12 year old timing belt, no dramas
Discussion
Deranged Rover said:
Funny, of the 12 cars I've owned, only two had timing belts - all the rest have been chain driven.
Reading some of these stories, I'm relieved about that!
I think chains are great for owners of relatively new cars, but a bit of a sod for owners of older collectable/vintage/classic cars, I've no idea how you describe a 15 year old car anymore.Reading some of these stories, I'm relieved about that!
They're supposedly "lifetime" but to many manufacturers think "lifetime" is still 10 years / 120k miles. Chains can still jump teeth, wear out followers and tensioners and that comes with it, but they can be a sod to replace. I don't know if it's still the case, but some VW chains sat the 'wrong' end of the engine meaning a load of labour and work to replace them because you had to remove the gearbox and a load of covers etc, plus "whilst you're there" you might as well do the clutch and a load of seals.
RipTrip1 said:
Heaveho said:
Or to anyone still running an old CVH engined Ford, or to the few unfortunates who have had the belts jump at low mileage on the latest shape Connects. I tend to change belts early, too many disaster stories from when I was in the trade to bother paying attention to anyone else about that.
sweet you got it down to 0.5% of PH users well done you!I've never understood the argument for chains over belts, especially on the modern stuff. The chain looks no heavier than delicate jewellery, they stretch, and they're way more aggro generally to change than a belt, which might take an hour every few years. I'd rather something be accessible and easily serviceable than buried in the engine and require expensive and extensive teardown..
P-Jay said:
Deranged Rover said:
Funny, of the 12 cars I've owned, only two had timing belts - all the rest have been chain driven.
Reading some of these stories, I'm relieved about that!
I think chains are great for owners of relatively new cars, but a bit of a sod for owners of older collectable/vintage/classic cars, I've no idea how you describe a 15 year old car anymore.Reading some of these stories, I'm relieved about that!
They're supposedly "lifetime" but to many manufacturers think "lifetime" is still 10 years / 120k miles. Chains can still jump teeth, wear out followers and tensioners and that comes with it, but they can be a sod to replace. I don't know if it's still the case, but some VW chains sat the 'wrong' end of the engine meaning a load of labour and work to replace them because you had to remove the gearbox and a load of covers etc, plus "whilst you're there" you might as well do the clutch and a load of seals.
Despite a full Audi main dealer history, he was basically told to go forth and multiply when he approached Audi UK for goodwill.
Limpet said:
Neighbour had to replace the timing chains on his 3.0 TDI A6 at under 4 years (and 70,000 miles) old. Engine out job, 30 hours labour! Cost him £4k with the parts and VAT at an independent (Audi dealer wanted just north of £5k).
Despite a full Audi main dealer history, he was basically told to go forth and multiply when he approached Audi UK for goodwill.
If it's a known fault and you make it clear to Audi that you are aware of that fact and are prepared to escalate it, you would be amazed at their ability to collapse under pressure. I helped a friend a couple of years ago when the gearbox and clutch disintegrated on a 50k mile A3. She was told it was all on her and the bill would obviously be thousands.Despite a full Audi main dealer history, he was basically told to go forth and multiply when he approached Audi UK for goodwill.
I knew through a mate who runs the Audi Sunderland workshop that it was a common issue, told her what to say and it was done for a few hundred.
The problem Audi has is that the product is basically crap, is sold or leased out on perceived rather than actual quality, and goes wrong appallingly often. They only have themselves to blame when they have to get their hand in their pocket for expensive repairs.
Edited by Heaveho on Wednesday 21st April 15:39
was8v said:
meh. I can now get a complete bare CJZA engine for £700 from a breaker with less miles and years than ours (2013).
So do I pay £500 for a belt change every 5 years?
Change the belt, a days work. Replace the engine, a weeks work, and I bet you will change the timing belt on the engine from the breakers before you fit it. So do I pay £500 for a belt change every 5 years?
The last couple of belt timing cars I have had I had them done as a month or two after purchase, once I'm certain they are a keeper. Quite happy with the piece of mind for £500 ISH and a major service Inc all fluids etc.
So belts have never caused me an issue. Slipped timing chain was a different story on a low mileage 4 year old BMW. I would say I now prefer a belt and recently skipped the purchase on a TSI chain engined car because of the issues.
So belts have never caused me an issue. Slipped timing chain was a different story on a low mileage 4 year old BMW. I would say I now prefer a belt and recently skipped the purchase on a TSI chain engined car because of the issues.
Limpet said:
P-Jay said:
Deranged Rover said:
Funny, of the 12 cars I've owned, only two had timing belts - all the rest have been chain driven.
Reading some of these stories, I'm relieved about that!
I think chains are great for owners of relatively new cars, but a bit of a sod for owners of older collectable/vintage/classic cars, I've no idea how you describe a 15 year old car anymore.Reading some of these stories, I'm relieved about that!
They're supposedly "lifetime" but to many manufacturers think "lifetime" is still 10 years / 120k miles. Chains can still jump teeth, wear out followers and tensioners and that comes with it, but they can be a sod to replace. I don't know if it's still the case, but some VW chains sat the 'wrong' end of the engine meaning a load of labour and work to replace them because you had to remove the gearbox and a load of covers etc, plus "whilst you're there" you might as well do the clutch and a load of seals.
Despite a full Audi main dealer history, he was basically told to go forth and multiply when he approached Audi UK for goodwill.
My Dear Mum used to have a boggo Yaris 1.0 which she foolishly lent my brother when she moved to the middle east for a bit, he managed to neglect it so much the oil was like treacle and knackered the timing chain. Despite the abuse and lack of servicing, Toyota were lovely about it and I think it cost £260 including a service.
I once spent 4 days with a mate changing the chain on my old Golf VR6, the engine stays in, but not much else.
t to own.Heaveho said:
RipTrip1 said:
Heaveho said:
Or to anyone still running an old CVH engined Ford, or to the few unfortunates who have had the belts jump at low mileage on the latest shape Connects. I tend to change belts early, too many disaster stories from when I was in the trade to bother paying attention to anyone else about that.
sweet you got it down to 0.5% of PH users well done you!P-Jay said:
I think chains are great for owners of relatively new cars, but a bit of a sod for owners of older collectable/vintage/classic cars, I've no idea how you describe a 15 year old car anymore.
They're supposedly "lifetime" but to many manufacturers think "lifetime" is still 10 years / 120k miles. Chains can still jump teeth, wear out followers and tensioners and that comes with it, but they can be a sod to replace. I don't know if it's still the case, but some VW chains sat the 'wrong' end of the engine meaning a load of labour and work to replace them because you had to remove the gearbox and a load of covers etc, plus "whilst you're there" you might as well do the clutch and a load of seals.
I agree on most moderns. Once manufacturers got the hang of great chains they then decided to put them in the back and cheap out on them leading to issues. Most of the old dross I own/owned has been chain timed before they got awful. Some having over 250,000 miles, and still just fine. I think chains on Vee engines are a poor idea too since they need to be so long.They're supposedly "lifetime" but to many manufacturers think "lifetime" is still 10 years / 120k miles. Chains can still jump teeth, wear out followers and tensioners and that comes with it, but they can be a sod to replace. I don't know if it's still the case, but some VW chains sat the 'wrong' end of the engine meaning a load of labour and work to replace them because you had to remove the gearbox and a load of covers etc, plus "whilst you're there" you might as well do the clutch and a load of seals.
The one that scares me more is wet belts. A mate works in the warranty department for a manufacturer and their wet belts have given no end of trouble in the warranty period.
B'stard Child said:
Paging @gallons per mile to the bat phone
Heh, see the thread on my Diesel Machine MK4 Golf...I changed the belt and water pump while replacing the broken camshaft. It lasted 40k/two years and snapped. I suspect something caused it to go rather than just snapping but couldn't get down to the water pump yesterday in the time i had spare to test. Car is now with a local breaker!
JakeT said:
I agree on most moderns. Once manufacturers got the hang of great chains they then decided to put them in the back and cheap out on them leading to issues. Most of the old dross I own/owned has been chain timed before they got awful. Some having over 250,000 miles, and still just fine. I think chains on Vee engines are a poor idea too since they need to be so long.
Ford tried to overcome the reliability issues of chains and belts by using gears. Except they used fiber gears instead of metal.I can't remember how many I replaced in Transit V4 engines back in the day.
JakeT said:
The one that scares me more is wet belts. A mate works in the warranty department for a manufacturer and their wet belts have given no end of trouble in the warranty period.
Work colleague bought a fairly new S-max oil burner - he doesn’t do a lot of miles but it’s all about the mpgees apparently. I did say petrol would be a better bet for long term reliabilityOil pump driven by a wet belt that failed - SH engine time and he wasn’t a happy bunny. Had the wet belt replaced with a chain drive so it couldn’t happen again
PAS rack sprang a massive leak and was huge money to replace so he part ex’d it for a brand new PCP Skoda Fabia petrol because it was the cheapest thing that he could get with a warranty because he was fed up with spending money on repairs
wilksy61 said:
Don't forget that a cambelt snapping only causes damage to an interference engine, if its a non interference engine and the cambelt snaps its only an inconvenience, Zetec engines are non interference for instance as was some Vauxhall engines, unfortunately for people that have an Alfa Twinspark engine they are most defiantly and interference engine.
I can guarantee that the Zetec is an interference engine after the belt jumped a couple of teeth due to a damaged can pulley and luckily the valves just kissed the pistons, so I only needed 8 off them to fix it !Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff