Robertspaw
Member
Not at all… seems my indie is following in VWs footsteps a little too closely
Cam & Aux Belt Tensioner Noise, Recorded.
- Thread starter Tourershine
- Start date
They’re all in the business of taking what they can, the best we can do is apply some pressure and go elsewhere if the service is sub-standard.
DBUK
Member
Had mine done early in the year. Tensioner & belt was approx £200. On the plus side its been quiet ever since
Hi all. I have a similar noise that has developed on my 2017 t6 (30k miles) recently. I am keen to get it sorted but how does a garage determine the source of the noise? I am keen to get it right first time! From reading the thread, it seems there are 2 main possibilities - aux belt and or tensioner or cambelt/tensioner. I'm assuming 1 is much cheaper than the other to sort! I am out of warranty which is a shame so guessing independent garage can sort the issue. Any advice appreciated.
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Aux‘ belt and tensioner is a quick job and relatively cheap.
I would think it’s unlikely to be a timing belt issue at 30K. It’s very simple to remove the top cover from the timing belt and get to make an inspection for anything obvious.
It’s not necessary but if the aux’ belt fails it has been known to foul the timing belt and that’s catastrophic engine damage time.
The aux’ belt tensioner has many revisions, our hope is that the latest revision is the most reliable. If you renew the tensioner you will probably get a newer revision version.
The aux’ tensioner is not going to be expensive and the additional labour is minimal if done when changing the belt.
Get the mechanic to check the alternator freewheel clutch operation at the same time while the aux’ belt is off, there shouldn’t be any additional labour charge for this.
If your van doesn’t have one already get an under tray for the engine, it will keep most of the salt spray and road dirt off the belt drive.
I’ve had squealing on my ‘17 T6 150 California for a while and did the candle trick as mentioned by @Loz to make sure it wasn’t cambelt related. Candle on the outer edge made no difference, but on the inner edge (closest to the engine) squealing stopped after a few seconds.
I’m trying to work out if I should just leave it (can’t really hear the squealing in the cabin and gets quieter when warm - though doesn’t totally disappear), or if I should change the belt, or belt plus tensioner. I put a 16mm on the tensioner and it seems a bit ”sticky”, though there is good tension in the spring it doesn’t return to its starting position I.e. I can tighten or slacken it a bit and it doesn’t fully spring back. How do the tensioner usually fail?
How easy is it to replace the tensioner DIY? I presume you remove the undertray and do it from underneath? Do you need to remove anything else to get to it?
I’m trying to work out if I should just leave it (can’t really hear the squealing in the cabin and gets quieter when warm - though doesn’t totally disappear), or if I should change the belt, or belt plus tensioner. I put a 16mm on the tensioner and it seems a bit ”sticky”, though there is good tension in the spring it doesn’t return to its starting position I.e. I can tighten or slacken it a bit and it doesn’t fully spring back. How do the tensioner usually fail?
How easy is it to replace the tensioner DIY? I presume you remove the undertray and do it from underneath? Do you need to remove anything else to get to it?
The squealing is the belt slipping, when it slips it is wearing which isn’t good for reliability as it is getting longer.
If your tensioner is sticking that may well be the reason it’s slipping.
One certainty is that it won’t get better by itself, as for ease of replacement, yes it’s a straightforward job.
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Could be, if so it was either built mis-aligned in which case it probably would have squeaked before or something has worn / come loose.
Only an inspection will answer that and if you’re pulling it apart I guess it’s worth replacing the belt and tensioner.
That's not good and a disaster waiting to happen.
Good luck, let me know how you get on. Is it a torx bolt for the tensioner?
There’s a PDF in the downloads section for VIP members.
Changed the belt and tensioner this afternoon.
I took the wheel arch liner off, but it was a waste of time and didn’t help with access, so used the camping levellers to get a bit of height and removed the under tray and did it mostly from underneath.
I spent a fair bit of time trying to get the tension off the tensioner to put an Allen key in the holes to lock it, but never managed it, so just lowered the tension and slipped the belt off.
It was fairly easy to get the old tensioner off and the new one on, but not quite sure I managed the 50NM + 90deg on the spline bolt, more like 50+60deg, but it felt pretty tight.
The old belt looked fine and the old tensioner had good spring tension and the bearings were fine. The spring on the old one did feel a bit sticky as though it was getting a bit gummed up and not moving freely. I also noted the belt was overhanging the roller by about 2mm on the old one but not on the new one, so I think the roller had moved over slightly.
Anyhow nice to have a quiet van and saved myself £200 vs letting VW do it.
I took the wheel arch liner off, but it was a waste of time and didn’t help with access, so used the camping levellers to get a bit of height and removed the under tray and did it mostly from underneath.
I spent a fair bit of time trying to get the tension off the tensioner to put an Allen key in the holes to lock it, but never managed it, so just lowered the tension and slipped the belt off.
It was fairly easy to get the old tensioner off and the new one on, but not quite sure I managed the 50NM + 90deg on the spline bolt, more like 50+60deg, but it felt pretty tight.
The old belt looked fine and the old tensioner had good spring tension and the bearings were fine. The spring on the old one did feel a bit sticky as though it was getting a bit gummed up and not moving freely. I also noted the belt was overhanging the roller by about 2mm on the old one but not on the new one, so I think the roller had moved over slightly.
Anyhow nice to have a quiet van and saved myself £200 vs letting VW do it.
