Hi All,

I am now (well my wife) the proud owner of a 2010 reg 1.3 doblo, love the car went for it to accomadate our growing family and the 3 car seats fit in the back ace

However I do have a query around the cam chain, in T14086's sticky thread he states;

Fault : Engine failure
Cause : Water pump failure leading to timing belt failure
Cure : Renew water pump with timing belt every 5 years/60K

Now I know this states belt and not chain, yet does anyone have any detail of when (if at all) this needs changing ? My handbook only states the change excludes the 1.3 engine but then does not detail if its necessary at all.

Searching through the forum I've read people saying it "should" be good for the life of the engine, I'm hoping that as mine has only done 28k (and doing 8-10k a year) then I should be fine for years to come.

Thanks in advance guys.

DT

1.3 chain is supposed to last the life of the engine, but will be worth looking at mk3 Panda section as a few seem to be having issues with them and have had to change them / had them fail

Cam chains are only as good as the oil that lubricates them!

ALWAYS stick to the servicing interval UNLESS you tend to use Arnold Clarke or sit in long, long queue's of stationary traffic!

My advice is avoid the former and if the latter, change it every 6k miles.

Use ONLY decent oil (whatever is advised for the 1.3) and if possible, FIAT oil filters.

If the car is mostly used for town/city runs, take it on a motorway/dual carriageway run for around 7/10 miles at least once each two weeks to let it get hot and burn off the condensation that can build up in the engine oil.

Other than that, regular servicing and listen for a change of engine noise, such as clacking, clattering or any unusual RRRRRRRRRRR noise at any revs.