Fan belt, oil change,boot etc help please

[rob249]

Hopefully buying a golf gti 2.0ltr tomorow on an X plate 200, 88,000miles, FSH up to 81,000 miles.

Now, ive never owned a vw before, but i know a very ropey fan belt when i see one, and the oil defo needs changing, so:

1. How hard is it to change a fan belt??
2. Is general maintenance fairly easy? Owned astra coupe's, hyundai coupes, rover's, punto's etc before and they all been quite easy.

Also, i noticed the boot does not shut properly, i cant see any signs of accident damage and done a vehichle check and not reported as stolen/damaged etc, so is it just a case of alignment?

cheers

[Wayne]

Do you really want a 2.0 it is not the best choice.

[nige_s]

Is it aircooled, can't remember the last time I saw a fan belt on a watercooled car, must have been my sister's mini;)

You mean the auxiliary belt, easy to change and you may want to fit a new tensioner.  Guess if it that's looks ropey you might want to check in the car's history if the cambelt has been replaced as you would normally replace the auxiliary whilst your in there.  Just a thought.

Changing the oil, filters plugs, etc are no different to anything else you have serviced.

Boot lid, check the striker plate or if the plastic door panel is hanging off and preventing it from closing properly.

[rob249]

no i agree not the best choice, but lost too much cash on my old car, was close so no travelling costs and endless searching.
But bought it anyways

haha i got no idea im a complete novice at mechanical issues, its the belt on the left side of the engine wall, possibly alternator? it is badly worn to be honest. in the history i think the cambelt has been done aswell. How do you release the tension on belt? not much engine space to fiddle

Ok thanks ill check that out but think i solved the boot lid problem already cheers

[nige_s]

You find a suitable spanner to fit on it rotate it round and two 4mm ish holes line up.  Just put a suitable strong piece of steel/pin/drift in there to lock it off.  Don't use a nail as it will bend and snap just as your hand is in the way and it will hurt.  This didn't happen to me BTW.

This releases the tension and you can feed the old belt off and fit the new one.  Bit of fiddle but easy enough.  Make note of how it routes through the pulleys too before your remove the old one.