How long can a cam belt last???

Guest_123

Hi

Can anyone help?

I've had my car serviced by a trusted person and have been told my cam belt will need replacing soon.

Does anyone have any idea when it will actually need to be replaced? I know that if it breaks I will need a new engine.

Rossy.

MFS book will tell you when you need to do it

If you don't have it then most cars need doing at either 5 years or 60,000 miles - Whatever comes first.

Although it can go at anytime, If it needs replacing do it to save the hassle. Not all cam belts cost mega £££

I'm dreading mine - £800 job

rev_henry

When it needs doing and how long it'll last depends entirely on the car, engine and year.

knightstyle

Don't ignore the advice. A friend had a Micra and only did a few miles each year, when 7 years old, 27k miles the belt broke and ruined the engine. She had had the car serviced every year by the Nissan garage she bought the car from and was very upset that neither they nor Nissan would help. Ended up selling it as a non-runner.

jd82

Depends on the engine, on some engines such as my Panda engine you just put a new belt on without any damage. On other cars usualy you will be lucky just replacing a few valves but its still a mega bill.

I am lucky as its a £150 main dealer job for a new belt

Hammyman

As has been said, it is either on age or mileage, whichever is reached first. A cambelt is made of rubber and typically has a lifespan of around 5-7 years hence the time limit imposition. It is perfectly feasible for a car to have done just 5000 miles from new over 7 years and need a cambelt replacement.

getmore4less

12y 107k so far on my pug306. recommended is around 80k on that I think.

If it passes its MOT next month for < £300 I will probably get it done
Lets hope it lasts, if it goes new car, looking anyway.

Most places wanted well over £200 found a place that does loads so is cheaper at around £160.

SandC

Had mine done this year at 10 years old and 45k miles, I am sure it wasn't done by previous owner as it was only 3 years old when I got it. Citroen Saxo 1.0 cam kit cost £130 all in. I had it done cos of the age of the car and an impending longish journey. Always been lucky in the past and never had one go on me but as I say that's luck and nothing more.

mikey72

getmore4less wrote: »

12y 107k so far on my pug306. recommended is around 80k on that I think.

If it passes its MOT next month for < £300 I will probably get it done
Lets hope it lasts, if it goes new car, looking anyway.

Most places wanted well over £200 found a place that does loads so is cheaper at around £160.

Only fault with that method is when it does go on the way to work, buying a new car in a matter of days isn't going to get you a bargain. I took over 12 months to find the last one I bought. To be fair, it wasn't a run of the mill one though.

forgotmyname

Why risk it? Unless you plan to throw it away if it breaks.

Imagine pulling out of a junction and it snaps, Leaving you in a dangerous position, Cars would not
expect you to start to pull out then stop dead. You might not be expecting them to crash into your either.

andygb

It really is not worth risking a cambelt failure, as others have pointed out.
A lot of manufacturers now are revising their cambelt change intervals - downwards, in other words earlier.
Alfa Romeo say 36K miles (used to be 72K miles), and I would treat my Mondeo roughly the same - 40K miles, 4 years.