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The second-generation Volkswagen Amarok, launched in 2022 to 2023, is a Ford Ranger underneath. It came out of the VW and Ford partnership: Ford got VW’s electric platform for its European Explorer and Capri, and VW got the Ranger platform for the Amarok and the Transit for its new Transporter. The engines are Ford’s too. The 2.3 “TSI” petrol is the 2.3 EcoBoost, and the popular 2.0 “TDI” diesel is really Ford’s 2.0 EcoBlue.
A workshop in the UK recently worked on a 2024 Amarok 2.0 diesel that had covered 100,000 km (about 62,000 miles) in a single year of hard work use.
A big job just to look
To inspect the timing belt and the oil pump belt, the mechanics had to strip most of the front axle: the steering rack, the front differential oil and the drive shafts. Only then could the oil pan come off.
The first surprise was in the oil pickup: textile fibres collecting on the screen and starting to restrict oil flow. It is the same symptom known from Ford’s 1.0 EcoBoost three-cylinder engines. Both use a timing belt that runs in oil. Over time the belt reacts with the oil, and with the fuel that ends up in it after cold starts, and starts to disintegrate.
After one year, the Amarok’s timing belt was already shedding fibres. The shorter oil pump belt, made of the same material, was in the same state. The engine was caught just before real damage.
The repair
- New timing belt, oil pump belt and timing cover, ordered from Ford (same parts, same-day delivery, cheaper than the VW-branded ones).
- Oil pickup cleaned. The mechanic showed how to apply sealant so it does not squeeze into internal oil passages.
- The new oil pan arrived warped and had to be replaced again.
- The old oil and the air filter were in poor condition, another sign that very long service intervals do not help.
The workshop’s warning also applies to owners of the new VW Transporter with the same Ford diesel, even if the badge says TDI.
You can see the whole job in the video below. Automatically translated subtitles can be turned on in the player settings.
Amarok or Ranger owners
In North America the Ranger is sold with the 2.3 EcoBoost and the 2.7 and 3.0 EcoBoost V6, not this diesel. But the platform, the front axle work and the oil service are shared. The factory repair manual for your truck has the timing belt inspection and replacement procedure, the front axle and steering rack removal, sealant application points and every torque value.
Our manuals are the manufacturer’s own service information for your VIN, delivered as a PDF with working hyperlinks: click a step in the index, or a connector in a wiring diagram, and you go straight to it. No scanned pages, no guessing.
