Like most people here I am careful not to exceed cambelt age or mileage limits, for example changing my wife's 306 1.8 belt on buying the car at only 15k miles because it was already eight years old.
However, a quick check with Dad confirms that my Mother's Volvo 440 GLi with Renault 1.7 lump, owned by her since new in 1989 is still on its original cambelt 80k miles and sixteen and a half years later! Recommended change interval is 40k miles or 5 years.
Am tempted to whip the cover off and look at the condition of belt and teeth.
Made me wonder though how much other BRers have exceeded cambelt design life by and got away with it?
|
|
There was a chap called John on here who had never changed the cambelt on his Passat on the basis of it ain't broke so don't fix it. I think the car had done over 200,000 miles.
|
|
The original cambelt on my Mk 3 Ford Capri 1600 did 80,000 miles before I changed it. It hadn't broken even then, I just thought it might be time for a change.
|
|
|
|
|
Had my SIL's Matiz in garage Tuesday (separate thread) and was chatting with owner, while he finished job he was involved with. Business is maintaining, repairing and upgrading high spec. Jap sports cars. The subject of VAG's decision to reduce change regime for cambelts came up and he maintained reason was customers suing for engine damage e.g. "Your schedule says change cambelt at 60000 miles, I've only done 59750 and the engine is trashed. It's your fault!" Easy answer for VAG? Reduce recommended time between changes. He claimed never to have seen broken cambelt in his long workshop experience, but had seen trashed engines because waterpump had seized and caused cambelt to jump or lose teeth or pulley had collapsed causing belt to fly off, but broken belt - no. He maintained cambelts were amongst strongest parts of automotive engineering.
|
Okay, let's be clear; cambelt and whatever else should be changed at the same time such as tensioners and idlers. I know a number of Vectra owners who had new belts (only) fitted which snapped a few K miles later as the tensioners weren't done at the same time.
For info, my wife's 306 1.8 belt changed at the genuine 15K miles and five years was quite close to failure; all teeth were shearing off at their base despite correct tension and no evidence of oil contamination or other physical factor. Age, pure and simple, looks like having been the cause.
|
|
2 litre 16V Passat is at 159,000 miles so will need it's second cambelt change soon. Nothing radical there I'd have thought?
|
|
|
|
He claimednever to have seen broken cambelt in his long workshop experience, but had seen trashed engines because waterpump had seized and caused cambelt to jump or lose teeth or pulley had collapsed causing belt to fly off, but broken belt - no. He maintained cambelts were amongst strongest parts of automotive engineering.
He's never seen a Ford CVH engine then! I have actually stood next to two Fords when the belts snapped. One was a 14000 mile Escort that snapped its belt when the owner started in in the yard of our garage. Another was a 12000mile example owned by our storekeeper. Both of these are back in the 1980's. I once saw a 250,000 mile Honda Legend that still had the original belt!
|
Aprilia, i have often wondered why so many Japanese manufacturers have used belts in their engines for so long.Am i right in saying that Honda, toyota,subaru and mazda have all had belt driven cams for a long time and it is only recently that these companies have gone to chains (fashion?)?
I know you prefer chains to belts,but are japanese belt driven engines superior in design than others? I would have thought that the japanese would want maximum reliability and component quality in their cars, and would use chains, but this doesnt seem to be the case.
|
|
|
apologies for veering slightly off but if here's one guy's answer to "why cam belts?"
www.diagnosticengineers.org/B5-13.htm
|
|
|
|
He claimed never to have seen broken cambelt in his long workshop experience, but had seen trashed engines because waterpump had seized and caused cambelt to jump or lose teeth or pulley had collapsed causing belt to fly off, but broken belt - no. He maintained cambelts were amongst strongest parts of automotive engineering.
Funny but my last car (bought new) had a 72,000 mile or 6 year interval for changing the cam belt. It broke six and a half years from new and at 48,000 miles, just over a fortnight before it was going in to be changed at a service. I felt really sick with the increased size of the bill which including head removal and 2 new valves. The only lucky thing was the head did not need skimming.
May be this garage owner has been very lucky or only sees very new cars.
--
Roger
I read frequently, but only post when I have something useful to say.
|
I never changed a Honda cambelt until quite recent years, when I followed the advice of (independent) dealers from whom I bought cars. I've had an (early) Aerodeck with 125k and a Prelude twin-cam with 120k, both on original belts. I sold them both on locally and never heard of any problems afterwards. If I remember correctly, the service schedule included a cambelt check but no recommendation to change at any fixed interval.
I'm just not convinced that chains are better - they have a whole different set of problems - and, going back to my days on two wheels, Honda camchains were always a pain!
Gear drive is the answer but what manufacturer's bean counters would ever allow that sort of thing these days?
|
Fiat Regata 1.6 G reg.
70,000 miles, recommended change at 40,000.
Dad's 309 SRi apparently never needed the cam belt changing. It failed at 40,000 trashing the head. It was 11 years old.
H
|
|
|
|
|
|
knew of a nissan cherry that snapped its original belt at 180,000.. and a corsa 1.5 changed at 120,000
|
|
Not a good game, rather like Russian roulete.
|
>>rather like Russian roulete.
Erm yes,but your wallet dies not you ;(
--
Steve
|
|
Your car gets mortally wounded and often never fully recovers and your wallet certainly suffers!
|
|
|
|
Made me wonder though how much other BRers have exceeded cambelt design life by and got away with it?
I'm not sure that the recommended change interval is the design life. It's what the manufacturers see as the maximum safe life under all circumstances. The design life will most probably be much greater. Although the recommended maximum mileage for a petrol Focus cambelt is 100k, my (large) dealer said that the lowest mileage to failure they had seen was 125k.
--
L\'escargot.
|
Thats a bit different To the focus(ffoc)forums experiance with cambelts.Plenty on there breaking at 60,70000.
Nobody on there seems to listen to the 10years 100,000 miles that ford say.I know i certainly didnt?
|
|
|
|
