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2.5 Timing Chain Jumped - Need Help

51K views 51 replies 23 participants last post by  killerbunny 
#1 ·
2005.5 Jetta 2.5 timing chain recently jumped. The exhaust is off 50 degrees according to the dealer who wants 2700-5600 to fix.
I have the engine apart am about to pop off the timing cover to replace the tensioner, but do not know where the timing marks are to locate TDC. I looked on the crank and do not see any marks. I do soo a small viewable space at the flywheel from under the car. Does anyone know where these marks are located? If so, how do you rotate the crank on this engine? there is no large nut in the middle of the crank pully.
If I can get that far I will also be graciously asking how to locate the cam timing as well. Any info would be extremely helpful.
A little about me - I am new to this forum, but spend a lot of time on the dodgecharger forum, as I am restoring a 69 charger. The VW is my newly wed wifes car, and I am very new to VW myself. I know how helpful the other forums are and the expertise of the users, which is why I am asking for your help. Thanks and glad to be a part of your group!
Matt


Modified by 2005.5jetta2.5 at 9:25 AM 3-5-2010
 
#2 ·
Re: 2.5 Timing Chain Jumped - Need Help (2005.5jetta2.5)

Just curious, how many miles on the car?
The timing chain job can get really complicated really fast. You may need to pull the whole engine out to get it done. The only source with step by step instructions is the Bentley repair CD. The printed repair manual does not have timing chain information.
http://www.bentleypublishers.c....html
 
#4 ·
Re: (mcsdude23)

Thanks for the info guys. As it turns out, I am going to pull the engine. It appears to have valve damage, so I need to do some pretty extensive work.
Now for the next question.... Does anyone know if it is better to take the engine/trans combo out from the top or bottom? Looks tight from the top, and the bottom looks like the front cross member may need to be moved. Does anyone know of any tricks to wiggle it in and out without having to take off things like the exhaust manifold or the master cylinder?
 
#5 ·
Re: (2005.5jetta2.5)

Quote, originally posted by 2005.5jetta2.5 »
Thanks for the info guys. As it turns out, I am going to pull the engine. It appears to have valve damage, so I need to do some pretty extensive work.
Now for the next question.... Does anyone know if it is better to take the engine/trans combo out from the top or bottom? Looks tight from the top, and the bottom looks like the front cross member may need to be moved. Does anyone know of any tricks to wiggle it in and out without having to take off things like the exhaust manifold or the master cylinder?

Yeah I suppose if the timing was off that bad it could cause interference. I don't know if this works on the MkV, but on some older VWs like the B5 Passat you could take off the whole front of the car (radiator, bumper, etc) and move out the engine that way. Being a relatively new car, I don't know of anyone here who has pulled an engine out.
Oh and how many miles are on the car?
 
#6 ·
Re: (classicjetta)

I wouldnt be opposed to removing the front if I knew how to get it off! Not sure if there are any supports that cannot be removed.
Looks like it might come out the top if the engine was turned while lifting. Hoping someone has done this car before.
The Jetta has just over 100,000 miles. Its a shame since my wife just made her final payment last month!
 
#7 ·
Re: (2005.5jetta2.5)

100k and the timing chain "jumped"(failed)?
holy crap. that doesn't inspire confidence. what is the recommended service interval for timing chain maintenance?
or do you just wait till it fails? seems like they should go longer than 100k.
 
#10 ·
Re: (DUSlider)

easier to take the front end off. not too hard. then the motor come straight out the front. once front end is off, unbolt the downpipe, dogbone mount and axles, the coolant hoses and engine harness. then the final thing is the 2 side moutns and its ready to be pulled(cliffnotes of engine pulling haha)
any idea why the chain skipped? sounds wierd. as you said, mostly bent valves because of it.
 
#11 ·
Re: (nothing-leaves-stock)

Never thought to check into insurance, but at this point I have it pretty torn apart. I guess I am in it for the long haul. Didnt know ins. might pick that up...
The tech and a few others we talked to said the timing chain jumped most likely because of the tensioner. They said especially with the 2005, they have seen the tensioner prematurely wear out. Maybe due to grit in the castings.... In any case, the chain should be good for a lifetime, but if the tensioner leaves too much slack the chain can jump a tooth or two,
I will try taking off the front clip as advised. Will keep you updated and put up a few picks of the project.
 
#12 ·
Re: (2005.5jetta2.5)

This "issue" with the 2.5 (stories are becoming more and more common) is starting to frighten me. I have an '06 which is right around 70k miles and the chain has been progressively getting noisier and noisier especially while cold.
Will definitely have it checked out at my next service appointment.
 
#15 ·
Re: (mk1vw)

Car purchased new with ~22 miles on the odo. All oil changes have been synthetic 5W-40, initially I followed the 10k intervals but went to 5k intervals around 50k when the chain started getting noisier. I knew some noise would be typical however it is getting to the point I can hear it slapping around while sitting in the drive through after ~5 minutes of driving after cold start.
Not going into panic mode however timing chain problems seem to becoming more frequent as the oldest MKV's are starting to get to 100k mile mark. I would rather start planning financially now for possible major engine work than get hit with having to buy a new engine.
 
#16 ·
Re: 2.5 Timing Chain Jumped - Need Help (2005.5jetta2.5)

Matt, I just completed a motor swap on my sons girlfriends 2005.5 jetta 2.5. It had 128,000 miles on the odometer and the timing chain jumped. I picked up a junk-yard motor with only 20k minus the bolt ons, starter, alternator, etc. for 450.00. this made more sense than replacing the chain and tensioners on the old motor and with the cost of vw tools added in it was probably cheaper! I would strongly recommend a bentley manual.
I removed the engine and tranny together from the bottom of the car. I jacked the car up to about 27 inches from the front bumper to the floor. I lowered the engine with my hoist onto a four wheeled dolly. by removing the front bumper and wheel well inner fenders (not hard to do), I had enough room to slide the motor out thru the passenger wheel well. you could also move the windshield washer reservoir to get a little more room if needed. note:The exhaust manifold was attached but the intake was removed.
It probably sounds more difficult than it was. I am not a professional mechanic, but if you use the manual and alot of patience and many hours....it can be done. good luck! let us know how goes.
 
#17 ·
Re: 2.5 Timing Chain Jumped - Need Help (bopell)

Thanks for the info bopell. It does look like it will fit. I am taking the same route as you. I have a junkyard engine with 25k miles coming Tuesday. For $700, I couldn’t come close to the head work that would need to be done. They warranty the engine fully for 90 days, so I would be out my time if it a junker.
The car was regularly maintained by VW at the standard intervals. This incident may have been preventable and I do take some blame. My only advice if I had it to do all over is this:
We have had problems with the coil packs going out twice. This last time seemed no different than the bad coil pack in the past, so I told my wife it should be ok - not to worry. She drove the car a few days with this condition which actually ran fine once you got it to 1500 rpms. My guess is the chain jumped 1 tooth and the engine could still perform reasonably decent. After time the chain probably jumped 2-3 teeth when if finally popped. The techs said the exhaust cam was the culprit. You live and learn.... Hopefully if this happens to someone else they will catch it before there is head damage. If the chain jumped 1 tooth and we caught it, it would have most likely been a $700 job to replace the top tensioner/chain.
 
#18 ·
Re: (pezzy84)

Quote, originally posted by pezzy84 »
This "issue" with the 2.5 (stories are becoming more and more common) is starting to frighten me.

Bear in mind that in this type of a forum, you only hear about problems. There could be 5-10 people who have problems and it seems like a common issue, yet there are thousands upon thousands of other people who have had no issues. When was the last time you saw a post saying "my engine is running perfectly, just thought you guys should know"?
 
#21 ·
yes this is the weak point. the cam gears on the 2.5 do NOT have a slot and key like one would hope. this is due to the VVT i believe. i have heard of other 2.5's haveing the cam gear rotate on them and thus the valves hit the pistons and bent valves result. the way the cam gear is held in place is just by the torque of the bolt that connects it to cam.
 
#24 ·
i couldn't believe it either. my 2007 2.5 auto is right at 75k. no engine problems to speak off but the transmission does act a tiny bit funny sometimes. not like fall out of gear or anything just a tad bit off. but back to the cam gear turning. we had a rabbit come in the shop i used to work at and we dynoed the car after some performance modifications, well these mods messed with the timing chain and i forget if it dropped the oil pressure or just messed up the trigonometry of the chain ( a spacer was added to the tensioner as well as a longer chain and head gasket spacer, but in any case it ran ok on the dyno but as soon as it was pulled off and shut down (oil pressure dropped), the next time we turned the car on the valves started hitting the pistons and just did work on the head. I felt really bad for this guy and his car. i think his bill to fix the valves, cut the valve seats, make sure the head was good, and with parts and labor, bill came out to 2500ish. and thats just getting the car running again, no more upgrades went in to that.
 
#25 ·
Re: (markfif)

installation went wrong then....
other headspacer cars are 100% fine.
yes andre is right...there is NO keyway on the cam gears. you set timing with special cam lock tool and torque the gear triple box to the correct torque and your good...these aren't mk1 rabbit anymore that you can fix with a hammer and screwdriver.....
we have not had one 2.5L in the shop for a "problem" always for upgrades. IMO this is a great motor and love to continue to work and develope things on our car. as said before, you only hear about the bad problems on here and really there hasn't been a lot of reports on these on the negitive side.
 
#26 ·
Re: 2.5 Timing Chain Jumped - Need Help (2005.5jetta2.5)

How did your chain skip? and what were the symptoms? I just bought a 2.5 and it has a skweeking fan belt like it is loose but i put a new one on and it still makes the sound? is this a tensor on its way out ?
 
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