Wheres the aux belt?

1.8 GTI K-Jet…..

3 belts on the vehicle - fanbelt, cambelt, assuming the last one is the aux belt.

How do you tighten or replace this aux belt?

Thanks

if its got 3 belts then you have power steering?
no such thing as a fanbelt, its an old term.

timing belt, alternator/waterpump belt (can be called aux belt) and last of all power steering belt

no power steering on the old girl….

Read somewhere that tightening the aux belt could improve idle - looking to find out which belt aux is, and how to tighten.

the belts are on the driver side of the engine, alternator belty is easy to adjust, loosen 2 13mm bolts on top, and an allen key at the bottom of the alt. its accessible thru a hole in the timing belt cover, or you may have to take the uppewr cover off completly to get to it.

set the tension so theres 5mm of deflection.  i doubt it will improve your idle though unless its way loose or tight!

na, its the alternator belt, must be the timing belt

right, pretty easy to adjust that. take upper timing belt cover off and you'll see the belt and tensioner. twist the belt at the front, should be able to get a 90 degree twist to it. if belt looks worn, or you dont know when it was last done think about replacing it.

G-Ride said

Read somewhere that tightening the aux belt could improve idle - looking to find out which belt aux is, and how to tighten.

Where did you read this (do you have a link to another forum?) and did it definitely relate to the Mk1 Golf? The golf doesn't have an 'aux' belt, at least its not normally called this, so I am wondering whether its for a different car.

Its possible that the advice on poor starting related to checking the cam timing, ie the cambelt might have slipped a tooth.

The alternator/water pump belt wouldn't affect starting directly, although it might have an indirect effect if it was so loose to slip all the time, not spin the alternator and allow the battery to run flat.

yeah it was on this site, infact if you search 'aux belt' the term is used in a few threads. I wasnt familiar with the name, which is what sparked this thread.

Yeah, its not the alternator belt, which would leave only the timing belt.

Ill try and dig the thread out.

Just did a search but 18 matches including this thread, came up. I tried a few but couldn't find the obvious one.

Its the cam belt aka timing belt, if you search on either of these terms, you should be able to find a thread which details how to check the cam timing. Incorrect cam timing would affect general running, as well as starting, though.

excellent guide in the howto section
http://www.vwgolfmk1.org.uk/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=40352