Which cars got a chain cam?

davidjwest

Even the S Reg (c 1998) version, garage told me it was a belt. Well, they were a bunch of muppets.

Edit - yes it was a chain!

I had a 1987 Vauxhall Nova, that was definitely a belt and it snapped around 100k miles cost £50 to repair. In those days I did my own servicing when I felt like it so getting the original belt to 100k wasn't bad, the replacement belt managed to 220k before I got rid of the car.

reeac

Even pushrod engines have a camshaft - it's just lower down.

andygb

Lum wrote: »

:eek: !!!!!!? Most I've ever paid is about £120, and that was on an imported Subaru Legacy with the quad cam serpentine belt.

Oh wait, I didn't get it done at a main dealer.

Yeah, just had a service done on my Mondeo, which included MOT, lower wishbones fitted (I supplied them) and a cambelt and waterpump for - £390.
Main stealers are a waste of space and money.

Lum

reeac wrote: »

Even pushrod engines have a camshaft - it's just lower down.

and without a cambelt/chain

SHIPSHAPE

Lum wrote: »

Very expensive job to replace a failed chain. I'd rather spend an extra hundred quid or so every 60K miles to change a belt, then I'm sure it's ok.

Huh?

My Mondeo on 180k still has the original chain, a colleague of mine also with a Mondeo but at 250k also has the original chain.

Your theory is that you are better pleased to change a cam belt at least 4 times compared to my colleague's car because you 'will be sure it's ok!'

Strange.:shocked:

Lum

To me cam chains are a high risk/reward gamble. Sure if you take the gamble and win (camchain doesn't break while you own the car) then you will be better off overall. If you lose the gamble you're looking at a very expensive new engine or, if you are very lucky it gets detected on time and you are looking at an expensive camchain replacement, much more expensive than replacing a belt.

Cam belts are a low risk/reward. They cost you a little more on the 60K service due to the replacements needed but providing you actually do them (and the tensioner!) you are much much less likely to have them go on you, especially if you do a visual check once in a while.

It's kind of like the argument of having insurance vs hoping you don't get broken into. I'd rather have known costs that I can budget for.


Obviously if you are buying a new car with a warranty and getting rid of it before the end of the warranty period then the cam chain wins every time due to the cheaper servicing, all other things being equal, but I was looking at this from the position of buying an older car which may or may not have been serviced/treated correctly. My car is 18 years old and I'm very glad that it has a belt, not a chain. As soon as I got it I was sure to change the cambelt even though the car was a fair way away from needing it's first cambelt change according to the service schedule.

rev_henry

Do chains not give ample warning by rattling for quite a while before going, whereas belts just snap at any point?

split_second

what sort of mileage should the first cambelt change be on a stilo? mine is at 53k miles and doesnt do much mileage (30k in 7 1/2 years of ownership) and have never changed it.

what happens when it goes? would i be able to limp the car home (most journeys for me are less than 10 miles on a and b roads)

andygb

split_second wrote: »

what sort of mileage should the first cambelt change be on a stilo? mine is at 53k miles and doesnt do much mileage (30k in 7 1/2 years of ownership) and have never changed it.

what happens when it goes? would i be able to limp the car home (most journeys for me are less than 10 miles on a and b roads)

I would go with this and change it at 32K (you have obviously missed that).

http://www.clubfiat.net/tech/1025-warning-change-cam-belt.html

Alfa Romeo changed their cambelt intervals down from 72K to 36K. There are a lot of things to take into consideration, because the cambelt is not living in an ideal environment like a cam chain.

pitkin2020

split_second wrote: »

what sort of mileage should the first cambelt change be on a stilo? mine is at 53k miles and doesnt do much mileage (30k in 7 1/2 years of ownership) and have never changed it.

what happens when it goes? would i be able to limp the car home (most journeys for me are less than 10 miles on a and b roads)

You will be able to limp home if you walk!! With a snapped belt the car won't be going anywhere. If you take your car to a stealership be prepared [STRIKE]to drop your pants and get yourself bent over the service counter[/STRIKE] for a hefty bill because that bill is going to hurt the wallet!! lol