VW T4 timing belt service

[@chumpcity1126]

This and the original video you uploaded guided me on doing my timing belt and water pump. Although it took me all week, because on my t4 with a 1x, it didn't have a locating hole for the tensioner (cannot explain this at all) and the cam cog would not come off, so it needed to be heated with a blowtorch and then hit with a large chisel to get it loose. Thanks for the uploads they helped a great amount.

[@bootsowen]

Thanks. That’s what it’s for!

[@paulstevenson9629]

Excellent narrative and camera angles. Saved me a lot of hassle. Many thanks

[@huxla745]

Great detailed video. Thank you for taking the time to film and edit this for the T4 community

[@bootsowen]

Thanks buddy. Have a look at my older timing belt video.

[@huxla745]

@@bootsowen Already seen it 😁

[@adetremontionwhite]

Thank you Bootsowen, for taking the time to film this, you have given me the confidence to tackle it myself, saving me over £200 to get a garage to do it👍👍

[@revmjmama9254]

Wonderful

[@DekNW]

Thanks for the video, clearer than the last belt video but that's the beauty of advanced technology, cheers

[@moobengy]

Brilliant! All so clearly explained. Thank you.

[@olukayodeokunowo4631]

Thank you so much. I can now confirm that I can change the timing belt. More grease to your elbow and more wisdom always.

[@roym9560]

I done this job a couple of months ago,then less than a week later the water pump started to leak so all had to come back off.😕 The water pump wasn't that expensive around £20 so my advice would be to replace water pump at same time. Cheers for the video.👍

[@himselfwastaken]

your first timing belt video was how i found your channel i think. i have a 98 t4 abl sitting for years.... still haven't done it hehe

[@LayZTubE]

Thank you very informative 👍

[@maxwarre]

Alternator 25Nm Waterpomp Pulley 20Nm Power Steering Pulley 20Nm Crankshaft Auxiliary Belt Pulley 25Nm Camshaft Cover nuts 10Nm Timing Belt Tensioner 20Nm Camshaft Sprocket Bolt 45Nm Fuel Injector Pump Sprocket 25Nm

[@Trickyinit]

Could I do this with a hangover in the rain with 4 English bull terriers running around wanting to play.

[@bootsowen]

you want them nipping your hair when you're lying under it.

[@Trickyinit]

@@bootsowen haha . I need mine done but I'm just not confident.great video buddy.

[@eoinenglish5221]

Cool man, need to do ours soon too. Motor's a beaut!

[@JasonScott-n8w]

Hi bootsowen! Thanks for the video will come in handy later today as my water pump has started leaking on my 2.4 t4 all belts were changed a year ago with previous owner but don't think he changed the pump. I was looking to see if you knew if I leave the diesel pump locked on the right had side of the engine and then remove the cam belt to do the pump would this keep the cam locked and all I need to look at is the timing marks on the flywheel and slide a file in on the cam also? Thanks in advance

[@bootsowen]

If you are just taking a timing belt off and putting the same belt back on then you can make a mark with tippex or something where the belt contacts the pulleys and if you put it on again in the same place it should be fine. But turn it over twice before starting to check. And I haven’t worked on a t4 2.4.

[@ZanderDelport-s2i]

Why I'm asking is because I just want to do the cambelt without removing the injector pump belt so my question is, How do I check the cam TDC and crank TDC without removing cam/tappet cover or removing injector to check piston TDC so that the cam isn't 180 out with crank pulley at TDC mark?

[@bootsowen]

Hi. This is for a different engine. On the abl the timing belt does the injection pump.

[@ironmaidyn]

Thanks, this is really helpful! Do you know how thick the piece of metal needs to be to lock the end of the camshaft? 😊

[@freakunit]

Hello. Newbie here . I have just purchased a VW T4 2.4 diesel . Im not sure if any of the belts have been replaced recently as the previous owner passed away and i have no service book etc ? Can you advise me what belts i should change just incase they are about to snap ?

[@bootsowen]

Not trying to be foolish here but the answer is all of them!

[@jackengelbregt3225]

Why do want all the pulleys to be loose? Why can’t you just let them sit?

[@bootsowen]

you could if you were replacing the belt that you took off, but with a new belt it might be slightly different to the old, so you need to make sure that each component is aligned to tdc. I guess you could try it and fit the new belt and run through the checks and you might get lucky, let me know if it works.

[@trfgod3095]

Great video buddy. Why do you have to loosen the cam pulley?

[@bootsowen]

So that you can adjust it relative to the crank shaft pulley. If you are taking off a belt and putting the same one back on then maybe it isn't necessary, but with a new belt there could be a slight difference.

[@johneverett4814]

What size engine is this ? I’m looking at buying a 2.5 and was wondering how hard it is to change. Is this the same ?

[@bootsowen]

1.9

[@garyconway6234]

How do you stop the crankshaft from moving when tensioning the belt when I tension the belt the tdc on fly wheel moves

[@bootsowen]

It shouldn't really move, you could hold it with a spanner. is the fuel pump pulley loose?

[@garyconway6234]

I have had a spanner on it and wedged it but has soon as I put any tension on the pulley ii moves from tdc,the pump is different to yours it doesn’t have the 3bolts on the pulley but there are 3 bolts behind if that makes sense?thanks

[@bootsowen]

When you tension it something has to move, if the fuel pump is loose then that will give you play. But if you are working on a completely different engine then maybe you should focus on the procedure for that engine, it may be completely different. You could have a look at the video I made on the VW golf engine timing. It is a 1.9SDI, different, maybe closer to yours. These are the only two machines that I have done the timing on. I have also made an older video on the VW 1.9 ABL engine, the same van as this. it might have more clues, as I explain it in a different and perhaps more logical way. Bear with it, it is somehow nerve-wracking when you di it, but if you are this far in it will not take much more. The first time I did it I repeated the tensioning process many times until I was sure.

[@huwrees1054]

Great explanation, thank you, just cooked my head on my ABL , the Fuel Pump Cog looks a little different and I am finding it difficult to find the locking hole, any suggestions? It's a 1.9 TD 1994, may differ from others out there.

[@bootsowen]

Hi, I have posted a video recently on the 1.9 SDi golf engine, they are all similar. but I got some better shots in the more recent video. I have 2 vids on youtube of the t4 timing belt, so the other one might have some bit that helps. Try getting someone else to turn the engine over and look in with a phone camera to see if you can see the hole. I posted a video as well of replacing a manifold on the t4 when i cooked my engine, it might help, I have two vw playlists that might help. let me know how you get on.

[@huwrees1054]

@@bootsowen I checked the ones posted by you and they helped a great deal. Just difficult to see the locking area on the Fuel pump. I bought an engine (1X) to use the head and ordered the Head gasket kit to cover. Keep up the great videos if they come round!

[@bootsowen]

you can try using a smaller point to find the locking hole. I tried in the long vw SDi video to get the pin in. it didn't want to go in. in the end the pin had a burr on the end that I took off with a file. This was a cheap set of locking tools. On the t4 I used a sykes picavant set and it was much higher quality. You don't need the special tools though. Drill bits are the best for locking the fuel pump I reckon, go down by 0.5 mm if it won't fit to locate the hole. I spent a bit of time trying to get the marks lined up. in reality I am not sure how critical it is. I guess you could make it run very rough.

[@huwrees1054]

@@bootsowen I have the same issue with lining up the timing marks on the flywheel, then checking the fuel pump line up. I'll let you know. Head Gasket set comes today, waiting for the new belt (although done in 2014 and the van has not been used for the last 4 - 5 years) and also getting Alternator belt, Power steering belt and will check the water pump at the same time. Lot's to do and the weather is good at the moment. Let's see what happens. Again thanks for all the help and suggestions.

[@Xvinfajtr]

Why would you need to loosen all the pulleys? Isn't it enough just to loosen the tensioner and remove the old belt, that's what I did on my Volvo. Of course steps may vary from different cars but I just don't see why it would be necessary. Please explain if there's something I'm missing!

[@bootsowen]

If your belt is exactly the same then maybe you don't. You seem to know more about it than me. Did you post a video of your efforts?

[@Xvinfajtr]

@@bootsowen I do not have a video sorry. I just noticed that your engine is a diesel! So there's a pulley for the diesel pump which my volvo gas engine obviously does not have. Perhaps the steps are different then but since I don't have too much experience in this I'm not sure. Just searched around on youtube to see if anyone's got a video on changing the timing belt on a VW T4 gasoline engine since I'm looking to buying one. But hey, you got it working so I guess it doesn't matter too much. Just hoping that it's not necessary to remove the pulleys on my (soon to be) T4 gas engine since that's a new thing to me xD

[@Electropimp26]

Really useful video, thanks! I've just been doing my head gasket (including timing belt change). Got everything back together but looks like the mark on the flywheel is out by a couple of mm when camshaft and injector pump is locked. Any ideas what the tolerance is on this? Engine cranks fine by hand without impacts...

[@bootsowen]

No Idea what the tolerance is, If it was me I would do it again, it must be possible to get it closer. But if it turns over freely then you could just try it! It's your van.

[@garyconway6234]

Hi boots,how are you holding the crankshaft from moving?when I try to tension my timing belt the mark on the flywheel moves how do I lock the crank shaft/stop it moving when I tension the belt thanks

[@AntonForsander]

so my timingbelt is good but the belt to the alternator looks bad and my waterpump is leaking.. can u switch the alternator belt (the second belt u took off) without needing to take of the timing belt? It would be wonderfully not to change everything and also not have to open the hat of the engine and time that.. hopefully u understand me ^^ thanks for great video!

[@AntonForsander]

mine is a T4 1.9D 1995 :D but i think its a 5 cylinder.. 5 gears u kno

[@bootsowen]

Hi, yes i understand. It sounds like yours is a different engine. on my engine you can change the alternator belt, driving the water pump, without taking off the cam belt. But to change the water pump you have to take off the cambelt. If your cam belt is ok, you can mark where it lies on all the pulleys with white marker paint and put it back on the same way, so you don't have to take the "hat" off the engine. But if your cambelt is over 5 years old it should be changed. Lots of work for you. On a 1995 van I would buy the cheapest parts off ebay, I have made another video on youtube on my channel showing how to do the waterpump too.

[@louiscormack1574]

Class! I have just acquired the same spec van as you. Total novice giving things a go. Fancy coming down to Cork to give me a hand with a few things? haha!

[@bootsowen]

It's a long way from Manchester! They are awkward to work on but no moreso than any other modern van. These ones (ABL) are one of the last VW engines not to be controlled by a computer, so I reckon they are probably pretty clean, compared to the modern ones with fancy cats and computer trickery.

[@louiscormack1574]

@@bootsowen Yeah i figured that, i've always stayed away from those complicated modern computerised vehicles! Thanks for the videos man, big help!

[@jarnea.7988]

i'm gonna like the video, but first i'm gonna chekc if my timing marks are all still ok! :p

[@carlosdesandovaljordana7198]

Hey man. Does the engine need to be empty of oil to do this? Thanks

[@bootsowen]

Hi there, no you can leave the oil in, but if you are doing the waterpump then the coolant will have to be drained.

[@P8FPV]

​@@bootsowenid say not to bother trying this if he's asking if you need to remove the oil!😮