DIY Timing belt change

tigerblue

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Hi All,

My timing belt is due or if not over due for a change, and I've been thinking about doing it my self, sourcing the correct tools etc. The whole thing looks a major task, i could say my self nearly £150 if DIY but I'm just weighing that up with the potential of disaster that may result in a figure of 4x times the cost of doing it myself.

Its like anything you do for the first time is quite daunting after that its a piece of pi$$.

So the real question is has any body ever done their own belt change?
and was it as daunting as you thought?

With the change could treat myself to a SV7 KV7 lol

Cheers
 
i wouldnt mate, mainly as if something goes wrong with such a major componant i would like to shout at someone else for it
 
yes mate i have dont the timing belt on my car's before and most of the time its to save a lot more than you are going to save
i have had tdi passat's for years and on my third
the first one i had done cost me a wopping £550 quid due to the fact the front end of the car needs to come off
the belt and tensioners are only about £100 for timing and about £60 for fan belts but its a 6 hour job in the book

so the last few i have done myself and saved about £380 in labour charges
just take your time and read and read .
find a car forum that relates to the type of car you have and read some more
ask a few questions and so on
sure there will be plenty of tips for your type of car
 
Find a cheaper Garage mate dont do it yourself you get the tention/timing wrong you will blow ya engine.

Give (smirnoff rules) a pm on here he is a mechanic and may be able to give some advice.

:proud:
 
some a really easy, some are the total opposite, some require special tools some nothing more than basic tools and some tippex.

It migt even be a free wheeling engine where you in theory shouldn't damage anything if you got it wrong.

We need more details.
 
Car is a 1999 tdi vw golf... have been doing a load of reading on it, how to's etc,

It is a big risk I know.. the more I familiarize myself with the procedure then the lesser chance of a failure. ( or the more I'm convincing myself that I can do it)

If the cost of the tools ( looking pin for fuel pump etc,) out weighs labour costs then its going to the garage ( which quoted £ £280 inc water pump ) well that was before the vat increase :Mad2:

Guys thanks for all the advice most appreciated.
 
Just remember if you do go down the DIY route take your time, and turn the engine over by hand with a spanner a few times before you fire it up after the change, that way if you did get something wrong then you will find out before any damage gets done.

I have done a 3 now and it isn't really rocket science tbh, one good tip is to mark up the old belt with tipex at a few key points on both the engine and the block, normally when you get the car to TDC, then when you remove the belt transfer those markings to the new belt and you should be right on.

I sometimes think like this, I could pay someone else to do the job, but I could spend that money on a few new tools that I will then own and use on the next job, I can then more justify sending the car to the garage when a job comes up beyond my skills or that I just don't want to do.

Frenchman
 
TBH mate £280 including the water pump is not a bad price.
I own my own garage and the tdi isn't the easiest belt to change but it's up to how confident you feel about doing it. The tdi is an interference engine btw which means if you get the timing wrong the valves will hit the pistons and cause a lot of damage.
 
its not just about lining up everthing,anything like tensioners and guides will need to be changed also,i think the water pump is fanbelt driven,correct tension of belt crucial too lose it hops and kak happens and too tight may sing
more likely a pointer to line up with notch,kits go by the engine code on top of cam belt cover or in boot on sticker usually contains 3 letters like ber..akc.it identifies correct kit to use.:proud:
 
£280 is dirt cheap as i am doing a golf 1.4 bca kit and oil and filter tomorrow price around e465
 
ye £280 isnt a bad price if this includes the water pump
would get them to replace the fanbelt as well while there at it
and as said the tdi is not the easiest to do
 
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