John202020 said:

I'm new here, I've read some of the other cam belt threads but am still confused, bought our 59 plate 1,2 pop in October last year for £4k 58,0000 miles, the independent, dealer changed the front discs/pads, new sump and new battery free of charge before we picked it up, as it will be six this year I thought it should have the cam belt changed sooner rather than later, rang the local Fiat dealer just for some idea of how much its going to cost us, they were a little vague, but guy said "why are you wanting it changed this early?"
they said its 7 years before it requires replacement, book says 5 I think, so what/who is correct, and is it essential to replace the water pump, on my past Honda's I never changed the water pump.

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Pathaleon said:

Fiat quoted me around £500 for a cam belt on my 1.4 and around £100 of that was parts.

My preferred indie did it for £200 all included and even replaced my oil and filter that I had bought to do myself.

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John202020 said:

I'm willing to try to fix most things but having looked this up I think it'll be going to a garage will phone around for some quotes

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frupi said:

Entirely agree with all of the advice above. Firstly, if it were me, I'd stay away from Fiat for this type of job. Any decent independent garage can do the job, though my preference is usually a good independent specialist who sticks primarily to just a couple of brands.

Yes, parts can generally be bought cheap. As an example, my Saab 9-3 has the Fiat 1.9 Tid engine fitted and the cambelt/waterpump and tensioners I can buy from a Fiat dealership for £100, genuine Fiat boxed parts. My local indie charges me £250 inc of vat to fit, this includes a full coolant change. The recommendation for that engine through years of experience from owners, is 40k miles or 4 years, 5 at a push, even though the service manual states 10 years or 90k miles!

Concerning the waterpump, yes, absolutely, the recommendation is always to change the waterpump with the cambelt and tensioners. It's a false economy not to and any decent mechanic will advise you to change it anyway. The cambelt generally doesn't fail as a result of general wear and tear, it's usually the waterpump that fails, they initially start weeping water, turns into a drip which gets all over the cambelt and that is what causes the cambelt to shred.

https://www.shop4parts.co.uk/?name=store&op=Details&ProdID=13950&sku=254499

The above link is a guide, ultimately, you are responsible for checking part numbers if you buy the kit yourself.

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iamnicolas said:

I found this website that might be helpful for you: https://www.clickmechanic.com

My brother used it for car service and it seems really good.

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John202020 said:

I'm new here, I've read some of the other cam belt threads but am still confused, bought our 59 plate 1,2 pop in October last year for £4k 58,0000 miles, the independent, dealer changed the front discs/pads, new sump and new battery free of charge before we picked it up, as it will be six this year I thought it should have the cam belt changed sooner rather than later, rang the local Fiat dealer just for some idea of how much its going to cost us, they were a little vague, but guy said "why are you wanting it changed this early?"
they said its 7 years before it requires replacement, book says 5 I think, so what/who is correct, and is it essential to replace the water pump, on my past Honda's I never changed the water pump.

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Hi,
the cambelt is best changed as a "set", the belt waterpump, and idler bearings / pulleys the belt runs on,
it's often a failed idler that will damage the belt and trash the engine:bang:

the FIRE engines have been around for decades..so most mechanics will have done SOME work on them,

I'm pretty sure the Current FORD KA uses the same engine
https://www.fiatforum.com/500-guides/420525-replacing-water-pump-timing-belt-1-2l-engine.html

Charlie

John202020 said:

Thanks for all your help guess I'll have to budget it this year, tried that Click-mechanic came back at a very reasonable £215 all in for pump and belt kit, so will probably use that, thanks everyone.

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