ARP-058-01
The crank damper and timing belt gear interface is one of the most sensitive issues with the 1.8T engine in performance applications. This interface does not have a high safety factor from the factory, and when combined with higher RPM, it can often fail. The loss of timing often causes massive destruction, either bending valves or worse, breaking them off and destroying the valves, head or pistons. Recently, Integrated Engineering has spent significant time working to improve this interface. We have launched dowel pin kits which allow the installation of a high strength alloy steel dowel pin to prevent rotation of the joint in the event that friction is overcome. Also, we have collaborated with ARP to produce this aerospace grade fastener which allows a higher clamping load on the timing belt pulley to be used. This ensures that the joint will not slip and shear the keyway. In addition, these high-quality fasteners are far more consistent than the factory pieces. The factory bolts are frequently quite beat up because they are shipped loosely without thread protection- this can lead to erratic clamping loads.
