1Y Head Gasket or Oil Cooler?

[intramural]

The spec for axial play on the intermediate shaft is 0.25mm.  1.0 is a LOT and 4X spec!  Measure so you know for sure.  Excessive axial play on the intermediate shaft usually means is that the thrust ring on the shaft is broken.  If that is the case, then no, that's not ok to run as is.  Running with the thrust ring broken runs a very serious risk of ruining/breaking/throwing the timing belt.

To be clear, what I am calling the 'thrust ring' is a machined lip of the outer bearing journal of the intermediate shaft.  The part that bolts onto the block and holds the intermediate shaft in place, I call the intermediate shaft seal carrier.

Thanks Libby. in my research before posting I saw this thread: http://vwdiesel.net/forum/index.php/topic,37016.0.html

You are right I just need to measure. Measuring is knowing.

[intramural]

Well. I put the 'ol dial indicator and bridge on there. I took several measurements, and consistently got 0.0095" which according to google is 0.2413mm.

That leaves me with a whopping 0.0087mm to spare. I guess this way I know its bearing wear and not something broken. The question remains. Do I run as is?

How difficult is it to replace intermediate shaft bearings via removing the motor mounts and sliding it out below the wheel well? Probably pretty difficult.

[libbydiesel]

The replaceable intermediate shaft bearings affect radial play.  They do not affect the axial play.  If your axial play is 0.24mm, then it is perfectly fine.  If you are concerned about the intermediate shaft bearings, then you could pull the shaft to see.  If you do so, you'll want to replace the seal carrier o-ring. 

[intramural]

The replaceable intermediate shaft bearings affect radial play.  They do not affect the axial play.  If your axial play is 0.24mm, then it is perfectly fine.  If you are concerned about the intermediate shaft bearings, then you could pull the shaft to see.  If you do so, you'll want to replace the seal carrier o-ring. 

Thanks Libby. I don't want to do so. I'll happily continue forward.

I will say I am surprised how significant .24mm felt with the pulley attached. I am glad you told me to measure.

I'm taking my niece skiing for two days, so I wont be able to turn the key until Friday or Saturday. I also mock fit an out front inter-cooler that will hopefully still fit with everything put together. I'll keep y'all in the loop.

Working on this car has really made me appreciate the miracle that most peoples cars work at all... then I remember they don't. What complex machines.

[fatmobile]

 Yeah, in and out would be thrust ring wear.
 If the timing belt was too tight it would move side-to-side.
 Actually it probably wouldn't move much when the bearing wears.
 Because it chips out in pieces when it wears.
 If you pull the intermediate shaft out a little you will see if the bearing is worn.
 
 Pull the vacuum pump so you can support that end while pulling it out.
 So the gears don't mess with the inner bearing.

[intramural]

Thanks fatmobile. I am confident in my measurements of the axial play. So I am going to proceed without pulling the intermediate shaft.

Alright gang, it was a nice two days on the ski hill. I have the timing set. With the flywheel tick at exactly TDC, the cam lock slides in perfect, the IP lock slides in perfect, and the dial indicator reads .95mm of advance (per giles).

My only problem, is after a few turns of the crank the timing belt has moved about 1/2mm off the front of the IP pully. Does this mean my belt tension is off?

[libbydiesel]

Ugh!  Does your engine use the tensioner with the built in tension gauge or is it the earlier version?  The tensioner with the built in gauge is nice for removing the guesswork.  Often the belt will track off the pump like that due to the belt being too tight.  The twist method of gauging tension is terrible.  If you are using a tensioner wrench when the nut is loose, the proper tension is just slightly tighter than the point the wrench will spring back to.

If the tension is not too tight, then the injection pump bracket needs to be adjusted:

[intramural]

Yeah. I have the old style and cant use the built in guage tensioner. I was pretty annoyed that I don't have the notch that the little tab slides into. I actually bought both tensioners in hopes that I could use the built in gauge one.

Thanks for the insight libby. At least I'll get good practice verifying the timing.

[intramural]

Well, I adjusted the bracket it made a bit of a difference. The belt isn't centered, its right on the face of the sprocket. Is it fine to run like this?

I also swapped out the head studs and put on the self indicating tensioner. I just cut a little hole on the steel guard thing. Now I know belt tension is correct. I torqued all the sprocket nuts to 55ftlbs. The people on tdi club had a big thread on it.

[libbydiesel]

It's not great.  If the bracket is already rotated as far as possible and you are sure the timing belt is not too tight, then I'd use a dremel  to enlarge the holes on the bracket in order to get more adjustment.

I use 45 ft-lbs for the cam bolt while also making sure the cam and sprocket tapers are completely clean of any oil (brake parts cleaner).  I don't think it is a good idea to torque higher than that.  There is no reason I can see to go above spec for the torque on the pump sprocket nut or intermediate sprocket bolt as both of those are keyed.

[ORCoaster]

That belt alignment looks good to me.  I would run it and watch it.  If need be enlarge the holes.  But for now it looks fine.

[intramural]

I appreciate the feedback guys. I read through a few other threads and decided to go for it. I think that's pretty close to where my dad and I had it too, and we never had any issues.

I would like to have it perfectly centered but... I really don't wanna take the pump off again.

I think I might be able to turn the key tonight. Got anything else for me?

[libbydiesel]

The thing to check is exactly what the tech bulletin says.  Run the engine a few seconds at idle with the crank pulley removed and then shut it down.  If the belt protrudes past the face of the crank sprocket, it should be adjusted further.  If not, then run it.  The issue if it protrudes past the face of the crank sprocket is that it will wear both the belt and the crank pulley prematurely and that wear can accelerate.  I have typically found that if the belt rides at the edge of the pump sprocket like that, it will protrude past the face of the sprocket but you might get lucky. 

[intramural]

Okay I'll at east check my poor workmanship the right way 

[intramural]

Here is a shot of the crank sprocket after about 10 sec of idle.



Looks good to me.

Now something on my vacuum booster or brake reservoir is leaking I didn't even touch the ***in' thing, and it worked fine when I tore the car apart.