80k cam belt change

[krallicious]

Hello to the newly merged forum

I have a Leon Cupra 150TDi and have just passed 80,000 miles on the odometer. I took my car in for it's 80k service (at 77k) while I was back in England at Christmas and the lovely people told me when I picked the car up that they did not have time to change the belt even though it was agreed to done on the phone. Anyway I could not argue as I had to leave for Switzerland the following morning.

I have enquired about changing the belt in Switzerland (£1000) and Germany (£700) but at the local dealer in England it is under £300!!

Problem is I will be putting around another 1000miles on the car during the next couple of days and getting it back to England. Will the belt last for an extra 1000 miles or will it just end up being a false economy when it snaps and I need some major engine work.


PS. I priced up the fuel and ferry crossing to take the car back to England and it is still a lot cheaper (plus it will also save me a £150 as I can take back some bumpers in the car so will save on postage fees)

Sorry for the long post. All suggestions welcomed

Pete

[00161wj]

Its just a guideline. Remember that is the manufacturers recommended time, they obviously think it will last longer than that and are just covering there arse abit. Just have a look at it and check if its worn badly.

[krallicious]

Will do. Thought it would be along those lines. I have never seen a worn cam belt so I presume I'm looking for fraying aroung the edges?

[E21_Ross]

krallicious said:

Will do. Thought it would be along those lines. I have never seen a worn cam belt so I presume I'm looking for fraying aroung the edges?

generally speaking cam belts should last a fair bit longer than what they say, since if it does go....you basically write the engine off. i would be surprised if you couldn't see 100k miles out of that. my mum had a vw golf tdi (1996) which did 131k miles on it's first cambelt, before she saw it had never been done as she assumed it had been done it a service), it got changed 51k after the suggested time, and everything was fine. bullet proof that car was.

[steebo888]

Its better to be safe than sorry but i personally would do it in England just incase you get problems in the future with it.

Mine golf gt tdi 150 had it changed last month but the recommended interval from VW and VAG specialist is 60K or 4 years. is yours the 1.9?

[Olly]

I've got a 110bhp 1.9 Tdi Toledo (2003) & had the belt done at 87k as every different garage told be it should be chaged at a different mileage (60k, 80k & 100k were the differing values - the garage that did it were the 100k garage, but were the cheapest to do the work)

Incidentally, the Seat Main Dealer could do it for less than a mate who runs a garage !!!

I'd say wait till your back in the Uk, but check the belt before you leave & don't rag it's nuts off the whole way back !

[krallicious]

Thanks for the advice. Plan to take it slow on the way home (shame as there is a large section of derestricted autobahn to navigate ). It is the 1.9 TDi engine. Keeping my fingers crossed for the next week though!!

Once again, thank you

[7ommy]

99% certain the later tdi's 130/150 etc are on a 60k mileage threshold but the 4yr threshold might still be valid

[MElliottUK]

60k or 4 years

[hman]

most cambelt failures that i know of take place when pulling away from a stop, I think you'll be fine, you could always have a look at the condition of the belt by removing the cover and checking for cracks around the teeth or wear on the sides and back of the belt.

[krallicious]

Going to have a look at the belt over the weekend. Double checked and the change, according to the inspection plan is 80k. It is 60k for the Alhambra model TDi engines.

Can some clarify what the tension roller is please and if that is always changed when the cam belt is done.

Thanks

Pete

[hman]

its a metal wheel with a bearing inside it which sits in contact with the outside of the belt.

The purpose of it is to press against the belt to cause the belt to become tight across the pulleys which it normally serves. This makes sure that the belt doesnt fall off and also ensures that the belt keeps its teeth engaged in the pulleys. Keeping the teeth engaged is important as otherwise your camshaft to crankshaft timing will become unsynchronised and your pistons will ( in most cases ) hit the valves, ending the life of your engine.

If you take your car to a crappy garage and say " cambelt change please ", they may not replace the tensioner at the same time to cut costs. This is a false economy as the tensioner can sieze and cause enough friction to snap the belt (cue engine disintegration), or the tensioner can disintegrate allowing the belt to jump ( same effect as snapped belt), or the bearings can just get rattly and sound awful.

If you are getting your cambelt done, ask for the tensioners to be replaced at the same time, they are cheap in the scope of things.

[krallicious]

hman said:

its a metal wheel with a bearing inside it which sits in contact with the outside of the belt.

The purpose of it is to press against the belt to cause the belt to become tight across the pulleys which it normally serves. This makes sure that the belt doesnt fall off and also ensures that the belt keeps its teeth engaged in the pulleys. Keeping the teeth engaged is important as otherwise your camshaft to crankshaft timing will become unsynchronised and your pistons will ( in most cases ) hit the valves, ending the life of your engine.

If you take your car to a crappy garage and say " cambelt change please ", they may not replace the tensioner at the same time to cut costs. This is a false economy as the tensioner can sieze and cause enough friction to snap the belt (cue engine disintegration), or the tensioner can disintegrate allowing the belt to jump ( same effect as snapped belt), or the bearings can just get rattly and sound awful.

If you are getting your cambelt done, ask for the tensioners to be replaced at the same time, they are cheap in the scope of things.

Excellent. Thanks for the reply. I am taking to my local Seat Dealership so will call them to confirm they are doing the tensioner too.

[cuprabob]

It may be worth considering changing the water pump as well. They can fail at around this mileage and although the part is relatively cheap, the labour cost is high as it's basically the same operation as changing the cambelt.

I would recommend getting the cambelt, tensioner and water pump changed

[hman]

agree with above, the plastic impellers can break off which seize the pump and strip the teeth off the belt or they just dont pump the water around anymoreand you risk overheating the engine.

The v6 engine in my a6 is fitted with a plastic impeller as standard so I bought a metal impeller pump and had that fitted when the cambelt was done.

forgot i did that, otherwise would have mentioned it

[krallicious]

THank you again. The Seat garage in Germany stated they would do this but did not go into the reasons behind it.

Just booked the car in for a water pump change and confirmed he tensioner will be changed.

Thanks a lot again for all your advice

Pete