Leon 1.8 cam belt snapping | Technical matters | Back Room Forum

What is life like with your car? Let us know and win £500 in John Lewis vouchers | No thanks

Mon 23 Feb 2004 08:42

Leon 1.8 cam belt snapping - Webwussie

Some help for a car buying novice please!!

I read elsewhere on this site that one of the bad points to buying a Leon 1.8 20v SE is that the cam belt is prone to snapping between 70k and 80k miles. Is this just rectifiable by putting a new one on or is the snapping problem related to more than just an old cam belt? Would it snap anyway regardless of how new the belt was?

I've been tempted by one of these cars but obviously don't want to go for it if the engine is likely to knack up after five minutes!

Can anyone advise?

Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Mon 23 Feb 2004 12:29

Leon 1.8 cam belt snapping - RichardW

Cambelts are made of rubber, and have a finite life. They must be changed as part of the routine servicing of a car - trouble is, it can get neglected as it often seems to cost a lot of money - especially as some manufacturers seem to fit belt tensioners that are made of chocolate and cheese and need replacing (at huge cost) at the same time. If you find a car that has had its belt changed at the appropriate interval(s) you shouldn't need to worry until the next time it's due. If you're buying a used car and there is no history, try and get the belt changed as part of the deal.

Do a forum search on here and you'll see that cambelt failure is likely to lighten your wallet by a four figure sum.....

--
RichardW

Is it illogical? It must be Citroen....

Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Mon 23 Feb 2004 13:18

Leon 1.8 cam belt snapping - DL

This is the very reason both HJ and myself plus many others here advocate 'premature' cambelt changes - say at 40-50K max
--
groups.msn.com/honestjohn - Pictures say a thousand words..... Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Related questions

Are there advantages to having oil fed cam belts?

How reliable is the PSA 1.2 engine?

I have read a lot of bad press on the PSA 1.2 petrol engine, how much of this is actual and does it cover the turbo and non turbo engines?

Does the Rover 45 have a Japanese engine?

I've read that the engines in the Rover 45 vary in quality and that the Japanese engines were best? How can you tell? My parent's car is playing up and we're thinking of replacing the engine.

Is the engine in an MG ZT 2.5 the same as the engine in a Rover 825 Coupe?

Ask Honest John

Sell Your Car

Real MPG

Fuel Calculator