T6 TDI Water Pump: Should You Replace It?

Hello,

At 210,000 km, the timing belt needs to be replaced on my 2.0 TDI engine with 110 kW.
What about the water pump? Should it really be replaced, and what are the experiences with that?

Is there anything specific I should watch out for with this engine?

Thank you, best regards, Rainer.

You absolutely have to participate; the water pump is usually the component that fails most often.

Okay, thanks for your assessment!

I've never had one break on me - possibly because I've always ordered them together.

Hello Rainer,

Based on my experience, it's relatively common for water pumps to get stuck and remain permanently open. This prevents the engine from reaching its proper operating temperature.

Otherwise, it is important to ensure the tensioner is installed correctly. VW uses two different versions of the tensioner for this engine. Therefore, some manufacturers include two different tensioners in the timing belt kit with the water pump to ensure that both versions are covered.

VW uses tensioner pulleys from the manufacturers Litens and Gates, which are different. Contitech has publicly available information about these.

I therefore agree with Chli1976: The water pump definitely needs to be replaced.


Best regards,

Michael.