Cam Belt Question?

Col.Mastard wrote: »

My car is a Freelander (52) I got it in April 2006, never changed it myself in that time.

Does anyone know how much they cost?

have you posted your query on http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/threads.htm?f=2 someone will know for sure.

i think i will be expensive if it needs changing ie itro £500

anewman wrote: »

It's normally an expensive job as it's time consuming. I'm looking at getting a timing chain done (the equivalent to a cam belt on my engine) and quotes range from £160 to £200 - but parts and gaskets etc come to around £30 so I am considering trying it myself with some help from a haynes manual.

The damage caused by not changing the belt can cost a whole lot more than the cost to change it, possibly sometimes making the car not economically viable to repair meaning a new car is needed.

A timing chain shouldn't need changing ! What are they doing for the money ?

A quote from Honest John's website from someone with a Cam chain fitted car:-

"The cam chain was a grey area at the dealers in fact the first 6 or 7 invoices presented for service itemised a charge for checking the cam belt, I became weary at pointing out it had a chain not a belt when getting this taken off the bill. One service receptionist inisted blind it had a belt and that it had been checked Ahem.,"

Ok timing CHAINS do not tend to snap like a timing belt... you'll know when it's nearing it's time for a change as it'll get noisy because the chain is worn and getting loose and thus rattling because it isn't snug... this doesn't happen over night and as a rule they last a LOT longer than timing belts...
Timing BELTS... For my car (MX-5 mk1) the recommendation is every 60,000 miles. However the mk1 has a non-interference engine which means if I snap a cam belt it won't cause the pistons and valves to collide and thus practically render my engine irrepairable... (It can be dangerous though if say you're over taking on the motorway as you loose all power and your powersteering goes too... try handling that beggar with no power steering and no engine at all... not fun even when you're being towed let alone if you are on the motorway or overtaking say a lorry on a road... So don't take the fact it's a non-interference engine as a green card to not get it changed!)
However check manufacturers recommendations for how often your cam belt should be changed and if it's near that time and you're not sure if it's been done then better safe than sorry... What's £500 compared to a full engine rebuild or replacement in an interference engine

edited to add... I've just realised just how blooming sad I am... I'm a 27 year old blonde girl and I feel I know FAR too much about cars and engines... Wasted youth me thinks... Have to add this doesn't stop me pulling the "I'm a woman and a blonde and I know nothing about cars..." card if I need to hihi

Al_Mac wrote: »

That's not what VW said to me in March:D

VW may be a slightly different case as they have suffered a spate of failures before the recomended change. They fitted poor quality tensioners for a while which were failing, and in turn causing the belt to wear and snap. For some VW models the handbook states 60K changes, but VW are advising that they be changed at 40K for certain engines manufactured between certain dates.