Hey guys thanks for looking at my question,
VW Passat 2003 1.9 TDI 155,000 miles engine: AWX, manual transmission.
Timing belt tension indicator vibrating by 1 to 1.5mm. The indicator is located at the water pump as that's where the tension is sett. There is a little window and a pointer. You set the belt tension by putting pressure on a bolt on the water pump until the pointer is in the middle of the window, then tighten a bolt to hold it in place.
The pointer is vibrating left to right by about 1 to 1.5mm. Does this indicate a failing / failed harmonic balancer? Am I risking engine / transmission damage? It may hhave been doing this for tens of thousands of miles, I only noticed it after checking the timing belt tension which I haven't done in a long time.
Cheers!
My motto for interference timing belt engines like yours is when in doubt, change the timing belt. I don't know when was the last time you changed the timing belt, but if it's been a while, you should definitely do it as you'll destroy the engine if you don't fix it and the belt fails.
Thanks for your reply Venator. I put a Gates timing belt on it at 110k, from what I've read they should last at least 60k so still another 20k left on it; unless the vibration on the belt tension is causing excess wear. The belt still looks good though.