What's Wrong With The Stock Tensioner?
All 058 1.8T 20V engines are factory equipped with a hydraulic style timing belt tensioner. This hydraulic tensioner has a gas-charged piston that provides tension on the tensioner roller, designed to increase/decrease tension automatically. Unfortunately, this design has been a constant source of complete timing failure and one of the weakest links on the 1.8T platform. The piston arm on the tensioner is sealed with an under-spec o ring that commonly wears out, cracks, rots, or leaks leading to the instant discharge of the hydraulic fluid resulting in complete engine failure. Many of the available non-OE tensioners worsen this issue further with cheaper components, lack of quality control, bad tolerances, and awful surface imperfections that further lead to rapid degradation of the hydraulic o ring.
Save Your Engine From Timing Failure!
The IE Manual Timing Tensioner Kit is designed to give you timing confidence by completely replacing the 1.8T timing belt tension system with performance-minded parts. This two-part timing solution includes a new in-house CNC machined aluminum idler bracket that replaces the hydraulic piston assembly. The auto-adjusting tensioner is then replaced with a traditional style manual tensioner. This tensioner is set to proper timing belt tension and tightened securely into place. This setup is proven on many street and race applications and is used by VW/Audi 2.0T FSI successors after the 1.8T engine was discontinued.
Check Your Timing Often
The IE manual timing belt tensioner is a much more reliable timing upgrade over the stock hydraulic setup, however, this is a performance timing setup designed for performance engines and requires maintenance to ensure proper long-term operation of your timing system. Timing belts tend to "stretch-in" after installation, IE recommends you check your belt tension often (every oil change) and adjust if necessary. Timing belts may also increase/decrease in size minimally during seasonal temperature changes, always check tension and adjust as necessary during heavy temperature fluctuations.
Follow Factory Timing Intervals
Although the IE manual timing belt kit is an upgrade over the OE setup, be sure to follow the factory timing belt replacement intervals. The timing belt and manual tensioner unit at a minimum must be replaced during scheduled maintenance intervals to maintain reliable and safe operation.
