Our 2003 Zafira has done 90,000 miles and not surprisingly the garage is st= rongly 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 li= kely is that really to happen? Is it a widespread problem or do garages ju= st use horror stories to get customers to part with their cash? Anyone any experience of this? Thanks.
you probably will need a new engine, if the belt goes when you are doing any serious speed. It's not just the garages who recommend replacement, it's the car manufacturer, too and if you have an MOT you have to sign a disclaimer that if the belt goes when they rev the engine hard (emission tests), the garage is not responsible.
I have never signed or even been asked to sign any such disclaimer.
For most engines (the only exception I can recall was the FIAT "FIRE" engine, for some reason) a cambelt breaking is the ultimate catastrophic failure. The valves will freeze in position, whilst the pistons (usually carried by the inertia of the car via the gearbox) will hit them full on. Although failure usually happens when starting the car (when resistance is highest, and teeth are most likely to shear) which might mean you get away with having the valves replaced.
It's certainly one of those "you REALLY need to know what you are doing" DIY jobs. Quite apart from the fact that most cambelts are buried into a very tight space, getting the new belt wrong by one tooth can mean disaster.
If you are doing it yourself, make sure you VERY CAREFULLY try and turn the engine manually through 2 cycles, to ensure everything is in line, and you aren't going to hear a dull clunk when you go to start the car.
I don't think you have to sign a disclaimer. there are notices and leaflets at all MOT stations that tell you what may happen if you have a badly maintained engine and you are deemed to have accepted the responsibility if you ask for the test.
If the belt breaks on many engines the pistons will hit the valves. I had a tensioner break on a triumph herald and that had a recon engine fitted as a lot of bits were bent.
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?
SWMBO had it happen once ages ago in our Ford Sierra; think she was doing zero mph or idling or something at the time; anyway, there was no damage done to the engine and we were told we were damned lucky.
David
No, I'm not intending to do it myself. I do know a lot of awful things can result. What I really want to know is the 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 knew a mechanic who knew the costs by heart for the models he worked on= , so it wasn't infrequent. They were some expensive high-performance carsd,= I don't recall the make, Porsch, Ferrari or such like, so probably more li= kely and more damage if it does happen.
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?
Happened to me on an 05 Pug Partner van. Turned out to be ex-rental, and probably never seen a service bay in its life....
Belt was due to be changed at 80k - snapped @ 78k, wrecked the head but the garage put a recycled one on for the cost of the labour...
Yes - the belts do go - and they can make a complete & expensive mess of an engine.... but, if you're feeling lucky, why not ignore the manufacturer's advice....?
Adrian
In message , kent writes
Happened to me in a Rover 216 (I think) about 20 years ago. Fairly catastrophic, but I don't know the actual cost, as it was a company car
- luckily! Certainly not cheap.
I suggest you get it done ASAP. I had one go on an XR2 doing ~30mph, it just lost drive and cost me a bomb. I forget the details. For £30 there's always this -
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?
It is GUARANTEED to happen.
I have had two fail - Nova on 69,000 miles and a Astra SRI on 65,000 miles.
Fortunately in both cases damage was limited to broken rockers only.
In both cases it happen pulling away from idle. Or possibly slowing to a halt at some lights. Long time ago.
I no longer mess around, and in fact I don't think I have a car with a cam belt - chains instead.
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? yes, twice
I wonder if Vauxhalls were prone to it for some reason, though; I've known it to happen on two Astras (not my own vehicles) at relatively-low mileage, too (one was slowing to a stop after coming off a motorway; a few seconds earlier and the damage probably would have been far more severe).
I had chains on the Stag engines - they'd do about 20k if you were lucky. They were easy to change though thankfully (unlike, I believe, the Lotus Esprit, where it was almost an engine out job to do).
I've got about 160k on the belt that's currently in our Toyota (I can never remember if the replacement interval on that is supposed to be 60k or 90k, but either way it's doing rather well ;-)
So it doesn't save you any money unless it fails.
Really? I didn't have that problem. Lots of others, though.
Apart from age (and absent any manufacturing fault) the most common reason for a belt to fail is either contamination by oil, or debris from a broken *fan* belt somehow getting into the drivetrain. Oh, and the idler can fail, and seize, or develop so much play the belt slips off.
A nine year vauxhall doesn't have enough value in to spend on an expensive operation. How long have you had it? How much do you use the space in it? Is it regulary serviced otherwise? Do you skate around MOT advisories? How is it on petrol? Insurance? Are you sentimentally attached to it?
It's a buyers market out there ...
maintenance is replacement. They wear out stretch and break.
Shirley that's the idea. Actually, my local garage that does various jobs for me reckons that if the cambelt breaks he is covered for it by his business insurance. So, any time he changes a belt I bite the bullet, pay VAT and get a receipt. For all other jobs I don't bother with a receipt and don't pay VAT.
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