Originally Posted by michaloco (Post 11381251)

hopefully you keep your truck anyway.....:-huh

Originally Posted by Ford I-6 (Post 11394634)

Michael that 350 is looking nice !

Originally Posted by firewood truck (Post 11399991)

Start with www.tdiclub.com, there is every bit of possible TDi knowledge that has ever existed on that site. The '04 you quoted is not priced unreasonable, TDi vehicles bring top dollar and then some, as long as they have a documented service history. Here's where you HAVE to do your home work or you will be just throwing your money away- VW TDi engines have very unique components and require a proprietary software called VAGCOM to do any injection related service work, including the timing belt. ( More on that in a minute) 99% of independent garages and chain repair centers ( sears automotive, merchant tire, NTB, ect...) do not have this software.

OK, why is this important? I'll tell ya why- the weak point on the TDi engine is the timing belt, even the most current version of the belt is only good for 90K miles. When the belts are pushed beyond that, they break and when they break, if you are having a good day it will only wipe out the entire cylinder head but most of the time the broken valves will also take out pistons with them basically destroying a $6500 engine. Here's where documented service work is so important- the correct way of doing a TDi timing belt involves using a factory quality belt which are made by Continental, they are not cheap ( as in inexpensive!) along with the belt there is a bunch of one time use hardware, a belt tensioner and a water pump , some misc. gaskets and most importantly, the CORRECT coolant, G12. It's a dark reddish/purple color, it doesn't mix with anything else. If you see green generic coolant in the fill bottle, walk away from the car. The electrolysis damage is already going on inside of the cylinder head from using the wrong stuff.

If you see a TDi car and you notice a 'quicky lube' style sticker on the windshield, walk away from the car. Quick change oil shops don't use the correct spec'd oil, the turbo is pressure fed and kills the wrong oil in a matter of hours. The turbos impeller shaft will bang around in the bearings and cause metallic flakes to get passed around inside of the engine, the damage will be fatal.

I share this info with you based on my personal experience from being a prior VW service tech and as someone who did a LOT of TDi repairs on the side, mostly buying destroyed cars from people who cheaped out and had a uninformed 'mechanic' hack who would buy the cheapest POS timing belt from autozone, incorrectly install it, not get the pump timing reset because they didn't have the software, fill the crank case with the wrong oil, fill the cooling system with the wrong coolant and ruin the engine, them blame VW for making a crap car. A proper timing belt job is in the $600-$700 range when the correct parts are used, this is something that any owner will keep a receipt of because of the cost involved and the importance of having the service performed.

Originally Posted by Copedawg (Post 11406675)

That is GREAT advice! Thanks for taking the time to explain it all to me!
I don't have any history on the belt and I don't have any special tools to do the job. So I should start saving to have the dealership replace it?