beng 0 Posted April 16, 2004 Report Share Posted April 16, 2004 Has anyone had to get the timing chain replaced? whats the cost, gonna hit me with it!!! &| what millage did it go at?cheers Link to post Share on other sites
beng 0 Posted April 16, 2004 Author Report Share Posted April 16, 2004 and sorry i cant spell chains yet!!! Link to post Share on other sites
FishWick 21 Posted April 16, 2004 Report Share Posted April 16, 2004 Cost = Lots! It's roughly an 8-9 hour job. Gearbox off, manifolds off, rocker cover off, flywheel off etc.Both tensioners, both guide rails, the tensioner bolt and the chains totals around the £200 mark. So you need to add 8 - 9 hours labour to that. So you're looking at around the £450-£500 mark. Good time to do the clutch aswell by the way....100K is roughly when you need to consider getting it done. You can check the condition of the upper tensioner (the one that wears the most) by removing the rocker cover and having a wee snout at it. If it's deeply scored, start saving ASAP. If bits of the plastic coating are missing..... get it done right away as the cam can jump a tooth or two, which then = about £2800 worth of rectification work! Link to post Share on other sites
jcorallo 0 Posted April 16, 2004 Report Share Posted April 16, 2004 I was reading an interesting vwvortex thread, where someone said it might be possible to disassemble the newly bought tensioner blade, removing the plastic portion, and re-riveting it to the existing metal support after removig the worn portion, whilst on the engine in situ. A bit like re-lining brake shoes...Sounds feasible...........!Jules Link to post Share on other sites
patrick green 0 Posted April 16, 2004 Report Share Posted April 16, 2004 lol do u wanna try it for us Jules? Link to post Share on other sites
FishWick 21 Posted April 16, 2004 Report Share Posted April 16, 2004 I was reading an interesting vwvortex thread' date=' where someone said it might be possible to disassemble the newly bought tensioner blade, removing the plastic portion, and re-riveting it to the existing metal support after removig the worn portion, whilst on the engine in situ. A bit like re-lining brake shoes...Sounds feasible...........!Jules[/quote']Do you know what.... that same thought went through my mind when I looked at the upper blade at the dealers. 2 immediate thoughts though:-1 - how can you remove the old rivets without getting 'bits' in the engine?2 - I don't think there is enough room to get to the bottom half of the blade to re-rivet.How about some mega glue plus the top rivets instead? Some kind Sikaflex on steroids kind of stuff?I agree, it's worth trying because it's only the top tensioner that really gives us grief. The chains and lower tensioner never actually fail. So it's a royal pain in the butt having to drop the gearbox for the sake of a £20 part.Guess what I'll be trying when the Schrick arrives K Link to post Share on other sites
mightyvr6 0 Posted April 16, 2004 Report Share Posted April 16, 2004 doesn't the upper plastic guide fail too? Can this part be changed without removing the gearbox etc.? Link to post Share on other sites
jcorallo 0 Posted April 16, 2004 Report Share Posted April 16, 2004 yes - the front blade comes out OK without removing the gearbox - its bolted at the top and slotted onto a bar at the bottom.I've got a hand rivet gun thats got a bendy neck thing for getting into tight spots - might work....? but yes, I'd also put glue on it as well. Just need to find something suitable - which there might not be?Cant think of anywhere in an engine thats glued off the top of my head - maybe some sort of head gasket glue used on diesels?To stop bits falling into the engine, you'd pad it well with rags and maybe even dab the area with a bit of grease to catch the small bits? As long as you are careful, it should be OK.Jules Link to post Share on other sites
jcorallo 0 Posted April 16, 2004 Report Share Posted April 16, 2004 and to be honest, when removing the old one, I'd be tempted to just snap the plastic off with brute force, rather than trying to drill rivets....! Once the plastic's gone, the rivets would prob just fall out...Jules Link to post Share on other sites
beng 0 Posted April 16, 2004 Author Report Share Posted April 16, 2004 thank you peoplevery helpfulguess i should start a timing chain (see i can spell!!) fund now then!!!cheers Link to post Share on other sites
speedo 0 Posted April 16, 2004 Report Share Posted April 16, 2004 The only thing is, is that the chain would have streched (slightly) and worn over the milage , so chainging ( ) just the tensioners is`nt going to cure the problem. The only good thing about it when you do it, is that you might as well get the clutch and oil seals done at the same time Link to post Share on other sites
FishWick 21 Posted April 17, 2004 Report Share Posted April 17, 2004 I don't think it's possible to do the rivet trick I'm afraid. I stripped the top half of my engine today and the upper blade is goosed, reckon I've got about another 1000 miles max before the top rivets let go and the plastic pad breaks up.You can't remove the lower side plate without dropping the gearbox it looks like, not that I could work out anyway. Several bolts to remove but you'd have to remove the thermostat housing to get to some of them off but it does appear seperate from the bell housing. Ran out of daylight to try and remove said side plate.I'm going to use the late MK4 VR6 solid polymer upper blade I think. The car is soon to receive a warranty replacement clutch so I'll get it all done then.My chains have stretched significantly too, beyond the scope of the tensioner bolt's travel it seems. On the 3 inch span between the two cam wheels there is 8mm vertical slack in the chain. No wonder my engine runs like a dog at the moment.Oh the joys of VR6 ownership, eh? Link to post Share on other sites
acf8181 0 Posted April 17, 2004 Report Share Posted April 17, 2004 i was thinkin it may be possible to get to the upper blade. but my thermostat housing is stuck on.my upper blade is starting to look fairly worn, what happens when theres no metal on it then? Link to post Share on other sites
FishWick 21 Posted April 17, 2004 Report Share Posted April 17, 2004 The upper blade has a plethoronic blahdy blah coating on it. It only lasts to about about 85K and then the chains start to eat through it. You'll notice 2 deep gouges in the plastic pad and then the chain starts wearing the top two rivets down. Then the rivets take time out and fall into the sump. And then the joys of broken plastic pad ensue, metal on metal contact, joyous chain slap noises at 1200rpm and off you go to Stealth Racing for new chains, tensioners and chain rails. Oh what fun ay? Seriously though, I reckon you could rent an engine hoist, drop the box, swap out all the chain related stuff and be done within a weekend. The VR engine is like Lego, it comes apart real easy. Lovely engine to work on.K Link to post Share on other sites
acf8181 0 Posted April 18, 2004 Report Share Posted April 18, 2004 not mine...every other bolt rounds! Link to post Share on other sites
FishWick 21 Posted April 19, 2004 Report Share Posted April 19, 2004 Mine comes apart really easily, probably because it's been apart so frequently for repairs the bolts haven't had time to seize into their threads!Spoke to Vince today. It definitely isn't possible to do the top tensioner with the box in situ. Nevermind. It was worth a look.K Link to post Share on other sites
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