Can you tell if your cambelt needs changed?

Strider590

Hammyman wrote: »

Its £150 or thereabouts which is far cheaper than £600-£2000 for a replacement engine.

Well it's very much dependant on car and how long it takes to change, I won't see change from £300, yet my last car was done for £180.
The you have to remember that you should really be changing the cambelt, tensioners and rollers + maybe the water pump if it requires cambelt removal to get to it. The price then starts to rise quite rapidly.... But it is still cheaper than a new engine

andygb

I would change a cambelt every 36000 miles/five years (whichever comes first). I know this sounds extreme, but the cambelt is not working in ideal conditions. In the old days, an internal cam chain was responsible for valve timing, and ran inside the engine, constantly lubricated by oil. It had a tensioner, which needed adjusting periodically, but could run for 200K miles or more before needing replacement.
The cambelt is on the outside of the engine, relatively exposed to dirt, water and oil.
If the cambelt fails, you could be looking at a new engine, or a top end overhaul (new valves, cylinder head skim) if you are lucky.
Better safe than sorry.

mcjordi

what car is it? but as others have said if theres no proof of change then assume it hasnt been done..

ive viewed many a car and the owners have always said oh yeah mate it was changed 2/3 weeks ago// erm got a reciept or proof? No.. then it hasnt been done

Wig

Sssssss wrote: »

don't agree it's that simple everyone saying get it changed. You said you bought the car cheap, how cheap. It's your call can you afford to write the car off should the worst happen. A cambelt change is not cheap!

It all depends, if the car is not expected to last for more than a year and cost £300 or less, will likely fail the next MOT and you're not prepared to pay the cost of getting it through an MOT and you intend to scrap the car when it dies, then, yes, I'd consider not changing the cambelt.

But if there is nothing intrisically wrong with the car and it just looks a bit tatty and was cheap when you bought it, but never the less it is in all likelihood expected to last and pass the next MOT without much of a hitch, and/or even if it did fail the MOT you would be prepared to pay out a few 100 bucks to keep it on the road because you need a car for work and the cost and hassle involved in finding a new car is outweighed by the cost of repairing the existing car........... Then I would suggest examining the cambelt,

if it looks newish change it before one year or ASAP (your call)
If it looks tatty/shiny change it ASAP

My friend bought Daewoo Saloon a few years ago, I looked under the bonnet and told him immediately "Get that cambelt changed" This car cost £500 and was in nice clean condition inside, had a good sounding engine, all that was wrong AFAICS was the condition of the belt.

2 - 6 months later he told me his car had been towed home because the cambelt had snapped We bought a £20 cambelt from the shop and I fitted it in about an hour, no spark-life in the engine and no compression in the cylinders meant he had piston-holes or bent valves - the car was not worth repairing and was scrapped. Such a shame!

mikey72

I change cambelts at 60000 miles, but I keep the cars forever, and usually rev them until the limiter kicks in.

Sssssss

Hammyman wrote: »

Its £150 or thereabouts which is far cheaper than £600-£2000 for a replacement engine. And on a 2001 plate, there's a chance its nearly 10 years old and nobody would've bothered replacing it because most muppets think you only change the cambelt based on mileage.

and that is why I said it's the OPs call if they can afford to write the car off, I never said they should change the engine.

also as strider said there's a lot more to change then just the cam belt, renault now recommend belt(s) water pump, pulleys, total over £500.

missile

My son got a very expensive bill when the cambelt on his focus snapped. I would get it changed.

jd82

It depends on the car. Also does it even have a cam belt? Many cars have a chain.

Many old 8v Vauxhall engines and 8v FIAT FIRE engines don't cause any damage if the belt snaps. It really does depend on the car.

hartcjhart

Will man land on Mars



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WILL THE OP EVER TELL US THE MAKE MODEL OF CAR:rotfl:

andygb

Sssssss wrote: »

and that is why I said it's the OPs call if they can afford to write the car off, I never said they should change the engine.

also as strider said there's a lot more to change then just the cam belt, renault now recommend belt(s) water pump, pulleys, total over £500.

Is that including fitting, because the cambelt kit on a 2.0 Alfa GTV is less than £100.