Cam Belts

[Plug550]

Had the 550 for nearly 3 years now, and have just realised that the cambelts will need replacing again soon. I believe Ferrari recommend every 3 years, but I've only done 6000 miles since the last change

When I changed them last time, they looked chunky great things that looked like they'd never wear out. Interestingly at the time, the dealer said that the recommended change time was way over the top, and knew of an F40 whose owner hadn't changed them in 10 years despite regular usage.

Question. Does anyone have any first hand experience of cam belt failures? I know, as do most people, the damaged caused by such failures, but I can't find a single instance of one failing on a Ferrari. Also, how often would the tensioners require changing? She's on 45k, and they weren't done last time.

Thanks in advance.

[Modificata]

Its a tricky one this as failures are very rear. The problem is that when they go they are bloody expensive. There has been a lot of discussion on this on FChat, and people have very polorised views!

[Cactussed]

Jap cars recommend every 100k kms (including the high performance ones).
Ferrari every 3 years or 18k miles.
Go figure.

If you dont change them accoring to schedule, then you will affect resale value for sure. Will they break and ruin the engine at 18,001 miles? I doubt it, especially if you use it regularly. Will it be expensive if they do? Definitely. Does the risk of them breaking or slipping a tooth increase over time? Probably, but not by much. I suspect the curve is fairly exponential and the upward sloping part is a long way off from 3 years / 18k miles.

So the answer really is, you pays your money or takes your chances...

[burriana]

And you may find that it is usually the tensioner that lets go rather than the belt, so just replace that ... but then you may as well spend the extra few pounds on the rubber belt while you're at it

[Plug550]

Cactussed said:

If you dont change them accoring to schedule, then you will affect resale value for sure.

Thanks for the response, but will it? I understand that having had the belts just done prior to sale will certainly help, but having missed one previously surely can't affect the value, as clearly everything will still be mechanically sound, and sereviced up to date.

I'm quite happy about the regular servicing, I'm only really questioning the validity of the 3yr/18k interval of the belt.

Has anyone heard of one going?

[< FORZA WEST]

Seen 2 failures one on a testarossa which was a total loss of the engine at 8000 rpm and on a 355 again total loss.

The Testarossa was due to oil contamination to the belt..hadnt missed any changes,but unfortunately as the oil was allowed to sit on the belt for months the oil penetrated the belt weakening it to the point of inevitable failure.

The 355 was due the cam belt change but unfortunately the tensioner pulley failed before it was done...that was a true mess.

Luckily for me they wernt my toys...

[900ssduke]

Plug550 said:

Cactussed said:

If you dont change them accoring to schedule, then you will affect resale value for sure.

If it doesnt break on your watch and you change it at the correct interval prior to sale, this may have litte effect on resale, unless the purchaser takes the view of " if he skimped on this service item, what else did he skimp on".

[rs48635]

Plug550 said:

Cactussed said:

If you dont change them accoring to schedule, then you will affect resale value for sure.

Thanks for the response, but will it? I understand that having had the belts just done prior to sale will certainly help, but having missed one previously surely can't affect the value, as clearly everything will still be mechanically sound, and sereviced up to date.

I'm quite happy about the regular servicing, I'm only really questioning the validity of the 3yr/18k interval of the belt.

Has anyone heard of one going?

If it is yours to keep, leave the cam belt as long as you dare, but at least get it inspected often. More crucial is the condition of tensioners, rollers and guides. The act of replacing the belt allows proper inspection all of these components
Compare cost of rebuild versus replacement. My specialist quotes £755 for 550 cam belt only or £1850 inc major.

How much to rebuild the V12?

Nobody ever asks questions about longer intervals once they have experienced a cam belt incident.

[evil_dr_fish]

On my Esprit they are recommended at 24 months or 24k miles - whichever is sooner!


It's a little better on the later cars / V8's - Unless you live in California - where they last 100k miles!

Due to weird Californian car laws, (iirc) cars are supposed to go 100k miles between services!

So Lotus use exactly the same part and simply say it will last 100k miles - but chance it if you dare!

I secind what was said above - not changing it on YOUR car is simply a question of the size of your own stones versus the potential cost of failure. The only downside on resale is not if it hasnt been changed until recently - as it has a nice, shiny new one - it is whether it casts doubt in the eyes of a the wary customer, upon the level of care paid to the car as a whole?

[Plug550]

Thanks for all the contributions. As I've said, I'm perfectly aware of the consequences of a cambelt going through bitter experience. But apart from Forza'a experiences above (one through oil contamination and one tensioner), no one appears to have heard of belt actually going on a Fezza. My question is still valid - is the recommended interval too regular for a car that is regularly serviced, exercised and not laid up to long periods of time?

NB. I'm not sure why I'm getting my knickers in twist over this, as I'll get them done anyway. I just don't know where three years have gone...