Serpentine belt squealing!

Hello.

I'm new here, so let me introduce myself. I'm from Barßel, which is near Oldenburg. I'm a computer science student, 26 years old, and I drive an A3 TDI with 81 kW (ASV) engine.

Okay, here's the translation:

'Now, to my question. When I start my car in the current weather (cold and wet), the ribbed belt squeals until I start driving. I know that in this case, you can simply adjust the tension of the belt, but as far as I know, the belt on my engine (ASV) is supposed to adjust itself, or is that not the case?' Does anyone know how I can solve this problem?

Best regards, Hüso.

Hello,

What is the model year and mileage of the vehicle?

First registration: 04/2000, and it currently has 74,000 km on the odometer.

Hi!

Put some new ones on and see!

cu: Marko

Hi,

That sounds more like a loosely tensioned V-belt (not a ribbed belt) for the power steering pump (which you have, right?). I can only imagine a squealing serpentine belt being caused by a defect in the automatic tensioner pulley (->unlikely).

Best regards, Christian.

haehnlein wrote:

.... I can only imagine a squealing serpentine belt being caused by a defect in the automatic tensioner pulley (->unlikely). Okay, I'm ready. Please provide the German text you want me to translate.

... As unlikely as it may seem, with my 1Z, the tensioner had to be replaced three times...

I can only confirm! In my case, it's a rubber suspension element that generates tension by twisting. Several suppliers, such as a.t.u, offer such poor quality that the necessary spring effect is usually gone after only 50 km! I've already replaced it three times over the weekend! This time, however, it's with an original VW/Audi part. Let's see if it lasts longer!

How can I tell if the spindle is broken, and is it very complicated to replace?

Bertil wrote:

... As unlikely as it may seem, with my 1Z, the tensioner had to be replaced three times...

Hi Bertil,

That can't be true . With my father, I installed three tensioner pulleys plus 4 ribbed belts on a car that had 270,000 km... and then maybe 3 springs as well... someone should explain to me what the technical advancement of this ribbed belt is supposed to be .

With my old TD, I proactively replaced the timing belt every 30,000 km for 10 Marks, and I never had any problems. That's 100 Marks of materials over 300,000 km. For that price, you can barely get a ribbed belt with a tensioner .

I'm the last person who would be against technological progress... but for me, the era of "Made in Germany" is over, because I'm already so afraid of pushing the accelerator that I, like a hypochondriac, check under the timing belt cover every 1500 km, fearing that the engine's internal workings will suddenly fail -> no wonder the economy here is doing so poorly.

Best regards, Christian.

hueso wrote:

How can I tell if the torque wrench is broken, and is it very complicated to replace it?

Just when the serpentine belt starts to squeal... For the exchange, I can't tell you anything, I had it done .

Haehnlein wrote:

I'm the last person who would be against technological progress... but for me, the era of "Made in Germany" is over, because I'm so afraid of pushing the accelerator that I, like a hypochondriac, check under the timing belt cover every 1500 km, fearing that the engine's internal workings will suddenly fail -> it's no wonder that the economy here is doing so poorly

Hello Christian,

I was also on my way, but "Made in Germany"? No, thank you. Now I'm actually glad to have these poorly designed products made in Germany .
If I were to talk to the owners of the planned vehicle now, I could only say: Compared to that, the VW is a real genius! "Things like a broken timing belt (sounds familiar...), a stuck CR pump (which then caused the timing belt to break...), injectors that wouldn't close and thus damaged the engine, and even a nearly detached trailer hitch were among the issues."
However, the problem is that the number of VW/Audi drivers who are vocal is much larger than that of customers of manufacturer X (whose name will not be mentioned!), which significantly distorts the overall picture.

You're right, somewhere. Fewer and fewer people are concerned about the durability of products, which is driving up warranty costs. Consequently, the profit is becoming smaller and smaller.

Hi Bertil,

Of course, there are other car brands that are much worse -> otherwise, I would have already sold my money pit. But there are also some that are slowly catching up!

The biggest problem for German companies is the following:

Example Bayer (somewhat off-topic, but probably similar at VW): In 2002, 75% of the budget went to marketing, and only 25% to research, and then they wonder why there are constantly lawsuits about dangerous side effects, etc. The Americans, for example, don't do that, and that's why they will soon be far ahead of us in all areas. Why is the ribbed belt used in all vehicles, even though it doesn't offer any advantage over the old design? -> Because VW doesn't care and apparently no research is being done in this area.

What if Boeing (Rolls-Royce) were to build turbines that constantly (like TDI engines) exploded? Then we wouldn't need to watch any more movies in the Frankfurt area.

Best regards, Christian.

haehnlein wrote:

... For example, Americans don't do that, and that's why they will soon be far ahead of us in all areas.

Right, the Americans are ahead of us in even in all aspects . Every week, my collaborators in the USA change, because the old company went bankrupt (why are we complaining about a wave of bankruptcies anyway...?).

Quote:

What if Boeing (Rolls-Royce) were to build turbines that constantly (like TDI engines) exploded?

Then we wouldn't need to watch any more movies in the Frankfurt area.
Only with aircraft engines is the maintenance so complex and expensive that you can't apply the same principles to a car engine. Or do you expect your workshop to use X-rays to examine the timing belt in order to detect potential damage earlier?
If the workshops were to do this, I guarantee you a reduction of 80% in timing belt failures!

By the way, I read some initial information about the new 2.0L 16V PD-TDI engine online yesterday...
New PD-TDI engine in the Tuaran (later Golf 5)
... and there it actually says "4-valve technology, 2 camshafts driven by a timing belt". Okay, since the camshaft and the PD elements caused the timing belt to break, we're now trying it with one more camshaft... because it's fun and lasts longer.
Where did the gear motors go? The motor presented there is an 827 model with an 81mm bore (like the 1.8L gasoline engine). It was probably cheaper to carry the old (35-year-old) engine through another model series.

It's surprising that the 74kW PD-TDI engine now supposedly has a "switchable EGR cooling" system... it's strange because mine also has it, and it's from the end of 2001!

So, then more timing belt damage, and the cars becoming even more 'easy to maintain,' allowing the VW Group workshops to rip off customers even more and better!

'Following the motto: 'never touch a running system'.'

Apart from how good 'Made in Germany' products are, can someone tell me how to check if a clamp is broken and how to replace it?

Hi,

In my repair manual, there isn't much . But you will probably be able to get it out . As long as the ribbed belt doesn't drive the water pump ( ), it's worth a try, and then you can always go to the workshop .

Here's my suggestion, offered "as is" (without any guarantees).

On my 1Z model, it seems like you first need to loosen the Allen screw in the center to remove the shaft, and then you can release the spring mechanism by loosening the two other screws.

@Bertil

I'm just wondering why you, as a "screw king," didn't do it yourself . Maybe there's a hurdle involved in the installation .

Best regards, Christian.

haehnlein wrote:

I'm just wondering why you, as a "king" of DIY, didn't do it yourself . Maybe there's a hurdle involved in the installation .

... have you ever heard of a warranty?
The first spark plug was replaced by the car dealer, and the other two failed within a year, so they were covered by the warranty. I would have been a complete idiot if I had done that myself...