Has anyone actually had a cambelt failure?
Discussion
I have a B230FK engine in my volvo 940 and thats non interference. Last change was in 2006 at 97,000 miles. Its now 2012 and at 150,000 miles. I have the cambelt kit, and I assume its worth doing the waterpump too, so that will be done in the next few months. non-interference or not, its worth it for peace of mind.
Nick1point9 said:
most audi cam chains are prone to stretching, and then its megamoney to get it changed, even if it doesn't actually fail.
Audis with chain cams must be few and far between, I thought they were mostly belt driven?Also cam chains stretching is normally down to poor maintenance/abuse, no?
Had loads go, so many i aint going to try and list em 
I've also had timing chains go but nowhere near as many, so put it this way i recently bought a new s
tter daily for £140 (Mk6 escort) and i spent £200 on a full belt kit for it as soon as i got it home, probably ths fist time i've done the "learning from my mistakes" bit (hense the lots of belts snapped) BUT,,, the £140 car was a 1 owner, low millage, FFSH, so it was worth it, even with a max resale value of £500 it was worth it, even with a S/H engine costing only £140 it was worth it.
I've also had timing chains go but nowhere near as many, so put it this way i recently bought a new s
tter daily for £140 (Mk6 escort) and i spent £200 on a full belt kit for it as soon as i got it home, probably ths fist time i've done the "learning from my mistakes" bit (hense the lots of belts snapped) BUT,,, the £140 car was a 1 owner, low millage, FFSH, so it was worth it, even with a max resale value of £500 it was worth it, even with a S/H engine costing only £140 it was worth it.Yep in my S40 TDI, dented a piston, bent a valve and bent the camshaft, thus requiring a new (secondhand) head.
@JamesN, the 240/740/940 cambelts can be done in ~30 minutes (honestly!) if you really go at it, if you've already got the kit you may as well just get on and do it one afternoon.
@JamesN, the 240/740/940 cambelts can be done in ~30 minutes (honestly!) if you really go at it, if you've already got the kit you may as well just get on and do it one afternoon.
Nedzilla said:
I wouldn't bother.If the car costs less than a grand i would just run it till it dies.Chances are it will be fine,if it goes,so what.
I really don't understand this. It could snap a week after you buy it, so do you just splash out another grand on a banger and not bother to maintain that either? Are you quite happy to be stranded somewhere for hours whilst a recovery service turns up?As long as you are buying something pretty run of the mill, then timing belts are really not difficult to fit* and a timing belt kit will be somewhere between £40 and £100 for the majority of cars (some are a little more expensive). I'd far rather pay such a small sum for complete piece of mind.
- i.e. not an MR2 Turbo, Fiat Coupe 20VT or ZS180 like I have stupidly bought. All of which were horrible jobs.
V88Dicky said:
Audis with chain cams must be few and far between, I thought they were mostly belt driven?
Also cam chains stretching is normally down to poor maintenance/abuse, no?
What sort of abuse could you give an engine that would cause a timing chain to stretch? Also cam chains stretching is normally down to poor maintenance/abuse, no?
This is a common problem on Audi 3.2 engine.
jbi said:
Non interference engine so going to let it run and see how long before it goes 
Currently sitting at 94,000 miles on original 20 year old belt
If it was in ideal conditions the belt should last for ever. The problem is more usually that the tensioner fails. Or the belt gets damaged by oil or a shield that catches it. Or the water pump seizes.Currently sitting at 94,000 miles on original 20 year old belt
chris1roll said:
@JamesN, the 240/740/940 cambelts can be done in ~30 minutes (honestly!) if you really go at it, if you've already got the kit you may as well just get on and do it one afternoon.
Yep. Really easy to get too. Unfortunatly, I'm not the mechanical type and wouldn't know where to start! Happened to both my Capris (non interference engines). Unbeknown to me, one of them had a small oil leak from the oil seal at the end of the ohc and it had got on to the belt which rotted the belt teeth over time.
Eventually a few teeth came off and so did the belt while I was in the middle of Droitwich
.
Oh, and a tensioner broke on my company 03 Astra 1.7tdi at about 65000 miles. Not sure how much damaged was caused, but it was in the garage for well over a week.
Eventually a few teeth came off and so did the belt while I was in the middle of Droitwich
.Oh, and a tensioner broke on my company 03 Astra 1.7tdi at about 65000 miles. Not sure how much damaged was caused, but it was in the garage for well over a week.
Nick1point9 said:
Classic Grad 98 said:
...or buy a car with a cam chain- most are fit for life.
most audi cam chains are prone to stretching, and then its megamoney to get it changed, even if it doesn't actually fail.Cars eh?
Belts with decent access and clear timing marks is all you need. Cannot think for the life of me a car that meets those criteria in the last decade though...
ETA: Oh sorry forgot to say, 2.2 vectra chain stretched and killed head, valves and pistons. Craptastic.
Edited by Prof Prolapse on Monday 9th January 22:22
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