Dont wait on Timing Belt - My Project with Justin "The Cheat"

[ivegonefishing]

HI All,

I was "planing" on the Belt job but waiting for improved weather. Murphys law struck and it let go!!! Please, Please dont wait...I did and am paying for it through cash and a car sitting for a couple months. DO IT NOW if in doubt.

I was lucky enough to get acquainted to Justin "the cheat" through this site. After some back and forth, we were able to finally set up a weekend (this weekend) for him to apply his expertise and resurrect my daughters 2001 1/2 1.8T.

I'm hoping Justin will update this post with some of his pics and comments also. This car got very very lucky and only bent 17 of 20 valves without any significant cyclinder or other damage.

Let me state to those that might know Justin. I'm appreciative to have found someone so knowledgable and good to work with. He truely knows his stuff. This was not an easy job to perform in a driveway at someones home you really dont know. But he did great. We have some wrap up to do yet but the rebuild is almost complete. We are doing a rebuilt head and complete timing package. Thanks to Justin!!!!

[Volkswoman]

Uh oh, forgive my ignorance, mechanics aren't my expertise. What exactly happens when the timing belt "Goes"?

[The Cheat]

mark, it was a pleasure to meet you and your wife.

my friend/apprentice rudy and i had some setbacks in the job (a break-in resulted in the loss of the cylinder head i had earmarked, and my dad decided to use my headbolt tool as a t-50 to do his front brakes on his chevy van), but perseverance is a virtue.

mark's car wasn't due on mileage (80k), but definitely on time. when i got to the job, i saw the timing belt was still attached. i was hoping for the best in that maybe jumped 180 out and could be saved...until i saw the belt was missing teeth.

removal of the belt showed 46 (yes, FORTY-SIX) of the teeth missing. the car slipped what looks like 3 teeth (which is enough to DESTROY a head), bending 17 valves in the process.

removal of the head itself showed the 17 bent valves (8 exhaust, the 4 middle intakes, and 5 of the outer intakes). we were VERY lucky in that the cams were NOT damaged.

this is where i thank mrchill (chris hill of kraftwerke in braintree, ma). not only did chris have the headbolt tool for loan, he also had a REBUILT head ready to go for a reasonable price. chris was indispensable this weekend between parts, tools, and just general knowledge. now, i know my stuff, but he KNOWS his stuff, ya dig? we had concerns of the piston condition (there was definitely scuffs and divots), but he assuaged them.

removal and installation went smoothly, i do know the timing belt was off once before (water pump most likely).

i have maybe 3-4 hours of work left (two of them being time to let the cam lobes bleed the lifters down).

i have pictures on my phone, which i will upload.

[simonsi]

Originally Posted by Volkswoman

Uh oh, forgive my ignorance, mechanics aren't my expertise. What exactly happens when the timing belt "Goes"?

If the valves don't operate at the correct time compared to the motion of the pistons, the pistons and valves can hit each other (known as "interference"). The cambelt keeps the crank and camshaft "in time". When the cambelt slips or shreds then the pistons will hit some/all of the valves depending on circumstances and luck.

Some engines have enough clearance so that the pistons can never hit the valves even if the valves are fully open (called non-interference engines), but all the VW engines in Beetles are interference so there are expensive consequences if the belt fails.

[The Cheat]

so the car went on its first drive last night.

we had an oil leak last week, so it wasn't driven, but did run.

note to ANYONE doing a head swap and you have to remove the cams: make 200% sure there is only ONE dowel for the cam adjuster. mark's car had one on the adjuster, and one on the head itself.

end result: MASSIVE oil leak.

yesterday, i brought up a couple new gaskets for the adjuster, some red rtv and had at it. i also buttoned up whatever wasn't buttoned up.

i'm sure mark will hop on and let you all what he really thinks of my drinking habits, ability to eat him out of house and home, and my massive snoring.

just kidding, while mark is thankful for me, i'm thankful for his hospitality towards my apprentice and i (who, at this point, either REALLY wants to be a vw tech or REALLY wants to turn in his snap-on ratchet). easily the BEST experience i've had doing travel work, ever.

[ivegonefishing]

Ahhhh Yes...little Car-Car is humming away happily thanks to The Cheat-Justin. A bit troublesome, but nothing Justin wasn't able to easily overcome.

No snoring that I know of, but we did partake of some bottles of Mikes to smooth out the rought spots!! A good experience on this end as well.

I have to take care of an old p0171 Lean code believed to be a hose I know of....and a new p0340 cam code. We're going to monitor it a bit and check mileage but it is running smooth and lots of power. Synthetic oil and brakes soon.

Justin can fix just about anything. If it can be coordinated and he is available-- look him up.