Does my cambelt need changing now? 74,000 miles

jd82

KillerWatt wrote: »

Not all engines use the water pump as the cambelt tensioner, I suspect folk here are saying change the water pump at the same time as it is very easy to do when the cambelt is being done due to already being part stripped.

I thought the clio was one such engine though.

If its just a matter of replacing because it might fail I would consider not doing it as well. Out of all the cars we have owned not one has suffered water pump failure.

Ionkontrol

My GF has an 02 clio with 44k on the clock. I changed the cambelt this year for peace of mind.

Mankysteve

thescouselander wrote: »

I'm not sure you should just jump into getting the water pump changed. Usually the reliability of a component follows what is called the bathtub curve (look it up on google). At 75K miles you should be in the middle of that curve so you can be reasonably confident you have a good water pump. If you move to a new pump (statistically speaking) you risk having a less reliable pump fitted if there have been any quality issues at manufacture which could lead to early failures.


The exeption to this might be if your particular model has a history of water pump failures at the milages you are approaching or if there are obvious signes the pump is on its way out (noise, play etc).

I'd let the garage look at it and advise you on the condition of the pump.

Arh but if a new pump fails and takes the cam belt with it you've got recourse to get your costs back if the old pump fails and takes the cam belt with it you've got no recourse.

While you your logical is correct about failure models sometimes its more than that you've got to worry about.

thescouselander

Mankysteve wrote: »

Arh but if a new pump fails and takes the cam belt with it you've got recourse to get your costs back if the old pump fails and takes the cam belt with it you've got no recourse.

While you your logical is correct about failure models sometimes its more than that you've got to worry about.

Good point but it would only apply if the pump failed within the warantee period. I guess if you're doing high milages the merits of changing the pump look better but for a lower milage user I still think the case is less clear cut.

andygb

I would also guess that age (deterioration) has a lot to do with it. At eight years old I think it is only a matter of time before it lets go. Most manufacturers suggest 30,000 to 35,000 miles for a cambelt change, or five years at the most, whichever comes first.

the182guy

Thanks for the info. Just picked the car up, all done. Very happy.

espresso

the182guy wrote: »

Thanks for the info. Just picked the car up, all done. Very happy.

Is that very happy with a new water pump fitted or just very happy?

Hammyman

thescouselander wrote: »

I'm not sure you should just jump into getting the water pump changed. Usually the reliability of a component follows what is called the bathtub curve (look it up on google). At 75K miles you should be in the middle of that curve so you can be reasonably confident you have a good water pump. If you move to a new pump (statistically speaking) you risk having a less reliable pump fitted if there have been any quality issues at manufacture which could lead to early failures.
.

The water pump is about £30. To change it is exactly the same procedure as changing the cambelt so the labour rate would be the same to do it as a seperate job and the cambelt would likely be replaced as well so you'd be basically saving the cost of another cambelt change by doing the pump now.

thescouselander

Hammyman wrote: »

The water pump is about £30. To change it is exactly the same procedure as changing the cambelt so the labour rate would be the same to do it as a seperate job and the cambelt would likely be replaced as well so you'd be basically saving the cost of another cambelt change by doing the pump now.

Yes, I am aware of the economics of changing the water pump during a cam belt change but from an engineering point of view it isn't necessarily the best thing to do for the reasons I described earlier.

I do think £30 is a bit optimistic for a water pump though and don't forget the coolant will probably have to be replaced too so the OP could be looking at an extra £100 to add to the bill for perhaps no benefit.

tynreich

Hi, I needed to find my interval on my A3. Checked the net and this site was mentioned on Auto Express too - search for my timing belt.com on google - gave me my cambelt change interval and just about every other car on the road too. Unfortuantely, I didn't adhere to it and my belt snapped :mad: