Welcome to our page " How to replace the the timing belt on 1998-2001 VW Jetta, Golf, GTI, Cabrio and new Beetle equipped with 2.0 L engines part 2", if you landed in this page while surfing the web and you would like to see this job from the start click here.

   

   

   

   

   

   



   

   

   

   

  





  

 

 

To be able to access the front engine mount it is necessary to move the power steering reservoir out of the way, it is not necessary to unplug the power steering houses, they are long enough to give enough clearance to move the power steering reservoir to the side.

 











 Remove the two screws that fasten the coolant reservoir to the body, just like the power steering reservoir, it is not necessary to unplug the radiator hose from the reservoir, just unplug the electrical connector and move the coolant reservoir to the side.














 Place a floor jack under the oil pan with a wooden block between the floor jack and the pan to avoid damaging the aluminum oil pan, don't apply excessive pressure, the floor jack needs to be used to keep the engine in place when the front engine mount is removed.










  Remove the bracket that connects the front engine mount to the body as shown in the picture.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Remove the 4 bolts that attache the front engine mount to the engine and the body, remove the mount from the vehicle.

 

 

 

 

 

Remove all the bolts that fasten the engine mount bracket to the engine, it is not necessary to remove the bracket out of the engine, this bracket needs to be moved out of the way to provide enough room to install the timing belt tensioner tool if you have one or the angle needle nose pliers to turn the timing belt tensioner and release the belt tension once the tensioner nut has been loosened with a box wrench. 














 Loosen the timing belt tensioner retaining nut, using the timing belt tensioner wrench or angle needle nose pliers turn the tensioner clockwise to release the belt tension, remove the timing belt from the engine.







 We mentioned in our previous page that we chose to replace the timing belt tensioner at the same time to avoid belt failure caused by timing belt tensioner bearing damage due to high mileage.

Pay close attention to the image on the left, the pointer in the tensioner needs to be aligned with the notch when proper belt tension has been reached, we chose to show you with the belt tensioner outside the engine for clarity, but this is accomplished with the timing belt and tensioner installed on the engine.










 Install the new timing belt starting from the crankshaft sprocket followed by the water pump, camshaft sprocket and tensioner. Make sure that the TDC timing marks are properly aligned, the image on the left shows the mark we painted on the front of the engine to allow us to identify the TDC alignment marks faster without having to look at the flywheel marks.









 This image shows the proper alignment on the camshaft sprocket once the new timing belt has been installed on the engine.








 As you can see on this image, you will need to use the timing belt tensioner wrench or angle needle nose pliers and a 13mm box wrench at the same time to adjust and tighten the belt tensioner.

NOTE: Turn the timing belt tensioner counterclockwise until the pointer is aligned with the notch as shown in our previous image, torque the timing belt tensioner pulley nut to 15 lbs.

Turn the crankshaft slowly two turns clockwise until the TDC timing marks are aligned, the last 45 degrees should be made without stopping to allow the timing belt to remain tight the pointer in the tensioner should be aligned with the notch.

Apply firm thumb pressure to the timing belt between the water pump and the camshaft sprocket and check that the pointer in the tensioner moves away from the notch as you do this, release thumb pressure and check that pointer realigns with the notch.

Install the remaining items in the reverse order you took them off.







 Connect the negative battery cable back on and start the engine, listen for unusual sounds, there shouldn't be any if you did everything correctly, take the vehicle for a test drive and make sure that it has the horsepower it should have.



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