Cam belt change

goldspanners

roddydogs wrote: »

Youv got me worried--i had the CB changed on my Punto, they never mentioned the "Tensioners", surely it this had been necessary they would have said, and charged me more?(8 valve cost £148)

call them and ask them if your worried, but im sure most garages would order in a belt kit,which contains the tensioner and pulleys required for your car.

vaio

asbokid wrote: »

it is another point to consider when buying a car... is it an "interference" engine? will the valves collide with the piston crowns if the timing belt does snap?

some engines, generally the better quality, larger engines, are "non-interference".. so there is no major heartache if the cambelt does snap... it's no more serious than the alternator belt snapping.

incidentally, i've yet to hear a rational explanation for why any engines are still made to an interference design... there must be minimal gains in terms of engine performance, compared to non-interference engine models.

if i was a conspiracy theorist, i would be wondering whether this is all by design.. whether the car makers have carefully designed their engines in this way.. so that they are written off, should the thin and pathetic rubber timing belt snap without warning..

what exactly is the performance gain from "going interference" ? the cylinder compression might be marginally higher, by dropping the head down a few thousands of an inch. but the risks from doing that are huge, in terms of the potential repair bill should the belt snap or even just jump a tooth and wreck the valvetrain...

"walking on thin ice.."

it's a crazy and greedy world we live in..

All modern engines are “over square” this means the bore is bigger than the stroke.

Upsides are that that they are way more efficient than long stroke engines, they rev much higher, are quieter and last much longer

Downside is that that the space left when the piston is at TDC is wide & low so if there is a valve open when it shouldn’t be (because of an errant timing belt) then it’s going to get hit by a piston and end up getting bent at the very least.

LandyAndy

roddydogs wrote: »

Youv got me worried--i had the CB changed on my Punto, they never mentioned the "Tensioners", surely it this had been necessary they would have said, and charged me more?(8 valve cost £148)

goldspanners wrote: »

call them and ask them if your worried, but im sure most garages would order in a belt kit,which contains the tensioner and pulleys required for your car.

I assume, because I am not familiar with Fiats, that this job requires very little labour on Fiats. £148 less VAT less parts doesn't leave a lot for labour.

goldspanners

LandyAndy wrote: »

I assume, because I am not familiar with Fiats, that this job requires very little labour on Fiats. £148 less VAT less parts doesn't leave a lot for labour.

i got the one on my focus done for £140,that included parts.(im friendly with the mechanic though)

LandyAndy

goldspanners wrote: »

i got the one on my focus done for £140,that included parts.(im friendly with the mechanic though)

I rest my case.

roddydogs

LandyAndy wrote: »

I assume, because I am not familiar with Fiats, that this job requires very little labour on Fiats. £148 less VAT less parts doesn't leave a lot for labour.

It was the "8 Valve model" which apparantly is easier to fit........someone on this thread is quoting £69 @ "Autoworld" thoug thats not a main dealer? Belt was £25, plus 2 hrs labour @£50 ph I had the Aux belt done at the same time.Aux belt was about £10. You dont normally get "Tensioners" in a belt Kit? or do you.

goldspanners

roddydogs wrote: »

You dont normally get "Tensioners" in a belt Kit? or do you.

if you dont get tensioners and your car needs them then its not a kit, its just a belt. gates timing belt kits come complete with belt and the pulleys and/or tensioners you may need.
some cheaper companies only do the belt and you need to buy the tensioner seperate.but your motor factor should make you aware of this when buying the belt i would think (if they are any good that is).

mollyjess

visual inspection is the best,i do it from time to time,if the belt is thinning and you can see pattern of teeth viewing from above,belt is made from neoprene so is very tough,depends on mileage and how you treat your vehicle,servicing etc,i do my own,and have done for 20 yrs hope this helps you all.mollyjess

hartcjhart

sadly with belts you dont get a warning they just go

in the old days when you had chains you got plenty of notice

as everyone has said get it done asap and change the waterpump at the same time