Engine not starting properly when hot etc. 1990 Volkswagen

[Guest]

Hello!

Great to have a site like this. Hopefully I get my answer too. I have an old 1990 Passat wagon and I'm not so familiar with the car yet. I was wondering:

- Does it have disc or drum brakes behind? I can't see any discs behind even if my dealer says it has brake PADS.

- Where is the water temperature sensor located? I believe this makes the car start worse when hot, or? Also jerks a bit on lower rpm's when cold.

- What's the proper coolant temperature when the engine is at normal running temperature (meter reading on dashboard). It's about 75 Celsius, when I suppose it should be near 85 C to 90 C. I quess you have Fahrenheits, but it doesn't matter.

- How often should I change the timing belt? It doesn't specify any in the manual but I guess it's about 60 000 miles?

Thanks in advance!!

Jonas

[hushklein]

this is what i get from my research when i got the problem on my volkswagen. i am thinking if this would be a good advise for the volkswagen repair. all right quoted from other forum and i guess there's no need of replacing of new volkswagen parts.
A couple of thoughts-

First, as mentioned if you can find a local group it would help you immensely. As you will see, there are a couple of tools that you need. If you were here in the states I'd be happy to loan all of them to you, so maybe there might be someone local who has them. I'll have a few more thoughts at the end of this post as well.

Having said that, I am going to post the instructions here. to make a long story short I had to use the page source so hopefully the HTML formatting will transfer over, otherwise you are on your own as I'm not going to pull out any more hair trying to get it more readable!

Anyway:

Diesel Engines

Some special tools are required. A flat bar, VW tool no. 2065A, is used to
secure the camshaft in position. A pin, VW tool no. 2064, is used to fix the
pump position while the timing belt is removed. The camshaft and pump work against
spring pressure and will move out of position when the timing belt is removed.
It is not difficult to find substitutes but do not remove the timing belt without
these tools.

NOTE: Do not turn the engine or camshaft with the timing belt
removed. The pistons will contact the valves and cause internal engine damage.



Disconnect the negative battery cable and remove the accessory drive belts,
crankshaft pulley and the timing belt cover(s). Remove the camshaft cover
and rubber plug at the back end of the camshaft.
Temporarily reinstall the crankshaft pulley bolt and turn the crankshaft
to TDC of No. 1 piston. The mark on the camshaft sprocket should be aligned
with the mark on the inner timing belt cover or the edge of the cylinder head.
With the engine at TDC, insert the bar into the slot at the back of the
camshaft. The bar rests on the cylinder head to will hold the camshaft in
position.
Insert the pin into the injection pump drive sprocket to hold the pump in
position.
Loosen the locknut on the tensioner pulley and turn the tensioner counterclockwise
to relieve the tension on the timing belt. Slide the timing belt from the
sprockets.

To install:
Install the new timing belt and adjust the tension so the belt can be twisted
45 degrees at a point between the camshaft and pump sprockets. Torque the
tensioner nut to 33 ft. (45 Nm).
Remove the holding tools.
Turn the engine 2 full revolutions to return to TDC of No. 1 piston. Recheck
belt tension and timing mark alignment, readjust as required.
Install the belt cover and accessory drive belts.
If the belt is too tight, there will be a growling noise that rises and
falls with engine speed.



Anyway, having said that, the 2 tools you need are pretty simple to make out of wood. One is just a rod and one is a flat bar. If you CANNOT find the actual tools locally let me know and I'll take measurements and some pics of what they look like and you'll be able to make up your own in just a few minutes.

Hope that helps!