A non Volvo cambelt question!

[Phil Croxley]

Apologies for asking a VW question but the Polo forum is kaput, and there's lots of knowledge on this forum.
I bought a 25 year old Polo last year just for the fun of saving it from the scrapyard. I've covered nearly 2k and I'm changing the cambelt as a precaution. Before removing the belt I got the engine at tdc following the old Haynes manual but the marks don't line up. Does anyone know if it could run ok with the camshaft about a tooth out? I've marked it in green but as you can see the cam pulley shows it about a tooth out. I'm wondering if it was done incorrectly last time. Should I put it back as it was or turn the cam pulley slightly anticlockwise? Any thoughts greatly appreciated.

[Whippy]

Might be better asking here.

https://www.vwaudiforum.co.uk/forum/content.php

[Stu B]

Which model of Polo is it out of interest, and which engine? I’ve had quite a few VWs so that all looks very familiar.

To establish the bottom end is at TDC when the mark on the crank pulley says so, have you tried popping a long screwdriver down spark plug hole number one and turning the crank to and fro a little around that point in the cycle? I would always do that on a petrol engine to be sure.

Once you’re sure the crank pulley is fitted correctly you can work out if the cam pulley is too and confirm the marks. I’d be inclined to go for the new belt on the correct marks rather than the previous potential one tooth out position though it would run ok like that I suspect. Obviously turn the engine by hand a few rotations with a spanner on the crank before you try to start it to make sure there is no interference.

Any idea how old the previous timing belt was and how did it look condition wise? Is the crank pulley bolt torqued up correctly and there’s no play in the fitment of the pulley on its key?

*at least a 25 year old Polo purchased now will have a servo for the brakes. I bought one that was probably 25 years old to teach my wife to drive in many years ago, that was a 1980 Mk1 Polo. No servo and a curious conversion of the brake pedal mechanism for RHD as per Mk1 Golf’s too. That was character building…

[Phil Croxley]

Originally Posted by Stu B

Which model of Polo is it out of interest, and which engine? I’ve had quite a few VWs so that all looks very familiar.

To establish the bottom end is at TDC when the mark on the crank pulley says so, have you tried popping a long screwdriver down spark plug hole number one and turning the crank to and fro a little around that point in the cycle? I would always do that on a petrol engine to be sure.

Once you’re sure the crank pulley is fitted correctly you can work out if the cam pulley is too and confirm the marks. I’d be inclined to go for the new belt on the correct marks rather than the previous potential one tooth out position though it would run ok like that I suspect. Obviously turn the engine by hand a few rotations with a spanner on the crank before you try to start it to make sure there is no interference.

Any idea how old the previous timing belt was and how did it look condition wise? Is the crank pulley bolt torqued up correctly and there’s no play in the fitment of the pulley on its key?

*at least a 25 year old Polo purchased now will have a servo for the brakes. I bought one that was probably 25 years old to teach my wife to drive in many years ago, that was a 1980 Mk1 Polo. No servo and a curious conversion of the brake pedal mechanism for RHD as per Mk1 Golf’s too. That was character building…

It's a 6n1 with a 1.4 auto. I bought it with just 16k on the clock and it's now done 18k. After I'd replaced the front brakes and various other very inexpensive parts it passed the MOT with no advisories!
The old belt looks ok, I haven't got any history so no idea when it was last changed. The aux belt was very cracked so I'll change that as well. I only got this car for amusement value but I use it a lot for local trips so it's definitely a keeper. Great fun to drive as well, just like a go cart!

[Phil Croxley]

Originally Posted by Whippy

Might be better asking here.

https://www.vwaudiforum.co.uk/forum/content.php

I tried joining but they accused me of being a spammer and gave me a number to call!!

[Phil Croxley]

Mystery solved. Stupidly there are two marks on the crankcase, the one that looked like the main one wasn't!
So taking the sensible advice given I found TDC using a long screwdriver on cylinder one and the crank alignment came to the second mark, that meant the cam pulley came round to the correct mark.
Thanks for the advice, all very much appreciated.

[Stu B]

Glad to hear you’ve sorted it, Phil. I seem to recall some of the VWs I owned had two marks now you mention it, one of them was used to set ignition base timing advance to 6 degrees before TDC or similar with a strobe. I’m sure that was on the older ones with a mechanical distributor driven off an auxiliary shaft on the front of the block though.

Nice low mileage car - that may well have been the original timing belt you’ve replaced perhaps if no one ever changed it on time interval rather than mileage?

Cheers
Stu

[Phil Croxley]

Yes, it could well be an original, although the old belt didn't look bad. The alternator belt on the other hand was very cracked. I never intended to keep the Polo but it's a brilliant little car, and far better than using a heavy diesel for local trips. Thanks for your help.