[klaasytdi]

Hi, I am new here and appreciate the knowledge that I have seen here. Does the age of a timing belt have any bearing on change intervals? I have only seen references to mileage so far.

Thanks
Clarence

 

[Seatman]

Hi, welcometomyturbodies.

Yeh it's either so many miles or so many years which ever comes first. I'm not sure where the info is but somebody on here will know.

 

[chittychittybangbang]

IIRC VW's service manual does not list age. It might be listed somewhere else but I haven't seen it. Yes there's an age limit but I don't know how long since every application is different and haven't seen the spec. Some say 4 years which IMHO is too young, some say 10 years max. It also depends on use conditions like climate.

 

[kevapex]

FYI I believe the belt is made of some sort of tough fiber inside the belt. I think I read kevlar somewhere but that could have been wrong. They're not made of rubber even though they're flexible.

 

[YMZ]

Kevlar and Nitrile...

VW of North America has not taken an official position, but VW - U.K. has a 5 year limit in the literature... Contitech, one of the major timing belt manufacturers strongly recommends 6 years as an absolute maximum, but... they're in the business of selling belts...

YMMV... A bit of common sense should enter into the equation...

Yuri


PS: my thoughts - at least for Diesel-powered cars: if you're not driving enough to use up the mileage limit by the time these recommended age limits come up, you really shouldn't be driving a Diesel...

 

[Seatman]

I personally wouldn't take a chance and would change my belt wether it had done the miles or not. It's a pretty crap feeling when you realise your belt has snapped and your engine is toast. I had a belt snap on a regular diesel once and one of the valves ended up imbedded in the piston. It wasn't a pretty sight.

 

[Keithuk]

Welcome to the forum. welcometomyturbodies

Well Autodata stipulate a time as well as mileage.

Timing belt - Renew Every 80000 miles or 48 months
Timing belt tensioner - Renew Every 160000 miles or 96 months

 

[YMZ]

Well Autodata stipulate a time as well as mileage.

And exactly who is the source and who is the end user or target recipient of Autodata's info? In Canada most of the dealers promote oil change intervals that are generally half the length of the manufacturers' recommendations. They all state that "We know better" - probably relying on marketing strategies developed by companies like Autodata.

A four years limit for a timing belt system is ridiculously and excessively narrow, unless the vehicle is subjected to extreme conditions such as found in the Sahara desert or in the Arctic, IMHO...

Yuri

 

[Seatman]

With regards to the oil changes it depends what oil you are using. I've heard that with some of the synthetic oils you can leave it longer between oil changes but not so much with mineral oil and as for the timing belt, if you fit it yourself then all your paying for is the kit which I don't think is a lot for a 4 year period of driving, not with the piece of mind that it brings too and as I said earlier if it broke you'd be pretty upset I reckon but that's just my opinion.

 

[klaasytdi]

Thanks for all the replies. The car has a build date of 11/03 so the belt is possibly in service 7yrs already. Mileage is rather low at 110 000 km. Since the car is new to the family I think I will change the belt so I can start fresh with a maintenance schedule.

Thanks
Clarence

 

[YMZ]

At seven years, you won't get much argument from even those of us who question and are suspicious of most of the age-based recommendations... in my case, the agreement comes from the doctrine of "nothing lasts forever"...

All the best,

Yuri