What does a healthy timing belt look like?

Hello!

Yesterday, I took a look under the plastic cover of the timing belt. When viewed from above, the sides of the timing belt appear perfectly straight. However, when looking at the individual teeth from the side, they seem a little "torn" or uneven; they don't all look perfectly uniform. But only from the side.
I can definitely imagine that the sides look exactly like that due to the manufacturing process (sawing/milling the timing belt from a large roll).

What should a healthy timing belt look like?
At 45,000 km, no noticeable changes in engine behavior were observed due to adjusted valve timing.

Best regards, Georg.

There is a minimum requirement for the width of the belt. Unfortunately, I don't know, otherwise I would tell you.

Visual inspection is only useful for detecting damage; it cannot be used to measure wear. The sides of the teeth are usually 'slightly' frayed.

Healthy timing belt: Unfortunately, you can't tell by looking at a timing belt whether it's 'healthy' or about to break.

Regards,

caddy

Thank you for the reply.

"The sides of the teeth are usually 'slightly' frayed." Sure, here is the translation of the text from German to English:

"Ende Zitat."

"End quote."

That's a relief. At least I still have 45,000 km to go before the next timing belt replacement, even though one probably shouldn't rely on that. Anyway, the belt doesn't look worn or frayed.

Best regards from the automotive world, Georg.

Don't you have to replace the timing belt every 60,000 km? I also have an ASV engine, and the inspection booklet says every 60,000 km. I'll take a look.

Hi! So, a healthy timing belt is always one that is definitely NOT oily, has no liquids clinging to it (e.g., coolant, oil), and has no large amounts of debris (wear) visible in its plastic cover. A small amount of reddish-brown debris is sometimes normal for the PDE engine, even in somewhat larger quantities. The tension is crucial for the TDI engine; it must be tightly stretched and should not be able to be rotated by hand by 90 degrees, unlike in gasoline engines. Also, the markings on the tensioner should clearly match (usually in the form of a 'nose and notch'). But don't worry, the inspection plan requires a check of the timing belt, and the workshop is responsible for that... The service intervals for standard TDi models are 90,000 km, for PDE models they are 60,000 km, and for some LT models, they can even be as high as 220,000 km. Something was once about a 45-day change interval, but ask me anything...?!?!!?
Best, Matze.

Don't you have to replace the timing belt every 60,000 km? I also have an ASV engine, and in the inspection booklet, it says to replace it every 60,000 km. I would take a look.

Hi schroederließe and Georg G.,
At 60,000 km, the timing belt was also replaced in my car.
The maintenance intervals are also dependent on the vehicle identification number (VIN) for ASV models.
The tensioner must be replaced every 90,000 km.
'The tensioner is not replaced at 60,000 km intervals; it is a so-called...' LONGLIFE tension spring.
The 60,000 km service cost approximately €367 (including Castrol RS oil).

Best regards,
Steffi H.