles, recently acquired. It was bought spur of the moment up in Seattle, I'll skip the longer story.
Anyhow, it has no record of timing belt service being done which was due @ 105k miles. I chanced driving it home to SoCal w plans of immediately doing the T-belt/water pump/tensioner/etc. It ran great, fwiw. The car came from a dealer auction w the books, (no dealer stamps for services), but no service records other than what is on Carfax and no T-belt there.
Of course, it could have been done by an indy shop and not reported to Carfax. There is no sticker or paint pen under the hood w T-belt service recorded, which is often found. I went out and bought the complete Continental kit w belt, H2o pump, tensioner, cam seal, everything I need and was just preparing to begin the operation.
What stopped me in my tracks and caused this inquiry is that the belt looks great and no way it has 150k miles on it, IMO. This is where I need the expert opinion. I know that some will say to do the job if there is any doubt and I'm willing to but it's not a small job or inexpensive. If the belt looked dry, cracked in the slightest or wet from oil, I would not be asking. I'd be wrenching.
The only two possible scenarios are that the job was never done and the belt has 150k miles on it and is 13 years old, or it was done approx. 40-50k miles ago. Could a VW belt be that old and have 150k on it and look excellent?? Is that possible? I've enclosed a photo, (as good as I could take), want opinions from an actual tech who looks at these belts and replaces them. TIA as always.
