Advice, 2012, 1.4 Corsa timing belt.

knightstyle

Grandson's car, still runs but very rough. Timing belt diagnosed as broken/breaking up...
So he wants to keep the car and get it repaired.  What do you think?
If he gets it done, belt and tensioner replaced, any thing else?   Plus are there better manufacturers for the belt?
EDIT
Just seen the report from the garage, does this model have a chain???
"P0017-00 crankshaft/exhaust camshaft position not plausible (bank 1).  Fault with tim ing, noise can be heard from chain, refer to engine specialist."
Advice appreciated.

ButterCheese

Can you provide more detail?

Has the belt broken or is it breaking up but still on/working?

What year is the car and how many miles?

How and why is it running rough - are you saying the cam belt has already snapped and now it's running rough?

Generally they tend to replace water pump with a cam belt; you don't want to have a new cam belt fitted for the old water pump to then leak and cause problems.  Labour has gone up a lot in the last few years so I'd expect cam belt, tensioner, water pump and labour to be at least £500 maybe more.  

ButterCheese

ButterCheese said:

Can you provide more detail?

Has the belt broken or is it breaking up but still on/working?

What year is the car and how many miles?

How and why is it running rough - are you saying the cam belt has already snapped and now it's running rough?

Generally they tend to replace water pump with a cam belt; you don't want to have a new cam belt fitted for the old water pump to then leak and cause problems.  Labour has gone up a lot in the last few years so I'd expect cam belt, tensioner, water pump and labour to be at least £500 maybe more.  

Oh sorry you've said it's a 2012.  If higher mileage then it's up to you - they can replace the belt and re-time it if it has gone out of time, but if there's any chance of internal engine damage I'd not bother.  It would be new engine time, and with labour I would probably prefer to scrap it

CliveOfIndia

knightstyle said:

Grandson's car, still runs but very rough. Timing belt diagnosed as broken/breaking up...

Timing belts don't cause rough running, nor do they break up gradually - they're either in one piece or they're not.  When they go, they go suddenly, and in the majority of cases wreck the engine completely.

knightstyle said:

Fault with tim ing, noise can be heard from chain

If it's a chain rather than a belt then yes, you usually do get a bit of warning.

knightstyle said:

refer to engine specialist."
Advice appreciated.

Any mechanic worth their salt can change a timing belt or chain.  It's a very labour-intensive job, hence the high cost, but it's not a difficult job for an experienced mechanic.  And the parts are not expensive, it's the labour that costs.

As noted by ButterCheese, it's good practice to replace the water pump whilst you're at it.  Again, the parts are relatively cheap, but it's pretty much the same chunk of gubbins they need to remove to get to either part - so you may as well do the two together and save on future labour charges.

I don't know that car specifically, but the figure quoted by the previous poster of £500 is probably not an unreasonable ball-park estimate - especially if you're using a decent independent mechanic rather than a main dealer.

Then comes the perennial question - is it worth it?  First thing, is the car in otherwise half-decent nick?  Do you suspect the gearbox is about to go bang, or any other big bills lurking around the corner?  If not, then it's often worthwhile repairing it.  Look at it this way - if £500 or £700 gets you back on the road in a car that'll last for another few years, that's a bargain.  Could you buy a replacement car for less than £1000?  Possibly, but odds on you're just buying someone else's bag of problems.

Of course it's a bit of a gamble, but hopefully my comments may give you some thoughts to ponder.

Baldytyke88

A 2012 Vauxhall Corsa 1.4 petrol engine uses a timing chain, not a belt. Chains are typically considered lifetime components and don't require scheduled replacement like belts.

Goudy

Baldytyke88 said:

A 2012 Vauxhall Corsa 1.4 petrol engine uses a timing chain, not a belt. Chains are typically considered lifetime components and don't require scheduled replacement like belts.

Yes it's a chain but these have a habit of stretching the chain which wears the tensioner and guides away and it's that that causes a nasty rattle.

P0017-00 is the ECU moaning about the cam timings.
This is due to the stretch in the chain. The crank has to turn further before the cam shafts line up than it did when the chain wasn't stretched.
As the crank and cam timings are out of sync it also causes the rough running.

Stretched and worn chains are very common on these engines. You usually notice it first as cold start up when it rattles.
If you catch it soon enough a new chain, tensioner and guides sort the problem.
They are very fussy with engine oil, they need regular changes with the correct grade and spec of oil (Dexos 2 I think).
Forget all that longlife, extended interval nonsense and change it every year without fail.

Trouble is, if it's been running with a stretched chain for a while, it can create lots of metal shavings that get dragged around the engine in the oil and can cause major engine damage.

I've done a chain on one of these myself for friend, it's not too difficult or time consuming and it's worth throwing a new water pump on at the same time.