acf8181 0 Posted January 17, 2005 Report Share Posted January 17, 2005 ok....this is why you wanna change your timing chains at around 100k. these are form a '96 highline that had 108k on it, the only omitigating circumstance is that the car hadn't been used for 6 months and was suddenly thrown into everyday use. but even so i suspect the damage was only sped up by that. what happened was the lower chain runner wore through completely so the chain was running on the studs...this then snapped the chain.remains of the bottom runner - the studs (you can see where the chain wore them away) - the lower cover (you can see where the chain was rubbing on it) - the chain (one of the links has fallen off, it was actually snapped in the centre of a link) - and there was some wear on the top runners, this one is the only runner that can be changed without gearbox removal (apart from the snapped motuning bit its what i'd call average wear) -and the top 'blade runner' (is how most will be after 120k, mines wasn't quite so bad...this one is a tad above average, but the one of mine had the rivets worn through at one end) - [ Edited ] Link to post Share on other sites
pete8tch 0 Posted January 17, 2005 Report Share Posted January 17, 2005 bloody scarey that is . Link to post Share on other sites
acf8181 0 Posted January 17, 2005 Author Report Share Posted January 17, 2005 just to ad, there was no rattling or warning...the only thing that did happen was the car lost power a day or so before, i guess the chai may have jumped a tooth at that point.the damage to engine was very little (lucky), it bent four valves. Link to post Share on other sites
VRVIRGIN 0 Posted January 17, 2005 Report Share Posted January 17, 2005 OMG! Don't think anyone will sleep 2nite. Link to post Share on other sites
Tommo 0 Posted January 18, 2005 Report Share Posted January 18, 2005 Noooo please mummy make it stop.......... Link to post Share on other sites
acf8181 0 Posted January 18, 2005 Author Report Share Posted January 18, 2005 just to give an idea, what with the head rebuild the total bill is prob gonna be just into 4 figures. Link to post Share on other sites
antera309 3 Posted January 19, 2005 Report Share Posted January 19, 2005 Yikes!!VR6 lump is definiely getting new chains and tensioners prior to fitment in the cabrio.Trouble is, even with the engine out it's still a pig of a job.[ Edited Wed Jan 19 2005, 10:48AM ] Link to post Share on other sites
acf8181 0 Posted January 19, 2005 Author Report Share Posted January 19, 2005 nah..once the engine/box is out its easy...gearbox is easy to remove, as is everything else. Link to post Share on other sites
Fiona 0 Posted January 19, 2005 Report Share Posted January 19, 2005 Oh my god, I have 160K and full VW service history, but have looked back at the services and not sure if the chain has been changed or not? just the boxes for 100K service ticked??!! Link to post Share on other sites
pete8tch 0 Posted January 19, 2005 Report Share Posted January 19, 2005 if its not rattlin dont worry , well ok but was trying to make u feel better , wait till acf8181 comes on he is a switched on kinda guy , with tech stuff he may point u in the right direction Link to post Share on other sites
stu h 0 Posted January 19, 2005 Report Share Posted January 19, 2005 dont think vw stipulate that any attention to the chain is needed...although i may be talking c**p..someone will put me right Link to post Share on other sites
acf8181 0 Posted January 20, 2005 Author Report Share Posted January 20, 2005 yep...vw's line is that the chains never need touching! lmao!this vr6 did not tick or rattle at all before failing...it was totally out the blue, and was whilst the car was being driven very slowly at low revs!its hard to know the exact condition of the lower runners, but you can check on the condition of the top runners fairly easily...remove the upper inlet manifold, then cam cover...see if you can see them and if you need more visibility take the bolt tensioner out the back of the top chain cover, then remove the coil pack and additional water pump then remove the top cover. that should tell you all you need to know and at 160k i'd expect the top blade runner (bottom pic) to be worse than the one pictured.my logic tells me that if the cars been really looked after and had high quality oil in all its life then there will be less wear. thanks for the kind words pete...i'm not a mechanic, i don't even know much about other cars, but my vr6 has forced me to learn a lot of stuff. i wish i'd got this good advice when i got mine (in fact this site didn't exist), all i got told was that the timing chains never needed touching, and that vr6's never break. has not turned out like that, but at least i can pass on what i've learnt and that gives me pleasure.a mates just bought a vr6, sometime in the next week we're gonna check on the chain, so i'll try and do a pic guide if i can. Link to post Share on other sites
zs1967 0 Posted November 1, 2008 Report Share Posted November 1, 2008 how fast were you going when chain snapped Link to post Share on other sites
ingham 5 Posted November 1, 2008 Report Share Posted November 1, 2008 check the date of post ? Link to post Share on other sites
H13VYY 0 Posted November 1, 2008 Report Share Posted November 1, 2008 lmao. Link to post Share on other sites
zs1967 0 Posted November 2, 2008 Report Share Posted November 2, 2008 i was just changing up to third gear doing about 30 mph thanx Link to post Share on other sites
zs1967 0 Posted November 2, 2008 Report Share Posted November 2, 2008 how fast were you going when chain snappedhi i was just changing up to third doing around 30ish thanx what sounded like somthing plastic breaking noise Link to post Share on other sites
H13VYY 0 Posted November 2, 2008 Report Share Posted November 2, 2008 lol did you just reply to your own question? Link to post Share on other sites
VR6MANN 0 Posted November 2, 2008 Report Share Posted November 2, 2008 lol :-d Link to post Share on other sites
Recommended Posts