i just did my timing belt because it was two teeth off and the new one i just did is now two teeth off....have no idea how the hell that happend but ya big waste of time cuz i gotta do it again....its complete BS the belt didnt jump or anything...i guess it wasnt a waste of time cuz i had a fairly new waterpump in there and guess what it was plastic!!and yes it was broken..so at least i got a metal one in there now....

nate you will have to let me know how it goes on your bros passat...
i think i might try it one more time and just reverse the cam gear two notches to the left and hopefully it will compensate for what ever happend when i turned it over by hand...i watched the belt it and it stayed PUT....


i had everything at TDC when i pullled the tensior pin and the belt didnt shift or anthing...im lost

 

Thats what I was talking about with the belt slack.



Cam sprocket, water pump, crank sprocket. This is where its important to have zero slack. Coincidentally, between the cam sprocket and crank sprocket is where you should have counted belt teeth, marked the old belt and sprockets, and then after transferring your marks to the new belt.

Make sure you're at TDC for cylinder 1, theres a mark on the flywheel to let you know, and align your cam pully so the marks line up.

Before you take the belt back off to fix it, MARK IT. You know where its at now, its 2 teeth off, so count your teeth, and adjust accordingly. When you pull the pin on that tensioner, the belt is gonna stretch a little, or possibly move one way or the other. If you have marks on the cam and crank pulleys, and on the belt, you'll already have accounted for that, and unless you're doing something way wrong, everything should line up.

Like I said before, I don't even bother setting things to TDC when I do it, because I mark the hell out of everything, and I KNOW when somethings moved a little, and can set it back. (the 2 crank rotations are an absolute must in this case).

Keep at it buddy, third time's a charm!

 

BTW, you do know how to reset the dampener to start over, right? Make sure you get the pin back in it before you start taking things back apart.

 

are you talking about using the m5x55 stud nut and washer ? still havnt found one yet

 

yep, that be the one. It may help, or it may be more of a headache, but you could use a smaller diameter standardbolt that slides thru the tensioner instead of threading thru. You'll just need to put a nut on the back side of it.

Finding metric stuff can be tough.

 

If you cant get the nut and washer you can also use a vice.

When I first got the tensioner I got a litlle too curious and pulled the pin, realized that I needed it and used a vice to press it back down.

Good luck.

 

I am going to attempt this Thu & Fri this week, with a friend who is a mechanic who has done them on A4s... I am kinda scared, but I am sure it will be fine!

 

did red sapphire tell you how to do the water pump trick?

Also the longitude 1.8t's are incredibly easy to do. Just time.

Buy a silver sharpie and make marks on the crank sprocket and block. This will make it easier to see when the sprocket moves. And matt you are lucky the cam didn't spin. Set the crank to TDC always. Minor bends can be put into the valves when the cam spins. Remeber that the valve springs are pushing against the cam.

 

Are there any special tools out of the ordinary that are needed? What is the waterpump trick?

 

the waterpump trick is a way i put timing belts on that are being difficult. just back out the 3 water pump bolts so you have some motion in the on the pump. slip the belt on and then tighten the bolts.