# Timing chain opinions and options



## DerekH (Sep 4, 2010)

Hey guys, yet another timing chain thread. At first, i thought my diff was going. Only noticed the noise while moving never while stopped but last week when i stopped off at my dealership my worst fears were confirmed. Timing chain is going. My car only has 141k km on it which is about 87k miles. It is an 07, ill have to double check but I'm pretty sure it was built march of 06. 

I have talked to my dealership and they are saying they will do the repair for 2000-2200 bucks. they are saying 800 for the parts and 1200-1400 for the labor. I know the service manager there and she offered to contact vw on my behalf and see if they could help me out at all. vw came back with the offer of covering half the labor. 

Now, i don't know if this is me being selfish or what but i really don't feel like that is good enough. this part, that is never supposed to need replacing. Needs replacing before when you would replace a timing belt. It's amazingly ridiculous. 

Anyways, i have a few questions that hopefully someone can help me out with. I know how much of a bitch this job is, drop the trans pull the clutch etc. Has anyone done it? is it doable over the weekend? Any special tools that i will need aside from the cam lockers i am assuming i need. Is the replacement normally done with the revised parts or are the revised parts incompatible with the older motors? 

Any other ideas or suggestions are appreciated. 

Thanks 
Derek


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## Rabbit_2.5 (Mar 6, 2009)

As far as I know, not even the Bentley manual outlines the timing chain job. Meaning it's probably a very difficult job and requires a lot of specialty tools. I too have an 07 Rabbit and the "can of marbles" sound has been getting progressively worse so I have a feeling my chain is going as well. From what I have read, the best option is to replace the entire engine with an 08 MY as that has the revised chain. I'm hoping someone more knowledgeable can chime in and shine some more light on this though.


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## dhenry (Feb 10, 2009)

new engine. get an 08+ this time


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## alwaysdutch (Oct 19, 2011)

Yup. New '08 engine is what I did. One weekend is a bit short, but if you have all the tools, and are a bit handy and familiar with your car, you can do it in two weekends. 

Special tools needed are triple square bits and a cherry picker. Several of us have done this so check out the forum. Lots of details and pics.


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## truwagen (Jun 14, 2007)

not to thread jack, but is the consensus now this is an 05.5-2007 issue. I thought this was only 2005.5 to 2006 2.5's...


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## thygreyt (Jun 7, 2009)

trudub said:


> not to thread jack, but is the consensus now this is an 05.5-2007 issue. I thought this was only 2005.5 to 2006 2.5's...


 Has any 07 been affected?

Sent from my HTC Sensation 4G using Tapatalk 2


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## DerekH (Sep 4, 2010)

trudub said:


> not to thread jack, but is the consensus now this is an 05.5-2007 issue. I thought this was only 2005.5 to 2006 2.5's...


 I asked the same question to one of the techs at the dealership when i found this out. He said it is a problem with even the newer 2.5s. 



thygreyt said:


> Has any 07 been affected?


 I think i am the second one that has posted about it.


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## alwaysdutch (Oct 19, 2011)

Was it not fixed at some point with the '07 models? I think that is why most people will say to buy an '08 engine.


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## tankisarockstar (Jan 11, 2006)

my 07 went at about the 85k mark. VW quoted me 2500 for labor alone and that was just an estimate. They also said they've never had to do one before.


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## rabbitransit (Feb 18, 2007)

DerekH...I think that is a great deal they are offering you.......Could you explain how they diagnose the bad chain and what symptoms you had other than noise?


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## itskohler (Jan 7, 2011)

Post a video of the engine bay so people can hear the sounds. 

I have a strage ticking noise that scares the bejesus out of me. I think I am affected as well...And I'm an 08.


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## Imanol Alamillo (Dec 17, 2010)

Hi, I just did this repair myself at home. You'll need the cam and crank locking tools and lots of triple square sockets plus a good repair manual. It's definitely not a DIY job so you must take special care if youe decide to do it by yourself. I also changed the headgasket and dissasembled the cylinder head to clean the intake valves, but don't think you will need it. 
The parts I ordered where the revised ones and are totally compatible with the older engines. 

Here's my thread, hope it helps. 

http://forums.fourtitude.com/showthread.php?5626157-New-member-with-06-Jetta


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## mhjett (Oct 16, 2000)

Looking at germanautoparts.com, the parts for the '05-'07s look the same as the parts for the '08-'10s, except they don't list the lower chain for the later-model engines. 

What I've read is that it's a sprocket that wears prematurely and causes the issues. Someone with ETKA access (i.e. VW parts guy) should be able to do a little research and find the engine serial # breaks for the upgraded parts, whatever it is that was upgraded, and put the model-year cutoff issue to rest.


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## GTACanuck (Feb 20, 2009)

Derek, I recently picked up a motor from lecavalier.com with 11k on it for like 800 bucks shipped. They come from Quebec.

It may just be easier to replace the motor and put your accessories on and call it a day. Something like that you could do with little hassles over a weekend providing you have an engine hoist and some specialty tools. At least this way you wont have to tear apart a timing chain and figure that mess out.

I would be down to come give you a hand as well if you like.


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## DerekH (Sep 4, 2010)

rabbitransit said:


> DerekH...I think that is a great deal they are offering you.......Could you explain how they diagnose the bad chain and what symptoms you had other than noise?





itskohler said:


> Post a video of the engine bay so people can hear the sounds.
> 
> I have a strage ticking noise that scares the bejesus out of me. I think I am affected as well...And I'm an 08.


I don't have anything i can video with, and it's really not a very obvious noise. However it will likely get more obvious as time goes on. The best description i can give you for the noise is, think of what you would hear if you were rubbing a stick or a piece of metal against a chain moving at 1000 rpm. It's not ticking its more of a grinding rubbing noise.



Imanol Alamillo said:


> Hi, I just did this repair myself at home. You'll need the cam and crank locking tools and lots of triple square sockets plus a good repair manual. It's definitely not a DIY job so you must take special care if youe decide to do it by yourself. I also changed the headgasket and dissasembled the cylinder head to clean the intake valves, but don't think you will need it.
> The parts I ordered where the revised ones and are totally compatible with the older engines.
> 
> Here's my thread, hope it helps.
> ...


Awesome, thanks man. Much appreciated. I will definitely check it out.



GTACanuck said:


> Derek, I recently picked up a motor from lecavalier.com with 11k on it for like 800 bucks shipped. They come from Quebec.
> 
> It may just be easier to replace the motor and put your accessories on and call it a day. Something like that you could do with little hassles over a weekend providing you have an engine hoist and some specialty tools. At least this way you wont have to tear apart a timing chain and figure that mess out.
> 
> I would be down to come give you a hand as well if you like.


I'll look into it, seems like a good option seeing as the parts are 800 bucks alone from the dealer.
I am more than willing to supply the steaks and beer for anyone that is willing to help out. I'm pretty out of commission still from my shoulder surgery so anything is appreciated.


Thanks for all the help guys. I knew there was a reason i liked the 2.5, it's more the community than anything else i think.


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## GTACanuck (Feb 20, 2009)

DerekH said:


> I'll look into it, seems like a good option seeing as the parts are 800 bucks alone from the dealer.
> I am more than willing to supply the steaks and beer for anyone that is willing to help out. I'm pretty out of commission still from my shoulder surgery so anything is appreciated.


I am sure we have met before at some iDub meets a while back. I dont have a problem lending a helping hand. Let me know when your better and we can tackle this. It will be a great learning experience for both of us I am sure of that. :thumbup:

Edit: My gf is also a mechanic (i know pretty effin awesome) and she would love to help too. lol


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## thygreyt (Jun 7, 2009)

just letting you know, getting a new motor might be easier and simpler than fixing this one.


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## DerekH (Sep 4, 2010)

GTACanuck said:


> I am sure we have met before at some iDub meets a while back. I dont have a problem lending a helping hand. Let me know when your better and we can tackle this. It will be a great learning experience for both of us I am sure of that. :thumbup:
> 
> Edit: My gf is also a mechanic (i know pretty effin awesome) and she would love to help too. lol


It's a definite possibility, I'm out with iDub quite a bit. I'm pretty mobile now, i just wont be able to lift much with the one arm is all. My sister's boyfriend and at least one of the iDub guys will probably help out with the swap or repair depending on which route i go. I will likely go with whatever ends up being cheapest. Looks like it will probably be the swap that is the cheapest though. Have to do some calling around to get pricing and availability.

That is pretty sweet, tell her i say thanks. Also, ever manage to get her to change your oil for you? lol 



thygreyt said:


> just letting you know, getting a new motor might be easier and simpler than fixing this one.


It is definitely looking that way, I am going to talk to vw today and see if i can badger them into helping me out a little more.


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## DerekH (Sep 4, 2010)

So, i have a question. What is the difference between the engine codes? Is it going from the 07 to 08 models or is it something else? Does it matter which engine code gets swapped in?

Edit: looks like its just emissions stuff. Should be fine with either one i would guess. I am wondering if there is any reason i couldn't put an 09 engine in it. Mechanically they are the same as the 07s they just have a map sensor which wouldn't matter because ill just keep my maf and all that stuff in place. does this make sense or am i completely off base?


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