Volkswagen: vw passat timing belt, oil sludge, vw passat

Question
The timing belt on my daughters 1991 Passat broke at 120000 miles. how do i line up everything, i see the mark on the housing, but nothing on the gear. will there be any damage to valves, etc.

Answer
Hi Phil,

It's hard to tell if there was any valve damage.  If she did not hear a loud 'clank' of any type when this occurred, you should be ok.

In order to line up the timing belt, you need to look for dot-like impressions on both the upper and lower gears.  They would be on the side, indented into the correct teeth for alignment.

If you have any problem locating these 'dots' make sure the gears are very clean, sometimes grease/oil sludge masks them.

Ron