Hi Ed I just had my timing belt (tensioner, rollers, cam seals), water pump, thermostat, serpentine belt, tensioner, and rollers replaced by a very good independent for $2300 on my 04 with 78K miles. The belt that came off showed no degradation and looked fine but I feel a lot better having it done.
If you happen to need the timing belt, tensioner, water pump, oil cooler, thermostat housing, thermostat etc i have literally all of it brand new including the gates racing timing belt, all has literally 0 miles.
I have the gates racing Kevlar belt and I has given me no issues, there is no uneven belt wear or signs of damage and its been about 20k since I changed it
Gates T306rb for 16v aba or abf
I'm sold on the Gates Racing kevlar belts, seems like cheap insurance for $30-40 extra.
Part of the reason I run a Gates racing belt with the manual tensioner (dynamics of the belt). I'm a good 30K miles deep with this set up and the belt hasn't needed a single adjustment. I trust it just fine.
You can actually buy the parts from the VW dealer for about $300; that's a kit with the belt, tensioner, and roller, plus a water pump and thermostat added separately. I've always had good luck with original parts, so that's what I've used.
It's a great belt. Do it. As to noise, it's no more noiser than stock (aka not much noise at all)
Mine goes naked, too. I got the fancy replacement kit from a vendor that supplied a pretty blue Gates belt. After I got it all together and running for a while I read of the horrors of Gates belts and the carnage that comes with failure. So, it goes naked and gets a look over each time the hood is open. That my reasoning.
My original timing belt assy failed at 87,0000 miles at just over 8 years. I think it might have been the tensioner failing that actually caused it. Luckily alll I had to do was pay for the timing belt replacement and VW covered the head replacement.
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