Dr. G! Cambelt and Aircon

[vapourtrail]

DR.G you may know the answer to these - and the rest of you!

Ref. an 08 plate Mk 5 Gti with full VW service history and mid-40's K miles. Its being prepped following sale at a franchised (but non-VW) dealer. They need to fix the aircon which isn't operating and change the cambelt due to it being over 5 years old (advice from my local VW dealer is cambelt change at 80k miles or 4 years). I was considering having a reduction in price by saying I would have the cambelt sorted by me after the sale because I've heard that the follower on the cams is chain driven (although it has a cambelt) so, if it was to let go, it wouldn't result in 16 valves through the head; is this true? Or would it be as terminal as with a normal cambelt failure?

The aircon not functioning is, I know, a common Mk 5 fault, so could be a leak somewhere, or could need a new compressor etc. At the last service the VW dealer tried to regas the aircon, but found a leak (which I guess the previous owner didn't want to fix because they were about to sell it). What is the usual fix for this? New pipes etc or just find the leak and seal? Would a short term fix patching the leak result in problems later?

Cheers

VT

[vapourtrail]

Thanks guys. Really useful info there. I'll be speaking to the dealer in the next few days to get a collection date. They said they'd resolve both as part of their minimum standards before I drive it away, so I'm just concerned as to how they will address it. I guess doing the cambelt is a great (but they probably won't do the water pump the same time). I'd be impressed if they properly fix the aircon issue, if it isn't simply a leaky O ring. I guess having it properly fixed under goodwill by VW is something I could hope for, if the problems rematerialize.

[vapourtrail]

So the latest is that they have diagnosed the aircon fault as a faulty pressure switch, which thy are replacing, along with the obvious regas. The cambelt will be replaced with genuine VW parts; despite it being a non-VW dealer that I bought it from, they do have VW dealers in their network, so they have been liaising with them for advice and parts. They are only doing what they are obliged to do - unfortunately the water pump isn't included. I'd get it done myself if it was me doing it! It comes with their own dealer warranty for 6 months, so if the a\c goes again I can have it sorted. Will be watching it like a hawk over the winter!