A cambelt change is around a couple of quid for the belt and a couple of hours work only on MOST cars.
Its going back a while but the broken cambelts *and* rockers on the Vauxhalls were fixed for about 150 and 200 respectively.
likelihood of it actually occurring.
ignored the garage's recommendation and suffered the failure?
2 years 3 weeks and a few days into a 3 year warranty and before it was due to be replaced the elastic on a 3l Alfa V6 gave way at 80MPH on the M25 (it was very early in the morning) and everything went very very quiet. Fortunately Alfa Romeo didn't so much as blink but simply replaced the engine.
Stick a new cambelt in, it'll be good for another 5 years. Don't, you'll end up with a car it's not worth mending.
we've had it from new and it has always been serviced by the Vauxhall deale= r. They want =A3200 to change the belt. Apparently this is a "special off= er".
They want £200 to change the belt. Apparently this is a "special offer".
For many cars that would be a good price.
and less than a single tyre on some..
strongly recommending that the cam belt be replaced (it's the original). Now I know that if it does go it will cause a lot of engine damage, but how likely is that really to happen? Is it a widespread problem or do garages just use horror stories to get customers to part with their cash?
Check your engine specs, a lot of modern engines are non interference engines. With an interference engine the valves hit the pistons when the belt breaks, with non interference engine they dont and any break is not as catastrophic.
likelihood of it actually occurring. Has it happened to any readers here or to anyone they know? Have any of you ignored the garage's recommendation and suffered the failure?
I've 'repaired' an Audi 2.5L Diesel after a cambelt failure - no noticeable damage to pistons, but valves, cams, cam carriers etc all seriously damaged. Replaced the engine with a s/h unit.
Yes they do fail - unless you're happy to scrap the car when it goes, I would pay up now - the repair cost would probably exceed the car's value.
I know of someone who had it happen at 80mph on the M6. Was a second hand Primera still under warranty, fortunately. Needed a completely new engine (and he was fortunate not to crash the car when it happened!)
And next time try keeping your lines to a sensible length. I had to rearrange yours just to be able to post this reply (the news server I use doesn't allow over-long lines).
I have not had one go, but I have heard of quite a few wrecked engines from them going.
The manufacturer does some calculations based upon mean time to failure, then allows a fairly safe distance between that and a recommended change mileage. The was a Ford which had lots of breakages and still within the period before the belt was due for change.
Personally I don't take the risk - if an engine is on borrowed time and there is no receipt for it having been changed, then I change them ASAP.
The risk is yours, your decision entirely. For every mile you do beyond the recommended change mileage, the more likely it is to break.
brass monkey explained :
'Yes, Timing Belt Failure Insurance is available for any car, any age or mileage! You do not even need a vehicle service history. The only stipulation is to check/change your timing belt when your car manufacturer recommends'
£410 for an Audi A6 but that did include the water pump at the same time.
And there's the rub ... in a lot of modern engines, because the timing belt is so well protected, once you have the gubbins out of the way, it can be a case of "while we're there ...".
conversely clock £450 to change an exhaust manifold gakset on the Camper.. and replace EVERY SINGLE seized stud..
Did it matter? Nothing else on the Stag lasted that long.
I remember when I had a Beetle, and almost all the free fit exhaust firms wouldn't touch it without an extra charge. The one who did spent a full day on it.
Chris
Precisely .. otherwise it'd have to all be dismantled again and IIRC they had to take the front of the car off to get to it;!...
But surely that's what you'd expect? If you don't check/change the belt when you should, who with half a brain will insure against it breaking?
It is what I would expect. Just pointing out that the insurance money might be more usefully put towards a new belt.
Oooh you bitch!
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