If I still had the 16V, Rustbuster would be handing over that belt and into that car it would be going. Would be happy to be the guinea pig on this subject/thread.
I thought of this thread tonight when I was considering eating some natural yoghurt that that been in the fridge open for longer than the suggested 3 days. I chanced it anyway, wish me luck
As someone's said already, VW don't male their own belts. I always run Gates and never had a problem (they best you can buy imho). Genuine Ducati belts are made by Gates in UK. Just because it has VW printed on it doesn't mean they made it..
I was reading a thread on corrado.net this morning by a few members who had spent a small fortune on New Old Stock VDO fuel pumps for their VR6 corrados and thought about this thread and the "blanket" statement idea I often hear about NOS/OEM old gear is better/worth a premium. Yes it is better than chinesium rubbish however I also knew a guy that hunted down NOS stock at great cost purely because it was NOS and he didn't factor in any other logic. Anyway these £400+ fuel pumps were bought and it turns out all of them have fatigue cracking in the plastic body as they are so old. A newly manufactured Lucas version can be had for £40 it seems that would be the most sensible buy being a decent brand imo.
You'll maybe remember us talking about NOS on the MK2OC, you were in the market for a replacement grille? For me nothing's changed, still think it's a double edged sword. Quite often newer doesn't necessarily mean better and if you can get a superior item, even it's decades old and still useable that's brilliant. Sometimes though, as was possibly true of the original grille they likely weren't made that better at all. Plastics and molding technology has moved on quite a bit in 30 odd years. No secret I like Zender stuff, about 10 years ago there was a NOS 3-piece rear spoiler doing the rounds. Each time it repeatedly sold, it'd reappear a while later with an even higher price tag. It'd become a sort of currency some thought they'd invest / trade in. For me the problem with that is, it increasingly becomes a victim of its own success and if you were ever to use it, it's by definition no longer NOS. Bit like having your cake and not being able to eat it. Like I said back then, if I'd paid an arm and a leg for a grille I'd be constantly worried about leaving the car unattended or even a stone flying up. Anyhow each to their own and why you want or don't rate NOS is as equally valid... I have no issues with why someone buys or doesn't buy something, but as you say, like most things there's pros and cons that need considering.
Yep i guess the old say "they don't make them like they used to" applies to NOS stuff as well. Not always but the premium charged can be eye watering. Yes on the mk2 I ended up buying a Driver grille for £40 and painted the red strip on. Best solution for me as I got an original manufactured part for a fair price.
I was browsing parts last night for my Mk2 Golf and some bits were just silly money. Fair play to anyone prepared to pay it but not for me!.
Yeah, I was looking for mk2 sunroof arms, hol fc%*King hell some people are just taking the proverbial
I've just had to shell out 3 figures for a set of stainless ones for mine considering they were 7.50 a side when you could get them froms VW thats a much! If you want a set thats the going rate, no one is going to sell a set for a tenner when they are changing hands for 8-10 times that
From this link, we find the supporting evidence that. 'Exposed surfaces are attacked first' Which debunks Tristan's key point that harms isn't visible on the outside. It is attacked first and therefore cracks first, which means this NOS cambelt's condition can be judged visually.
Jesus. From Dunlop, who know a couple of things about Rubber. "Ozone occurs naturally in the upper atmosphere. At high altitude, it acts as a protective shield by absorbing harmful ultraviolet rays. However, at low altitude, the ozone itself becomes a pollutant. Exposure to ozone increases the acidity of carbon black surfaces and causes reactions to take place within the molecular structure of the rubber. This has several consequences such as a surface cracking and a decrease in the tensile strength of the rubber" I'm out now.
Tristan didn't deliver this is as a thesis nor did he proclaim himself as a global expert on the adverse affects of ozone on certain materials. Let's chillax - As I said previously, if I had a valver and provided that the belt was stored properly and not exposed to excessive heat/cold/moisture/sunlight then I would be prepared to place the belt on and test it out. That is my decision and opinion on this, no one else's. Let's just leave it at that - we can all do whatever we want.
As long as we all cool that cracking occurs on outside first then we are all good. Which Tristan's latest quote also reinforces. What choices someone makes following this is up to them really.
DVSA are clamping down on old tyres, won't be long before they bring cars into it as well. I have set of Eagle F1's that had less than a thousand miles on when I laid my Golf up, they'll be getting replaced before it's driven again. https://www.gov.uk/government/publi...for-good-vehicles-buses-coaches-and-minibuses
Rather than stress about aged tyres if any organisations want to make the roads safer they should clamp down on fcukwit in leased golf R overtaking a line of cars on the wrong side of the road in a 30 zone as I'm pretty certain that kind of thing is endangering more lives than the set of toyos on my mk2 thats used a handful of times a year
Of course if my theory testing didn't work out and the engine decided to self-destruct at high speed on a busy thoroughfare and send bits of itself everywhere then I would find myself in this position:
So just to conclude, my new belt arrived which is a Gates belt the same as the genuine VW supplied belt. The new one has no expiration date anywhere on the box nor the belt itself which I think is interesting. So I guess potentially, the “new” one could even be older than the date expired “old” belt I already had, depending how long the supplier has had it on the shelf. Another point is the expired belt is in an air tight plastic package where as the new one is just in a box. See photos above pics. Lastly, when removed the used belt that’s to be replaced from the car and inspected it although it’s the same age as the date expired belt ( I bought them at the same time) it had absolutely no signs of wear or cracking or damage of any kind, it had only covered about 8000 miles. Just thought it may be of interest. Anyway for peace of mind I fitted the “new” belt and karma is hopefully balanced.
