MkIII VR6 Cambelt change?

[NEILX5 0]

Hi there,

Just wondered when the cambelt should be changed on my MKIII VR6? My service book says 60k for TDI & SDI only, and VW said the VR6 normally gets changed at 100k.

Is this true if so why is that (does it have a tougher belt?)

Thanks

Neil

[gav_113 0]

it doesnt have a belt? it has a chain!

most people change it when it starts rattling as there isnt a set time???

[speed_freak 0]

yeah it would be abit hard to change a cam belt lol can be a pricey job for the timing chain doing aswell

[raphael46 0]

As the others said, the VR6 doesn't have a cam belt, they're driven by chains. There's no service interval for them, as far as I know. As Gavin says, they tend to get changed when they get noisy and it's an expensive job to get done, I've seen £600 or so quoted a few times. Getting the clutch replaced at the same time seems worthwhile too, since the gearbox has to come off anyway - I think Stealth will do the lot for about £700.

The belt you can see drives the water pump, alternator, PAS and a/c compressor if you've got it. Changing it is a pretty easy job, if a bit fiddly - there's a crankcase corner that lurks quite close to the crankshaft pulley and makes it vaguely awkward to get the belt on and off, as I discovered last weekend. Belts are less than £20 and a new belt tensioner if you want to put one on is £56 I think. I'm not sure the belts have a service interval either - the maintenance schedules in my Bentley manual just say to inspect it and replace it if necessary.