[Vwdiesel] Banana Rabbit--It gets worse!!

[Erik Lane]

On Tue, Feb 1, 2011 at 7:16 AM, mark shepherd <mark at shepher.fsnet.co.uk>wrote:

> Never replace a shell bearing, that upon inspection looks pretty well as it
> did when it was installed. A complete waste of money and a potential source
> of  later trouble.
>
> Check the tensioner whilst you are there by spinning it. If a good spin,
> and
> no rumble then leave this too...
>
>
I disagree with this one. I used to just check the timing belt tensioner and
only replace it when it sounded/felt like it had a bad bearing, but one time
after seeming perfect in every respect it failed ~1-200 miles after
replacing the belt. That cost me quite a bit in getting the head rebuilt,
new head gasket, and a lot of time in towing and fixing it. I replace the
tensioners every single time now. They only cost $16 and take about that
much worth in time just to replace later if you need to.

Erik