# DIY 2.5L Accessory Belts, Tensioners and Idler Pulleys



## Phillip J Fry (Jun 23, 2014)

No longer available.


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## mattdl4 (Aug 11, 2002)

Many thanks for the DIY. I was planning on doing this over the summer but I couldn't find a complete listing of the parts required. Great pictures/instructions! :beer:


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## 5_Cent (May 22, 2007)

Nice right up man, and thank you. I have 144k on my Rabbit. After a rad flush or maybe during this is the next project I have to tackle.


Thanks!


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## TrillyPop (Jan 27, 2010)

nice write up :thumbup:


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## Phillip J Fry (Jun 23, 2014)

deleted


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## Bora Jon (May 31, 2007)

great write up! this deserves a sticky. I have a whiny idler on my car, 49,000 miles. I was hesitant to pull the car apart, but now I know what to expect!


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## mjb8482 (Mar 4, 2008)

Great write up! It looks like an Allen wrench might suffice in place of the T10060A. Can you confirm? Thanks!


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## Phillip J Fry (Jun 23, 2014)

deleted


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## mjb8482 (Mar 4, 2008)

I'll give it a try next week and report back. Thx!


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## 38crazykid (Mar 23, 2011)

Sweet write up!! This thread will come in handy because I'll be doing this soon to my 2007 with 105k. I know a little late but it is what it is. Thanks man!


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## mhjett (Oct 16, 2000)

Great write-up and photos, thanks for posting this. May use it if/when I do the same job on my car. :thumbup:


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## 97greengl (Jan 9, 2006)

excellent write up! Thanks for taking the time to put this together. I used it this weekend and it was infinitely helpful.


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## Phillip J Fry (Jun 23, 2014)

deleted


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## Legoguy (Sep 18, 2002)

Articles like this are what make the Volkswagen community great. Props to you on a comprehensive, complete write-up. :thumbup:

I'll be using this guide tomorrow; as such, I'll post back with any additional tips or findings, such as whether or not an allen key is an acceptable alternative to the special VW tool.


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## Legoguy (Sep 18, 2002)

Okay, some notes and observations:

A 3mm allen key will work in place of the V.A.G. special tool, but only on the lower tensioner (the allen key I used was too long to clear the frame on the top tensioner). Be careful if you use it; if you mistakenly attempt to rotate the tensioner arm the wrong way while it's locked with the allen key, the leverage is such that it will very easily bend the key. Maybe use one you don't care too much about. Here's a photo of that being used:


For the top tensioner, I came about an acceptable alternative method to lock it in place, as seen below.


The upper roller bolts that are referred to above as being 4mm hex are actually Torx T30, and while a 4mm hex key will work in a pinch, I used the proper T30 bit because I had one. The topmost of the three of these bolts is, in fact, barely visible, but not in a useful way, so this is a "by-feel" affair as stated above. 

The upper tensioner XZN (triple square) M10 bolt is in a very very tight spot. Without a proper set of "stubby" XZN keys, I had to take one of my AutoZone OEM brand XZN bits and cut it in half with a Dremel tool to provide enough clearance to get in there. This is what I ended up with.

Other than that, this was a pretty easy job and took me about 2.5 hours to complete, and this guide was very useful to the process.

:thumbup:


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## mjb8482 (Mar 4, 2008)

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## sp4c3m4nsp1ff17 (Feb 6, 2008)

Fantastic write up. Was there a reason you didn't replace the alternator pulley while you were in there?


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## Phillip J Fry (Jun 23, 2014)

deleted


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## Teknojnky (Jun 1, 2002)

So I could just use a bent nail?


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## NickVW's (Mar 30, 2009)

I have 185,000 miles and never touched the belts or pulleys. I always checked them and they looked ok at each oil change. Now I'm just at the pint of "ok I should just change theses out". Do the pulleys fail much? Do I need to change them out?


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## Phillip J Fry (Jun 23, 2014)

deleted


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## arousedrabbit (Feb 9, 2014)

I just did the pulleys on mine this morning. Didn't quite take 6 hrs, closer to 3. Definitely found this write up super helpful. Thanks again for taking the time to put it together.


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## jivo91 (Aug 17, 2016)

Oh my goodness! This is gold! Thank you!!!!!


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## RoadRunnerM3 (Feb 24, 2015)

*Thank you SO much!*

So the VW dealer quoted just over $900 to do this job (4 hours labor and parts). I spent around $260 for parts and YOU saved me the rest! Holy cow! My 2007 Jetta has 125K miles and the belts were starting to separate and your write up save me so very much money. The ONLY hard part was reinstalling the top idler pulley. After trying for 20 minutes, I got my son to hold it in position so that I could get under and start one of the bolts. Thanks again!


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## mhjett (Oct 16, 2000)

RoadRunnerM3 said:


> So the VW dealer quoted just over $900 to do this job (4 hours labor and parts). I spent around $260 for parts and YOU saved me the rest! Holy cow! My 2007 Jetta has 125K miles and the belts were starting to separate and your write up save me so very much money. The ONLY hard part was reinstalling the top idler pulley. After trying for 20 minutes, I got my son to hold it in position so that I could get under and start one of the bolts. Thanks again!


Nice - now to buy some tasty beverages with the $640 savings!


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## Wolfsburg007 (Apr 21, 2011)

Ugh it's been deleted

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## Gunbu (Jan 12, 2012)

Yeah why'd this get deleted!?
I just changed out both belts, tensioners and pulleys and came back to this thread for tips and torque specs. Oh well, the Allen wrench trick to lock the tensioners really helped at least. 
If I were to do it again... I would keep the mounting brackets for both idler pulleys and swap over just the new wheels. Both of those were the hardest part to remount. 



Wolfsburg007 said:


> Ugh it's been deleted
> 
> Sent from my SM-N910P using Tapatalk


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## 5_Cent (May 22, 2007)

WTF? Why the hell was this deleted?


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## halbwissen (Jul 20, 2001)

Yeah, bummer.


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## 5_Cent (May 22, 2007)

So who wants to help put together a new thread since this one committed suicide?


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## hockettj (May 24, 2017)

If someone could come up with a guide again that would be fantastic, I am getting ready to do mine and want some help, i've done belts before but tips are always helpful.


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## 5_Cent (May 22, 2007)

As soon as it's not hot as bawls I will post a tutorial on doing the belts first. Once I get all the part #'s for the tensionors/pullies etc I will post them and a tutorial. It's not as difficult as I thought it would be.:beer:


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## ajmicek (Oct 1, 2012)

A/C:
Belt: 07K145933C
Tensioner: 07K903315S

ALTERNATOR:
Belt: 07K145933E
Tensioner: 07K903315T
Upper Idler: 07K145172B
Lower Idler: 07K145172C

Quick question... does anybody know the fastener type/size for the lower idler? *Upper is T27... I can't quite tell what the lower is?*


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## ajmicek (Oct 1, 2012)

Also, I've been reading forums for like 20 years and I've never seen someone just arbitrarily remove a post that got so much POSITIVE feedback. The mind boggles.


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## ajmicek (Oct 1, 2012)

In case anyone is wondering -- the lower idler is held on with two M10 XZN/triple squares -- that bolt has the part number N90870602.


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## Ronny Bensys (Apr 17, 2014)

Hi. I want to replace idler pulley 07K145172C. I have to replace only pulley without its metal holder. Is there any way to do it without lowering the CBTA engine?


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