Transit Timing Belt

Davesnave

My wife has a 1993 2.5 Ford Transit turbo diesel ('banana engine') which she now uses as a runabout, so it doesn't do many miles. Indeed, it's only done about 7.5k since the last cam belt change in Novermber 2004. The bodywork has started to deteriorate, but we can get the old dear through the MoT one more time and expect a year's reliable service thereafter. After that....well, we won't go there!

My question is: is it worth changing the cam belt? Ford used to recommend 5 Years or 50k/miles as the interval, but now our mechanic is saying he's heard they've reduced it to 4 years. Having done so little mileage and knowing that the van has a limited life span of a year, I'm loathe to part with the £240 he's quoting. (seems high?) We do a few longer trips in it, but am I wrong in thinking that, for us, the cost versus risk is weighted in favour of doing nothing?

Conor_3

The thing is, it's not just the mileage. It's a rubber belt and the rubber degrades over time.

At best it's a £800 or so van so yeah, I think the cost versus risk is weighted in your favour especially given the low mileage

goldspanners

Davesnave wrote: »

I'm loathe to part with the £240 he's quoting. (seems high?) We do a few longer trips in it, but am I wrong in thinking that, for us, the cost versus risk is weighted in favour of doing nothing?

£240 is a bit much,the transit is a fairly easy belt to do,remove grill and radiator and your right in there.
try and get it a bit lower,i would be hoping around the £170 mark.
worst case scenario is the belt snaps,this doesnt have a collision head so it shouldnt damage anything if it goes,maybe bend a conrod or 2.

mickamike404

Dave you are being ripped off, I had a cambelt changed on a Nreg
not long ago,and it cost me £40 from a small garage.
I got the belt from Fords for about £30 but a aftermarket one cost
about £14, in your case id go for the cheaper one if its only for 12 mths
but if your only doing a few thousant miles on top of the 7k it should be
plenty good enough. For Transit owners here is a very good to be on
you will find it very helpfull Click on this Link. http://fordtransit.org/forum/

hewhoisnotintheknow

surely if your only ygoing to keep it for another year its worth risking it?

Conor_3

mickamike404 wrote: »

Dave you are being ripped off, I had a cambelt changed on a Nreg
not long ago,and it cost me £40 from a small garage.

Oh. Dear. So that'll be belt only then. Hope the tensioner and pulleys are OK....especially as they're a very common cause of cambelt failure if they're not changed as per mftrs recommendations.

Davesnave

Thanks for the replies. The garage owner is a personal friend who's serviced our vehicles very economically for over 30 years, so I must admit the price came as a shock....unless of course DW misheard.(Always a possibility as she is number dyslexic.) Anyway, the mechanic himself has suggested leaving it for now, until we know what we are doing with the van next year. We could be moving, and it is the only thing that will pull our trailer, in which case we might just have it done (at a haggled price.)

Thanks for the Ford forum link. We also get 'the red light of death' if we over -rev the turbo, so I'll have a look on there!

jeannieblue

Conor wrote: »

Oh. Dear. So that'll be belt only then. Hope the tensioner and pulleys are OK....especially as they're a very common cause of cambelt failure if they're not changed as per mftrs recommendations.

A cam belt change for £40??

Yeah right...

OP - get a cam belt kit - your choice whether you use genuine or not (but don't go too cheap, its not worth it).

£240 for the job done? Inc. Vat? Inc. cam belt kit? Think thats not a bad deal.

Agree with Conor - make sure it is the whole kit, not just the belt. And think that it is worth spending that out if you get a few more years life out of the old girl.