[Vwdiesel] timing belt tension

[Kneale Brownson]

Or why not take all the guesswork out and get the belt tension testing device?  It's penny wise and pound foolish to save the labor costs of a properly equipped shop but put yourself into the potential position of paying for a head rebuild.  

James Hansen <jhsg at sasktel.net> wrote:  you set it by how easily it slides over the injection pump pulley. Yeah, 
no shit.
If you can just slide it back and forth a bit with moderate finger 
pressure, it's just right. Tight like drum is no good- it kills the 
input shaft bearing on the injection pump- main cause of leaks on 
injection pump input shafts. It will also sing when running as the belt 
cogs enter the sprocket teeth. If you've heard it before, you'll know 
what I mean, if you haven't, just as well.

Twisting is NOT the recommended method. It can damage the belt.
Yes I know it is written up that way in some books, and is all over the 
net, but so are alien abduction autobiographies... AND, it's too 
subjective... much like the aforementioned books.

The motor grows taller when it warms up so an apparently loose belt when 
cold tightens as it gets warm.
-james

Terry Briggs wrote:
> Well I'm confused, or is that the age, haven't figured that out yet, 
> anyways. Not having a tension tester for a VW, how do you check timing 
> belt tension after install. Of course the bentley only tells you to use 
> the VW tool, but short of that how do you know. I've heard you should 
> only be able to twist it 90 degrees and I've heard only 45 degrees, any 
> of you wise knowing guru's want to share in your knowledge on how to 
> set the tension without the tool.
> 
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