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DIY: 2.0T FSI Timing Belt Replacement for GTI/A3/Jetta

Zach L

VR junkie
Location
Austin, TX
Hi all! Yes, I have some feedback on this job as I've just done one on a 2.0 turbo fsi. I found this thread when I was having trouble getting the engine mounting bracket out past the cambelt cover and inner wing. The op said it just comes out but the one I was working on didn't, and there was no way it would have without removing the battery and battery tray and then loosening off (but not removing) the three (18 mm) bolts on the engine mount which is below the battery. Once this is done the engine moves over just enough to get the mount on the cambelt side out, it's still a bit of a squeeze though.
I'm a mechanic and was trained by VW in the eighties and have done thousands of cam belts on most makes of car (some Alfa Romeos can be a bit 'challenging' :wink:)
I thought the op was very well done and anyone following it as a guide shouldn't go wrong. IMO the most important advice is turning the crank 2 revolutions after the new belts been fitted then checking the marks and the belt tension.

Thanks for the input. I've done a couple of these timing belts now. I've never had to loosen the transmission mount (as you mention), but it is always a VERY tight fit pulling the bracket out.

There is a black plastic shell that covers the fuel line connections in that area. It is this plastic "box" thing that gets in the way. Applying a large amount of elbow grease will allow it to slip through. :wink:

BTW, as I mention in the original post, having less flexible aftermarket engine mounts would probably necessitate disconnection of the transmission mount and/or the downpipe. Either will allow greater engine movement.
 

stick

New member
Location
London
Thanks for the input. I've done a couple of these timing belts now. I've never had to loosen the transmission mount (as you mention), but it is always a VERY tight fit pulling the bracket out.

There is a black plastic shell that covers the fuel line connections in that area. It is this plastic "box" thing that gets in the way. Applying a large amount of elbow grease will allow it to slip through. :wink:

BTW, as I mention in the original post, having less flexible aftermarket engine mounts would probably necessitate disconnection of the transmission mount and/or the downpipe. Either will allow greater engine movement.

I'm wondering if the us spec left hand drive models have a bit more room on the timing belt side because the car I worked on was completely unmodified but there was absolutely no way that the mount could be removed without loosening the transmission mount first.
I can remember doing a cambelt on a mk 4 20v golf and struggling to get the mount out but it came out eventually without undoing anything else (that's the one with the hydraulic tensioner that doesn't come in the cambelt kit over here, the joy!!)
 

apollosfury

designeddwk
Location
VT
nice work on the DIY. looks like it took a fair amount of effort to do
 

drtechy

How you doin?
Location
MO
Car(s)
2008 TR GTI
Awesome diy, so glad someone wrote it up. I plan on taking care of mine within the next few weeks.
 

Zach L

VR junkie
Location
Austin, TX
About to do another one of these as well.
 

porpoise hork

Ready to race!
Location
Houston
Very detailed DIY here sir, Thanks you putting it together. I will very likely follow it when it comes time to do mine. If I dont have it done when the dealer fixes the cam follower. If they have to replace the head due to damage they might as well do the belt since they have to take it off anyway to remove the head.


Well if they dont try to charge me full labor for the job that is.
 

Zach L

VR junkie
Location
Austin, TX
This weekend I did another timing belt job for a guy out in Katy. Also installed one of my PCV solutions I'm about to make a DIY for soon. He had an air conditioned garage for me to work in... woot!! :biggrin:

Very detailed DIY here sir, Thanks you putting it together. I will very likely follow it when it comes time to do mine. If I dont have it done when the dealer fixes the cam follower. If they have to replace the head due to damage they might as well do the belt since they have to take it off anyway to remove the head.


Well if they dont try to charge me full labor for the job that is.

I cross-posted this DIY on EAG as well :wink:

If you end up needing someone to do your TB, need your valves hand scrubbed, etc. just LMK. I'm very competitively priced. There's a guy driving down from Ohio on the 23rd for me to work on his car, but other than that I'm free.
 

drtechy

How you doin?
Location
MO
Car(s)
2008 TR GTI
Where does one get replacement allen bolts for the crank pulley?

The dealership.


Oh and I just did this, this past weekend. Everything on the DIY was good for my 08 GTI, with just a couple of differences. My timing cover doesn't have that little window you took out on yours. Also it has two bolts holding the bottom half on under the engine mount bracket which was a serious PITA because we couldn't get the bracket out without getting the bottom half of the cover off. Also the crankshaft pulley was held on by triple square bolts instead of allen bolts on mine. Got lucky that the person who was helping me out had them. Had to also put the original timing belt tensioner back in because the cheap new one got completely stripped pretty easily too, no big deal though it was in good condition and I'll order a new one soon anyway. Other than those differences everything went well, and thanks to this write up I saved myself a good amount of cash!
 

Zach L

VR junkie
Location
Austin, TX
The dealership.


Oh and I just did this, this past weekend. Everything on the DIY was good for my 08 GTI, with just a couple of differences. My timing cover doesn't have that little window you took out on yours. Also it has two bolts holding the bottom half on under the engine mount bracket which was a serious PITA because we couldn't get the bracket out without getting the bottom half of the cover off. Also the crankshaft pulley was held on by triple square bolts instead of allen bolts on mine. Got lucky that the person who was helping me out had them. Had to also put the original timing belt tensioner back in because the cheap new one got completely stripped pretty easily too, no big deal though it was in good condition and I'll order a new one soon anyway. Other than those differences everything went well, and thanks to this write up I saved myself a good amount of cash!

Yes there are 2 versions of the plastic timing belt cover - one is a 1 piece cover with the window up top, the other is a 2-piece cover without the window.

Be glad you have the 2-piece... I've done both and would much rather the 2-piece. Like you said, you had a hard time removing the bottom piece to get the mount bracket out... well, with the 1-piece version it's impossible (obviously) to remove anything. The bracket must be removed with the belt cover still on. Best thing to do is to remove all the bolts from the 1-piece cover to allow it to move around while removing the bulky engine mount bracket.

When I do my timing belt for the second time I'll probably replace my cover with a newer 2-piece version and cut the old one out!
 

drtechy

How you doin?
Location
MO
Car(s)
2008 TR GTI
Yes there are 2 versions of the plastic timing belt cover - one is a 1 piece cover with the window up top, the other is a 2-piece cover without the window.

Be glad you have the 2-piece... I've done both and would much rather the 2-piece. Like you said, you had a hard time removing the bottom piece to get the mount bracket out... well, with the 1-piece version it's impossible (obviously) to remove anything. The bracket must be removed with the belt cover still on. Best thing to do is to remove all the bolts from the 1-piece cover to allow it to move around while removing the bulky engine mount bracket.

When I do my timing belt for the second time I'll probably replace my cover with a newer 2-piece version and cut the old one out!

Yea didn't think about that, must be a PITA being one piece.
 

Zach L

VR junkie
Location
Austin, TX

rhawbsays

Ready to race!
Location
Bay Area - CA
Car(s)
07' GTI DSG
This looks like a pretty thorough write up. I'm thinking of doing my own pretty soon.

Only suggestion I would say is maybe have arrows pointing to the respective parts that need to be removed, etc. Not everyone knows which bolts, screws, etc. they should be looking at.

Cheers!
 
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