so this is what it looks, what roller are we talking about ?

 

lol i am glad that i live in california my engine had no rust when i did my timing belt job. looking at all the rust and the condition of everything in there, just get a timing belt kit and replace all the parts you get (roller, tensioner, belt) and also get the thermostat and the waterpump. btw is this the 1.8t engine?

 

thats the thing, the belt is top notch, looks like it was recently changed, the water was leaking so thats all i need to change.

 

It's a 2.8. The idler roller is the one directly below the black pulley in the center. BTW don't think for a minute that you can take it off to loosen the belt and then manage to put it back on with the tensioner on there.

Replace.
The.
Entire.
Timing.
System.

 

when i did my waterpump change cuz it was leaking, the timing belt seemed to be perfect condition too but it was time to replace it as it had over 80k on it. i am just saying, if you dont have any records of when the timing belt was last replaced then you should replace it now anyways. oh and i have never heard of anyone replacing just the timing belt or just the waterpump. it is always done together, so if your waterpump is failing that means your belt is also due.

 

Screw the appearance of the belt - it's more often the tensioner that fails. I don't know how else to spell it out so I'll stop saying it now. Reuse it at your engine's risk and best of luck reassembling it.

 

thats weird, i also have the 2.8 and when i did the job i didnt have that wall thing in the way.

 

That's the core support. He didn't put the car in service position.