mk3 cam belt

[mysticman aka polypathetic]

does anyone know what the cam belt should look like, is it supposed to have two lines running the length of the outer surface of the belt and should i worry about this , what might have caused these lines and how much does it cost to have it changed , should i go to vw or could anyone do it
help please
cheers

[customboy]

whats the milage on ur car if ur not to sure about the belt get it checked or one better just change it dont want to mash ur engine.

i think i better get mine changed lol!

[mrwotto]

I would try a few places for prices mate, but i am sure that vw wont be the cheapest, just make sure that you take it to a reptutablke garage tho.

I am not sure if they need changing every 60 or 70k?

paul

[jte]

every 60k.

[mrwotto]

Looks like I am due for a cam belt them in 8k

Is it the same on the mk2? as mine was changed at 70k according to the service history?

Paul

[jte]

According to a vw service advisor i spoke to, the original interval for mk3 golfs was 80,000, this was reduced to 60,000 after a lot of people's belts snapped and vw had to cough up for repairs on cars that had followed the service schedule properly.

I don't know about mk2's but i would guess it was 80k.  I think it would be risky to leave a cam belt that long considering the cost to replace it compared to the cost of repairing the damage if it snaps.

[gibby]

If the mk3 is the same as the mk1, get the timing belt tensioner changed too, it's cheaper in the long run because I've been there. 

[mrwotto]

Yeah i remember gaz's tensioner failing on his mk4, causing him considerable heartache and expense.

Paul

[mysticman aka polypathetic]

one thing i like about this site is you not only get the info you need but you get knowledge from experience plus a whole lot a talkin lol
to answer your questions my mk3 has just clocked 95k and suddenly gone from a smooth sound purr to something a little less than a purr
i bought the car without evidence of a cam change but the bloke assured me it had been changed at 80k but because the car is immaculate and the best one I'd seen out of about a dozen i bought it
anyway when the engine started to sound rough the first thing that came to mind was the cam so i slipped the cover back only to see two groves going the length of the belt
i can only imagine that this might be something rubbin on the belt or the tensioner might be damaged
what do you think need to get this sorted quick i don't want to have to pay out money like a fool lol
oh and i was told it was 80k for the change but i can understand why they would have shortened it as thats a hell of a long time for a rubber band to withstand pushing and pulling plus a sh!tte load of heat
i was going to get it changed anyway and was wandering if anyone else had shelled out for a new belt and tensioner and was willing to give me an estimate

[gibby]

Again, sorry about this as mine's a mk1, but here's what I paid a couple of months ago, the belt was about ?11, the tensioner was about ?25, both genuine VAG parts and I deffo know that because the garage asked me to go pick them up for them  I got charged two hours labour at ?30 an hour, so with the VAT came to around ?112. 

When you bought the car was it private or dealer ? If it's a dealer and it was on the bill of sale that he would change the belt and you take it to the garage and they reckon it's never been changed then you might be able to get something back from the dealer, if it's from a private seller then didn't he get a bill when the belt was changed ?  Dealers are sly b@stards though, they put on the bill of sale "check cam belt" then you have no come back as all they'll say is that they checked it when they sold the car and it didn't need replacing. If they said they would change it and you have proof then you could be ok