Finally getting cambelt done 2 years overdue

londonTiger

picked the car up today, cambelts been replaced. to be honest all the cambelt parts were apparantly good for quite some more time. the rollers and tensioners all spin nice and flush, don't rattle or anything. Water pump was solid bar the damage done when removing it.

The belts can look deceptively strong to the naked eye, but all it takes is one crack and very soon that crack develops into a split and !!!!!!. All gone.

Now I can drive with some peace of mind, really only did this because I'm using the car for business trips which are time senstive and can't afford to break down.

Hintza

So you didn't bother with the tensioners? :eek:

Ultrasonic

londonTiger wrote: »

Now I can drive with some peace of mind, really only did this because I'm using the car for business trips which are time senstive and can't afford to break down.

Surely the concern over a possible cambelt failure relates to serious engine damage, not the inconvenience of missing a meeting!

Norman_Castle

I had a Citroen with a 1.9 diesel engine. Only 80,000 miles but 16 years on the original cam belt. Citroen advise changing at 12 years. The car was bought for the engine which would be fitted with an oversized turbo and used for racing.

londonTiger

Hintza wrote: »

So you didn't bother with the tensioners? :eek:

changed everything, no point in just changing belt because labour is probably the same regardless of whether you just change the belt or the full works.

Niowrtt

Ultrasonic wrote: »

Surely the concern over a possible cambelt failure relates to serious engine damage, not the inconvenience of missing a meeting!

That would depend on how much you charge per day.

Ultrasonic

Niowrtt wrote: »

That would depend on how much you charge per day.

:rotfl:

Fair point!

Joe_Horner

Hintza wrote: »

So you didn't bother with the tensioners? :eek:

The need for tensioners depends on the engine.

Older ones like the PSA XU/D or Perkins Prima had "proper" metal tensioners with decent bearings that were specced by the makers to change "on condition". They're usually more than happy for a couple of belt changes and tend to get noisy well before actually failing.

The "new improved" engines with plastic bits are another story - re-use at your peril no matter how smooth they feel cos the plastic pulleys themselves can disintegrate (without warning) as they age.

Progress, huh?

TrickyWicky

londonTiger wrote: »

aked eye, but all it takes is one crack and very soon that crack develops into a split and !!!!!!. All gone.

Rubbish. My cambelt was COVERED in little tiny cracks before I changed it. It was only 10k overdue too (though that was combined with 5 years over the 5 year change). Even so it doesn't mean one little crack will kill it. Thats motorists paranoia. If you looked at mine with a magnifying glass you could see quite deeply into some of the cracks but it would still go with no hassle. I eventually decided enough was enough when the tensioner started screaming.

Mind you, most engines aren't as reliable as Volvos (including golfs) I knew a bloke once with the same car who had 180k on the clock and had it from 3 years old. When I asked him about his cambelt he'd never heard of it yet alone got it replaced

atrixblue.-MFR-.

this why when you buy a car private or from a trader, you should always check when its done and if its due then ask for it to be done within the price of the car, or private, budget to have it done at the nearest oppertunity, buying a car not knowing or knowing its way overdue is asking for trouble.

ive replaced all my timing belts and tensioner water pumps on my cars within a few weeks of buying them if they havent recently been done or due to be done.