DIY - Cam Chain and Tensioner Guide

[rich83]

1. Cam Cover Gasket  06F 103 483 D
2. Tensioner 06F 109 217 A
3. Adjuster Bolt 06D 109 281 D
4. Cam Chain 06D 109 229 B
5. Tensioner Bolts  N 101 963 03 (optional) x3
6. Rear PCV Clamp N 904 096 01 OR. 30mm jubilee clip
7. Cam Chain Cover Bolts N 101 243 08 (Optional) x7
8. Cam Chain Cover Gasket 06D 103 121 B
9. 600mm 1/2" Breaker Bar
10. 3/8" Ratchet
11. 1/2" Ratchet
12. Low Range Torque Wrench
13. 1/2" Torque Wrench
14. 16mm Spark Plug Socket
15. 1/4-3/8-1/2" Adapters
16. VW Tool T10020
17. VW Tool T40080
18. VW Tool T10252
19. 3/8" Long Torx bits
20. 1/4" Socket Set

Extra tools not shown.... Pliers, Mole grips, flat blade screwdriver. M5 multispline

Other bits in pic are for an oil change, which I will do after the chain is done.

MYSELF OR MK5GOLFGTI.CO.UK CANNOT BE HELD RESPONSINBLE FOR DAMAGE TO YOU CAR. FOLLOW THIS GUIDE AT YOUR OWN RISK

Should look something like this to begin with. I will skip the removal of the intake as everyone has a different setup. If you have the OEM box, google how to remove it




REMOVING THE BATTERY

10mm socket or spanner. Do the neg. first then the pos.


Remove the 13mm retaining bolt/plate


Remove the plastic cover on the front of the battery and then the battery can be pulled out

Remove the 3x 10mm bolts holding the battery tray in.


Should look like this now


Always put something over the turbo inlet to stop crap falling in.




REMOVING THE COILPACK LOOM AND COILPACKS

Use a flat blade screwdriver to unclip the connectors. BE VERY CARFUL WITH THE CLIPS, THEY BREAK EASILY


Remove the coils. You can number them if you are OCD. No real need though


REMOVING THE FRONT PCV

Undo the 4x T25 torx screws. And remove the front corrugated plastic pipe that links the PCV to the intake manifold


Remove the rightmost pipe on the PCV. Squeeze the 2 tabs on either side of the connector (marked in the pic)


Should look like this.


Remove the thin pipe in the centre of the cam cover. Squeeze either side as before.




REMOVING THE CAM COVER

All T30 Torx. Start with 2x on the left side over the cambelt




Remove the 14x T30 bolts on top of the cam cover.


Now... this bits a bit tricky, because you have to remove the 2 rear PCV hoses. I started by using a thin flat blade screwdriver to get under them and break the seal. I also used a pair of pliers very carefully around the thinner pipe to twist it. You should be able to get the thinner pipe off. I am not going to lie, this bit was a pain in the ass. Just perceiver and you'll get it off.

Remove the large pipe clamp by inserting a flat blade screw driver into the hole and twisting.


Leave the fat pipe on for now.

Lets break the cam cover seal. Best way to do this is kneel infront of the car and place both hands (as marked below) on the edge of the cover and slowly but firmly push up and away.  Just be carful not to snap the neck off the filler pipe.


Once you've broken the seal you should be able to lift up the cover, this should help you release that rear fat PCV pipe by twisting and jiggling it.... again... this bit is a pain.


Once you have done that, its a good idea to spend a bit of time cleaning up the mating surface as it will be quite oily and will be dirty especially on the front edge.




REMOVING THE HPFP

This is well documented online, so will keep this short

Link to thread to show you how.
http://www.mk5golfgti.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,8339.0.html

You'll need a T30 torx screwdriver and a 13mm spanner.




REMOVING THE CAM CHAIN COVER

Begin by removing the bracket for the coolant line. M5 multispline is required here.


Remove the connector for the N205 cam adjuster valve. Also unclip the clips for the fat loom that runs beneath the cover


Pull off the vacuum connector on the front of the cover. This is quite stubborn but it will pull straight off.




Remove the bracket from below the cover. T30 Torx


Undo the 7x T30 torx bolts holding on the cam chain cover. All bolts are black. Do not undo the silver bolt at the bottom by accident.


Note. You will need the 100mm torx bits ITEM NUMBER 19 at the start of the post, you will not manage the lower bolt without these

Before we remove the cover its important to move the coolant line clear of the N205 valve. Gently bend the metal pipe upwards.


Place lots of towels down below the cover, this bit can be quite messy and its good to prevent oil spilling all over the gearbox housing.

The cam cover can now be carefully removed, pull it off as straight as possible.

Stand back and admire how well you have done.





LOCKING THE CAMS

Its a good idea to remove the plugs. Youll need a long 16mm spark plug socket.


Its a good idea to cover the cam area just to stop any dirt getting into that area.


Insert the tool T10020 into the intake cam lobe and rotate it until the notches on both cams are facing each other, the locking tool should slot in.



Now, the locking tool is a bit sh*t and there will be some play as it doesnt fit tightly between the cams. What I did was slide the locker as far back towards the exhaust cam as possible and tighten the two bolts up to 7 ftlbs

Just for extra peace of mind its worth marking the cams with a permanent marker pen. This gives you peace of mind that you have put the chain back on correctly. Mark directly on the cam, and on the cam cap right next to each other as show below. There are helpful little arrows to assist you with this.







REMOVING THE ADJUSTER AND CHAIN

OK... this is the bit you have been dreading. I woke up in cold sweats thinking about this part.

Remove the tensioner pin off the new tensioner and place it in the same hole on the old one, just to stop it exploding (see pic below)
Using the tool T40080 and a long (~600mm) 1/2" breaker bar its time to crack the adjuster bolt. You WILL need a long bar, a normal 1/2" ratchet will not be sufficient.



This will make one hell of a noise when it moves and it will require to you use a lot of force. With your right palm keep the tool in the adjuster bolt (I grabbed around the adjuster with my fingers) and with your left hand smoothly pull.... HARD!!! No sudden jerks.




You will notice that when you pull to undo the bolt the cams will very slightly move. This is why we marked them earlier. You can see that the cams have slightly moved, but no panic as they have moved the same amount.


At this point I suggest you have a break.... Once you get here you have broken the back of the job, all the hard/worrying stuff has been done.

Continuing undoing the adjuster bolt by hand with tool T10020 and remove it.

Pull off the adjuster and the chain should come off with it, just be a bit carful here so you dont damage any teeth or the adjuster (its expensive)


Now you can undo the 3x T30 torx bolts that hold on the tensioner.


Old vs New




REPLACING THE TENSIONER AND CHAIN

Bolt on the new tenstioner, and torque to 7 ftlbs (I used new bolts)


Its a good idea to give the adjuster locating hole/surface a clean. Also clean up the mating surface of the cam chain seal/gasket. Failure to do this could result in leaks.


You can see that there is a notch in the adjuster mating surface, the adjuster can only go on one way. Before we put the chain on its a good idea to offer up the adjuster and mark on the top of the adjuster with a pen so you can use this as a reference when fitting it back with the chain.


Loop the chain onto the adjuster and carefully place the other end of the chain over the intake gear. This is where the mark will come in handy as you will be able to see very quickly if you have the chain on the right link or not. It took me a few goes to get this right. You might need to very slightly rotate the intake cam clockwise to enable the adjuster to slot in correctly. Just be patient.

YOU CANNOT GET THIS BIT WRONG.... IF YOU DO, YOU WILL CAUSE CATASTROPHIC ENGINE DAMAGE. IF YOU ARE NOT SURE THEN DO NOT CONTINUE UNTIL YOU CAN GET A SECOND OPINION ON THIS

Once the new chain is on it should look something like this.


You can now remove the locking pin from the tensioner.


Insert the new adjuster bolt and tighten. This is a 2 stage tightening process.

STAGE 1
Tighten to 15 ftlbs using a torque wrench.


STAGE 2
Next is to put 1/8th turn on the bolt. If you have an angle gauge then use it to tighten to 1/8th turn (45º) and skip this bit, if you don't have one then keep reading.

Put the T40080 tool on your breaker bar. and have it in a position so that it can be rotated. I.E. not so high that you cannot tighten the bolt.

With the tool in the adjuster bolt, mark the tool and the adjuster with a marker pen. Marked 'A' below.



Remove the tool. Using the mark 'A' on the adjuster, make another mark opposite at 180º (marked 1/2). Half that and mark again at 90º marked 1/4). Half that again and mark at 45º (marked 1/8). This is mark 'B'  below.


Replace the tool and breaker bar so that 'A' on the tool aligns with 'A' on the adjuster.  Keep one hand on the socket to ensure it doesnt pop off or move. With one firm movement tighten the bolt until the line on the tool matches up with line 'B' on the adjuster like below


At this stage its a good idea to now check those marks you made on the cam shafts to check that you are timed up correctly. They do move about a bit, but it should be very very obvious if you have it wrong. Again, if you are not sure, take some pics and ask someone.

REASEMBLY

Replace the gasket on the cam chain cover and replace the cover.
Be very carful not to damage anything. Replace the 7 bolts and torque up to 7 ftlbs


Replace the bracket under the cover and clip the loom back in place.


Clip the connector back onto the N205 valve

NOTE, the photo above shows an error in the black oval. The plastic loom should run under the metal hard line, not over as in the photo below. The time to sort this out is now.

Replace the cam cover
Remove the old gasket from the cam cover and replace it with a new one. Flip the cam cover over and place on top of the cams. Its a bit tricky as the new gasket will tend to fall off, be patient. Once youve got the cover on, spend a bit of time making sure the the gasket it properly located and sat flat.

Begin to bolt down the cover, just to finger tight.


Double check the gasket.

Now torque the bolts up to 7 ftlbs following the sequence below.


Remember the 2 bolts for the cambelt cover... again 7 ftlbs


Replace the 2 rear PCV pipes.
The fat one is a pig to get back on but it will go back on. I used a jubilee clip to replace the OEM clip.


Replace the front PCV
Remember the smaller hose in the middle of the cam cover.


Replace the HPFP. Remembering to reconnect all lines and connectors.


At this stage its worth spending a bit of time with some brake cleaner and towels cleaning under the cam chain cover as you will have spilt oil on the gearbox casing. This is also good practice to monitor for any future oil leaks.

Replace the Battery


Replace your Airbox... or Intake system.

Double check that all electrical connectors are connected and the fuel lines are secure on the HPFP.

NOW.... time to take a brave pill and fire the f*cker up!!!!!!


Quick access torque specs....

Cam Adjuster Bolt --------------  Stage 1= 15 ftlbs    Stage 2=  1/8 turn
Cam Chain Tensioner Bolt  ------ 7 ftlbs
Cam Cover Bolts ----------------- 7 ftlbs
Cam Chain Cover ---------------- 7 ftlbs
HPFP Bolts ------------------------ 7 ftlbs

Basically... If in boubt.... 7 ftlbs! 



Good luck!!!!

Rich

[doylebros]

Well as an enthusiastic DIYer Rich you've got as much equipment as a professional,very nice!

I would add a bottle of tipex or a Sharpie marker, aerosol brake cleaner, telescopic mirror magnetic tray, T8 screwdriver,quality light,plenty time and a secure work area as you may need to order bits and be waiting for few days.

I hope the job goes well for you and you enjoy documenting your how to so other may benefit from your efforts.

For me VCDS readings of the relevant group numbers - before and after videos of the job would put your guide ahead of the game with list of postmortem pointers list of what I would do differently if I was doing the job again.

[stuart-88]

Im sure this'll come in handy one day! Hope it all goes well 

[rich83]

Cheers guys. Ive got most of those other things doylebros. Doing it on my drive and starting at 9 so fingers crossed I can do it in a day.

[M4T VW]

Excellent, Looking forward to this 

FYI, There are two number 8's in the picture 

[doylebros]

Excellent, Looking forward to this 

FYI, There are two number 8's in the picture 

Go straight to the top of the class this man well done 

[rich83]

Ahem...... 

[Leeroy87]

Look forward to this guide 

[M4T VW]

Ahem...... 

Nooo, You didn't have to edit the whole thing. You should have made it 8.5 

I'm joking. Nice of you to make a guide. I'm looking forward to it 

[rich83]

LMAO... i should have thought! 

[Andy]

Cheers guys. Ive got most of those other things doylebros. Doing it on my drive and starting at 9 so fingers crossed I can do it in a day.

hope the weather stays good for you Rich

[dazza]

 

Some picks could come in handy maybe a rubber mallet and pry bar. 

[rich83]

Pry bar???? 

[dazza]

Pry bar???? 

I used a small pry bar on the rocker cover after it failed to come off with tapping with the rubber mallet.

[rich83]

Cool... will see what happens