Vauxhall Cavalier (1988 - 1995) - 93 2.5 cam belt changes

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Tue 15 Dec 2009 16:59
93 2.5 cam belt changes - Experienced Insight
Well aware of the standard gospel on the recommended service interval for cam belt and pulley changes on the CX25XE engine but having recently been presented with a quote for £380 by the main dealer am wondering whether a change now is strictly justified. The last change, together with the water pump, was carried out some six years ago but the car has done only 24k miles since then all of which has been long distance work. Given that it has largely been kept in a garage and there are no visible oil leaks that might have contaminated the belt - although not easy to view - I question whether the belt and pulleys are in other than good condition and the work is necessary. Bit of a quandary though as the cav is in excellent nick and would'nt want a belt failure as safety considerations particularly at high speed also apply. Is postponing the cam belt,pulley and water pump change for another year or so a false economy or maybe a reasonable risk in view of the low stress imposed on the existing belt and pulleys. Is cam belt life inherently unpredictable or is the dealer pushing towards scrappage by upping the ante on the advisories such as the cam belt change.
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Tue 15 Dec 2009 17:24
93 2.5 cam belt changes - Victorbox
If your Cavalier is in excellent nick it's value is probably slowly on the rise judging by some eBay and Pistonhead cars advertised for sale recently. 4 years max is probably a good rule of thumb for aging of these older cam belts whatever mileage they've done. £380 buys you peace of mind, because if it goes bang, your car is scrap of course.

You could ask for a second opinion here www.vodc.co.uk/

or here www.vauxhallownersnetwork.co.uk/forumdisplay.php?f...2

Edited by Victorbox on 15/12/2009 at 17:25

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