on things like Astra's its usally 40,000 miles.
It depends on what car you have - check the owners handbook.
I am sure on the Astra it costs just under £200 to replace the cambelt (main dealer price).
I had a cambelt/chain/whatever thingy break on my company vauxhall vectra a few years back.
I was doing 90 (yes I know!!) in the overtaking lane of a motorway a the time. I ruined my day I can tell you.
The service manual stated that it should be changed every 60,000 miles, the car was booked in for a service and the cambelt/chain/whatever thingy snapped at just under 61,000 miles.
thats why at 39,000 miles I had it changed on the Astra - knowing my luck it would snap bang on the 40,000 point. I also think it was being reported around that time that Astra's, Vectra's were very twitchy on this subject and were more likely to fail than not if not changed at the correct time.
i wish is had DS etc around 12 years ago, bouht a second hand car and 2 months later the came belt broke....I was in the outside lane on a motorway. Pistons all broke and spent around £700 getting it all done. No doubt it would cost a lot more these days. £700 was bad enough years ago.
As always after something happens, people were saying...didnt you get the cam belt changed as soon as you had it? Well I wish they had suggested it when I bought the darn car!
So to anyone, I'd recommend getting it done if you buy a car or come close to the mileage or time.
My 54 reg Scenic is coming up to it's 72K service (inc. cambelt) and I believe to get the dealer to do this will cost around £800.
After reading this thread I'm in no doubt that I want it done but I'm now wondering if I should just take it to a local garage and forget trying to keep a full dealer service history?
We only paid £6K for the car a year ago and it has a few dings on it so I'd estimate it's worth £4.5 > £5K now.
We'll probably hang on to the car for another year or two and do very little mileage (about 7K a year).
Is it worth getting the full dealer service?
I dont know about previous history for dealerships...but I always keep receipts for parts/repairs so if I sell a vehilce, a potential buyer can see the garage invoices which have the registration no of the car and work done.
My brother has 57,000 miles and 11 years so far on his timing belt. Not what I would recommend but there is a temptation to keep on driving if the cost to change the belt is greater than the value of the car. Manufacturers I presume must aim for no more than, say, 1% of timing belts breaking before the recommended change period - this means that the majority can go on for twice the distance or time and still have 50/50 chance of getting that far. Does anyone have the graph of chance of failure against time or distance travelled? (bearing in mind that acceleration and deceleration put additional load on a belt as does the heat generated from driving long distances at high speed on motorways)
My brother has 57,000 miles and 11 years so far on his timing belt. Not what I would recommend but there is a temptation to keep on driving if the cost to change the belt is greater than the value of the car. Manufacturers I presume must aim for no more than, say, 1% of timing belts breaking before the recommended change period - this means that the majority can go on for twice the distance or time and still have 50/50 chance of getting that far. Does anyone have the graph of chance of failure against time or distance travelled? (bearing in mind that acceleration and deceleration put additional load on a belt as does the heat generated from driving long distances at high speed on motorways)
First post and you choose a 5 year old thread to comment on.
This is probably a stupid question, but why do some cars use chains and some use rubber?
I had a Nissan Primera a few years back, and the main dealer told me the chain will last the life of the car. So why do some manufacturers use rubber belts?
This is probably a stupid question, but why do some cars use chains and some use rubber?
I had a Nissan Primera a few years back, and the main dealer told me the chain will last the life of the car. So why do some manufacturers use rubber belts?
My 54 reg Scenic is coming up to it's 72K service (inc. cambelt) and I believe to get the dealer to do this will cost around £800.
...
Is it worth getting the full dealer service?
No the increase in value on a 9 year old car won't make up for the difference in cost in having it done locally. The fact that it's been done will be a +ve sign to any potential future buyer, but a FDSH won't make much difference on the future value a car that age. Regular servicing will.
My brother has 57,000 miles and 11 years so far on his timing belt. Not what I would recommend but there is a temptation to keep on driving if the cost to change the belt is greater than the value of the car. Manufacturers I presume must aim for no more than, say, 1% of timing belts breaking before the recommended change period - this means that the majority can go on for twice the distance or time and still have 50/50 chance of getting that far. Does anyone have the graph of chance of failure against time or distance travelled? (bearing in mind that acceleration and deceleration put additional load on a belt as does the heat generated from driving long distances at high speed on motorways)
Depends on the make of car and which engine is fitted.
57,000 miles sounds alright, but 11 years is too far down the line, the belt is on borrowed time.
You have to realise that the belt may not break, but the plastic pulleys (if fitted) might break first due to age and heat etc.
did one on my daughters car in the summer, read how to on the internet, brought a cam locking tool and a cam kit, and did it myself. bit scary turning engine on after though.
oh and today fitted new thermocoupler to our cooker,saved me a bill,,,, isnt the internet great.
Does that include delivery fro France by snails at a pound a mile?
You can buy one for about ten poundd. Fitting is the costly park, about thirty pounds.
I think you may be dreaming :sleep:
Are you sure you don't mean auxiliary belt (fan belt?)
You can't buy a timing belt for £10, in any case you need to fit a full timing belt kit not just a belt which might cost about £85, but varies on which engine it is.
Labour cost, depending on which part of the country, could be upwards of £200.
Then you have vat on top.
did one on my daughters car in the summer, read how to on the internet, brought a cam locking tool and a cam kit, and did it myself. bit scary turning engine on after though.
oh and today fitted new thermocoupler to our cooker,saved me a bill,,,, isnt the internet great.
Yes, it's brilliant until something goes wrong :eek:
I've just been reading on another forum about someone attempting to replace their own cam belt asking for advice on how to recover from seriously damaging the engine.
This is probably a stupid question, but why do some cars use chains and some use rubber?
Not so many years ago all cars used chains and then along came belts and gradually they all converted to belt drive as it was cheaper, quieter and more flexible. However nowadays they're all going back to chains because of longer warranty periods and, in some countries, legislation relating to the durability of cars. The current generations of engines are far more likely to be hugely damaged by a failed drive than those of yesteryear.
My car is just past 62,000 miles, and I'm having mine done next week. He reckons it will be just over 100 pounds, which isn't bad, as it is a French Car (where they usually do something odd like have to remove all the upholstery before you can change a belt).
I still have the same car - It's now on 164,000 miles, and I've had the belt changed again since I wrote that....:D
Generally I would agree with the posters who say get it changed now.
A few years back I was in a similar position the garage said it needed doing but I decided to wait. Then it just snapped one day. Luckily I called the AA and they fixed it for free as I was a member but it was a bit hair raising.
Comments
It depends on what car you have - check the owners handbook.
I am sure on the Astra it costs just under £200 to replace the cambelt (main dealer price).
Dave
I was doing 90 (yes I know!!) in the overtaking lane of a motorway a the time. I ruined my day I can tell you.
The service manual stated that it should be changed every 60,000 miles, the car was booked in for a service and the cambelt/chain/whatever thingy snapped at just under 61,000 miles.
I'd get it changed if I were you.
Dave
As always after something happens, people were saying...didnt you get the cam belt changed as soon as you had it? Well I wish they had suggested it when I bought the darn car!
So to anyone, I'd recommend getting it done if you buy a car or come close to the mileage or time.
I dont know about previous history for dealerships...but I always keep receipts for parts/repairs so if I sell a vehilce, a potential buyer can see the garage invoices which have the registration no of the car and work done.
First post and you choose a 5 year old thread to comment on.
I had a Nissan Primera a few years back, and the main dealer told me the chain will last the life of the car. So why do some manufacturers use rubber belts?
Check this out, Jimmy.;)
That explains it all very well, thank you cosmic.
Edit - Oh. Still valid though for anyone else in the same position.
The thread is still relevant. Would you prefer Paul_Licki to start another thread on the same subject?
Welcome to the forums Paul_Licki. Keep up the good work.
Depends on the make of car and which engine is fitted.
57,000 miles sounds alright, but 11 years is too far down the line, the belt is on borrowed time.
You have to realise that the belt may not break, but the plastic pulleys (if fitted) might break first due to age and heat etc.
oh and today fitted new thermocoupler to our cooker,saved me a bill,,,, isnt the internet great.
Does that include delivery fro France by snails at a pound a mile?
You can buy one for about ten poundd. Fitting is the costly park, about thirty pounds.
I think you may be dreaming :sleep:
Are you sure you don't mean auxiliary belt (fan belt?)
You can't buy a timing belt for £10, in any case you need to fit a full timing belt kit not just a belt which might cost about £85, but varies on which engine it is.
Labour cost, depending on which part of the country, could be upwards of £200.
Then you have vat on top.
Yes, it's brilliant until something goes wrong :eek:
I've just been reading on another forum about someone attempting to replace their own cam belt asking for advice on how to recover from seriously damaging the engine.
just get it done
1 change paid for it
My cars is 40,000 or 4 years max
Not so many years ago all cars used chains and then along came belts and gradually they all converted to belt drive as it was cheaper, quieter and more flexible. However nowadays they're all going back to chains because of longer warranty periods and, in some countries, legislation relating to the durability of cars. The current generations of engines are far more likely to be hugely damaged by a failed drive than those of yesteryear.
I still have the same car - It's now on 164,000 miles, and I've had the belt changed again since I wrote that....:D
A few years back I was in a similar position the garage said it needed doing but I decided to wait. Then it just snapped one day. Luckily I called the AA and they fixed it for free as I was a member but it was a bit hair raising.