Yeah, it's all over. People here have said as little as 60,000 miles. It doesn't help that VW's written policy (105,000) differs from what the dealers are saying verbally (80,000). I'm using the 80,000 mile / seven year standard.

 

You have the V6, which to my understanding is a 'non-interference' engine...which means the breakage of timing belt is inconvenient, but not so damaging compared to 1.8T engines. However, it is always better to plan for maintenance when it is convenient.

Rubber deteriorates with age, add in heat and maybe some oil leaks and you'd want to replace every 6 years. Most tire experts caution about using tires more than 5 years old...but tires are more exposed to UV rays versus a timing belt..but the point is that your timing belt is due for replacement on either a cycle count or time count. From your details the time count dictates to replace it now.

 

You have the V6, which to my understanding is a 'non-interference' engine...which means the breakage of timing belt is inconvenient, but not so damaging compared to 1.8T engines.

Incorrect, BTW.

 

Thanks for the help....

I do believe it is an interference engine.... if it weren't, I would be fine with being by the side of the road as an indicator of time to change it out.

My VW chat guy was explicit that it was 80,000 miles, but with no time designation - and then sent me the contradictory maintenance card. A subsequent chat person stuck with 105,000. I couldn't find any TSBs with any reference to it.

I agree that the time limit thing makes sense - unfortunately.

 

My VW chat guy was explicit that it was 80,000 miles, but with no time designation - and then sent me the contradictory maintenance card. A subsequent chat person stuck with 105,000. I couldn't find any TSBs with any reference to it.

I agree that the time limit thing makes sense - unfortunately.

That's even less definitive than the vague mile limit. Basically, this boards collective best guess at the safest practice. Certainly not in any VW literature I've ever seen. I parrot it because, given the deterioration of other rubber and plastic parts these cars use (due to under-hood heat and atmospheric ozone) it makes logical sense. Even for synthetic, fiber-reinforced rubber.

Personally, I suspect the reason VW hasn't officially changed the recommendation is liability issues. They're understandably lawsuit-shy; changing the service interval without reengineering the system would mean their earlier recommendation was "wrong" - and everyone who lost a belt before 105,000 would join a class action suit.

 

Well, I wasn't going to chime in, but ...

The issue is the entire componentry, not just the belt -- the rollers/tensioners, the water pump, the hydraulic dampener, etc.

I would have a lot of confidence that you are fine for another year or two, or another 15K, if the car had no oil leaks from the valve cover, was maintained well, and regularly, and was driven properly (how much of those 66K were a 2min run to the nearby store and back and very little regular highway driving?) You can tell a lot from studying the service records carefully, but you are also relying on verbal claims from the previous owners on how the car was used (as the grocery hauler, or a 30 mile daily commuter to work), and unfortunately, even if the PO wanted to be honest, most people cannot self-assess their car use very well. I know I can't do that reliably either without looking at my fuel log.

I happen to think that the timing belt system components from the factory and in fact the entire engine are absolutely rock solid, so long as the car was serviced regularly, and its flaws taken care of (most notably the oil capacity and grade issues on the turbo, which you don't have). Compare and contrast to more recent and more expensive Audis that came with serious internal engine defects during manufacturing that showed up after the owners fell out of warranty and cost several thousands to fix).

I stand by this: I never got a sense that there is an epidemic of factory-installed tensioners failing, or the toothed belts getting ripped into shreds, or the bearings on the idler or tensioner roller failing spontaneously within the 105K change interval without neglect from the owners. I don't imply it is the owner's fault either. Everyone is too busy to take care of the needs of these cars, and it's expensive to keep up with your mechanics reminders to come in for service at regular intervals.

What TB fails I have seen involved any number of vague and subjective factors: prior neglect, second hand owners trusting some verbal assurance that the TB was recently done, or below OEM quality replacement parts.

Conclusion: none. If you are comfortable with how the car was treated before you, don't change things for another year (and use that time to bone up on how to DIY it -- it's not that hard and everyone here will help you). If OTOH your engine bay looks like an oily mess, the coolant is brown, the dipstick comes out black, foamy, or is not sitting properly, and the belly pan is missing, pick some random time in the future and make a plan on how to come up with the money or the time, tools, parts, and willingness to replace it.

EDIT: at 66K a well-maintained B5, especially the V6 is barely broken in and that's not a superfluous claim. You could potentially keep driving this car with minimal problems for the next 10 years and another 200K.

 

The water pump on my 04 GLX v6 Wagon seized this past summer at 55K miles with no warning. Got VERY lucky and I was able to shut it down before the belt snapped. The car was up-to-date on service and the coolant was correct and clean.
The estimate you were given sounds about right.
Best of luck to you.

 

You were very lucky, also that the V6 pump has a smooth pulley, driven by the flat back of the timing belt, giving you a few precious seconds of warning. Also GLInick is right, the other components associated with the TB are all possible failure points. On my A4, I was somewhat alarmed to find one belt roller with a totally dry bearing, and my Daughter's 3.0 A4 had some edge-shreading of the belt.

 

Thanks for all the good advice - much appreciated.

I would take something like this on myself, but I assumed the reason it was so expensive was that you had to pull the engine. Which seems way beyond me ...

There's a good YouTube video on changing the belt:

 

I would take something like this on myself, but I assumed the reason it was so expensive was that you had to pull the engine. Which seems way beyond me ...

Nah, you don't have to pull the engine. In my slightly humorous opinion, it's expensive because of all the fiddly bits involved in putting the front in service position. Darned customers get annoyed if you don't align the bumper right on reassembly, and put every single little screw back. They charge extra for annoying jobs.

Seriously, I've done VW timing belts in the past (I'm NOT an expert mechanic) but don't do it anymore. It's a PITA; depends on whether you have more excess time, or excess money.

 

I would stick with the 75K changes if all else is good. Time is a concern too, as 10 year old rubber does not always hold up well. I've seen 5 year old belts that look horrible (with 75K) and 10 year old belts with over 100K look fine. My last change was 60K, but that because of a coolant leak from the thermostat housing. Since the timing belt had to come off, I changed it all.

 

I did mine at 53k /7 years as the 2nd owner with no prior proof of service. I have 1.8t awm engine. I agree with 7 yrs/75k.

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http://www.passatworld.com/forums/4...com/forums/42-volkswagen-passat-b5-discussion/210302-v6-timing-belt-survey.html

Far more common for the belt to break due to a failure of a driven component such as the water pump or idler pulley - and these components are not part of any routine maintenance. Inspecting the belt does not address the condition of these components and there's no way to know what their condition is.

My $0.02 - replace the belt and related parts at 80k miles.

 

Thanks for the link to that thread - sorry I missed it. Any other future archaeologists digging for this info should check it out.

 

What are the symptoms of a failing puller or roller in the timing part?

 

(GRIN) The first symptom most people notice is coasting to the side of the road with destroyed valves. Sometimes, it makes noise first (for a period of seconds to, occasionally, days).

 

It's kind of amusing; the factory service manual for our cars (referred to here as "The Bentley" as that is the name of the publisher), which even has an official VW Part Number, has a little note in it that "field experience has shown" that the t-belt needs to be replaced every 60 or 80k (can't remember which)

I think VWs never changed it because the powertrain warranty is usually lapsed by the time it breaks, after which point it isn't really their problem that the original 105k was horse-hockey. (Especially with the original 1.8T tensioner; that thing was awful.)

 

It's kind of amusing;....."field experience has shown" that the t-belt needs to be replaced every 60 or 80k

Now that is funny. What sort of "field experience" might that have been, pray tell?