Lsmaclea
Passed Driver's Ed
- Location
- Allston MA
Haha. Yeah. I just reloaded SW onto my new machine. I haven't played with the image quality settings yet.
Yeah the coolant line that runs from the back of the engine to the front presses up against the cover. There have been a few on this site that have complained about rubbing noises, but I don't think it's worth taking everything off.
There's actually two different belt covers. One has a single piece cover and the other has a 2 piece cover. If you have a North American GTI, or any BPY engine code, you'll have the single piece cover. Removing it will necessitate the removal of the engine mount and engine bracket. Unless the sound is absolutely irritating, I'd probably wait until I was doing the timing belt job to solve the problem.
OP,
Not trying to create an argument, but I don't understand (maybe I can't visualize it well enough) how you can tell where the timing is by rotating the motor twice. Let me try to explain. Let's use this image:
So, the big gear (circle) on the left is the cam shaft gear. And the small gear (circle) on the right is the crank shaft gear.
Assume the dot the arrow is pointing to is the mark you made on the timing belt. If you were to rotate the circle on the right 720 degrees, you would rotate the circle on the left less than 720 degrees. Therefore, if you turn the motor twice (crank shaft gear 720 degrees) the cam shaft gear is going to rotate less than 720 degrees. So, you won't get the timing marks to line up right again.
IMO, use a thorough marking system on the old belt while still on the motor, and then transfer the marks very carefully, then install the new belt lined up with the marks on the gears the first time.
Again, OP, AWESOME DIY. Super stoked this resource is out there for all of us to reference. :bow:
I can almost assure you that I have a two piece timing belt cover on my MY2006 North American BPY. There is a definite junction between the two pieces just below the coolant line, and there is no inspection window.
Yeah the 2 piece cover does not have an inspection window because you just unscrew the 2 bolts near the top of the cover and take it off.
So can you confirm that the coolant line has to be moved to pull the upper cover? When pulling the coolant line, will it be necessary to burp the system after reassembling.
Not trying to be rude, but if simply removing a hose clamp and disconnecting a hose to see if it's an issue is such a big deal, you might want to leave the car work to someone else.
It all has to do the with ability of the belt to "stretch". As mentioned in my timing tips, it is possible to have the crankshaft and cam gears both aligned on the markings, with the belt being one tooth off in either direction. This is just one of the hassles of having a belt, which due to it's construction and materials, does NOT have a definite circumference; it stretches.
BTW, the only reason for rotating the crank 720 is because it rotates the cam 360, bring the only factory markings back in line to compare with your drawn markings.
I have only replaced one timing belt myself before (00' AVH 2.0 Golf) so my technical background is limited, but I still am not sure I agree with you ZachL. I have a thought I'll try to explain below:
If the timing belt on the motor is off by even just one tooth, the timing is way out of whack.
Therefore, there is an exact number of teeth that MUST be on each side of the pulley system. That number is the same for the old, and replacement belt.
Therefore, if someone marks the old belt to the pulleys well, and transfers the marks to the new belt properly, doesn't rotate the pulleys at all, and then installs the new belt such that the marks line up perfectly to the pulleys, I don't see any way for the timing to be off. You've ensured that the same number of belt teeth are between the marks you made. Therefore, the timing must be right.
IMHO, this is the best way to change the belt. Using the marks appropriately, you can assure yourself that the old belt is in exactly the same (and also correct) positioning as the old belt. This guarantees proper timing.
This makes sense to me now. Clever way of double checking. I guess you could bolt the pulley back on just to check. Just use two bolts, and don't torque'em too tight. But I'd have to agree with you, mark the pulley to the block for ease and accuracy.
Thank you for this great DIY, Zach!
I'm a stealership hater and you saved me serious $.
Anybody else have feedback on doing this job? This DIY is great, but it's always nice to have more inputs.