(T) cam belt grrrrrrrrr

Hi i'm new to this forum but you guys seem to be on the ball so could do with your opinions. sorry its a long un!

I had the cambelt changed on my 98 punto sx about 3 months ago, when they showed it to me the belt looked like it had been slashed at with a bit of metal, it was in shreds. the mechanic thought that when it had been fitted a bit of metal had got caught in it and caused the problem.
well thats not the end of the story, on friday i'd gone out, parked my car came back to it and it made a very nasty noise when i tried to start it but it wouldnt start. the rac bloke told me the cam belt had gone 'eh ? i said i only had it changed 3 months ago surely it shouldnt have gone?' the rac bloke thought it was either a faulty belt or hadn't been fitted properly.
i'm getting the garage i had it fitted at to have a look but i'm worried its gonna cost me a bomb ( i already had to fork out for a hire car)
so my questions are!

should i have to pay if it was a problem of fitting or a faulty belt? if so how much do you think i should be paying, how much extra if theres a valve problem?
AND
what else could cause it the cam belt to go?

Thanks in advance
Ali [:o)]

This is a nasty one. There's nothing really other than incorrect fitting or a faulty belt that would cause it to let go. The damage could be extensive. Was it an original Fiat belt that was fitted, or an aftermarket one?

Depending on what the garage offer to do I think a solicitor could be the way forward on this one if their response is unsatisfactory.

http://www.forzafiat.com - the onlin...or Fiat owners
<h6>
Click here for pictures of my Uno
Click here for pictures of my Brava </h6>

That's a pretty scary thing that happened to your old cambelt. Was it old when it failed? The outfit that put your new belt on should probably have told you that if the cambelt does go like that it can damage the engine. What happens is that the valve timing is disturbed because the belt usually is responsible for timing it, and as a result the pistons whack the valves relatively hard which is absolutely horrible if you've ever heard it.B)

I'll lay a small wager the guys who fitted your new belt didn't set the tension properly, and that's why it's failed. There's a Fiat tool that your supposed to have to do this and if they didn't use that then they didn't fit in line with the manufacturer's guidelines. Try and catch them out on this point. Proving it might be difficult, but if that's what has happened, and it's only a suspicion of mine, then they are responsible for any damage that has occured to the valves or pistons (serious, serious, serious) and even if the engine is OK they are responsible for having a new belt fitted correctly.

Of course it is possible the belt was faulty, but less likely IMO. Having said that I put a duff alternator in recently so anything's possible.

Well, be subtle, confront them about how they fitted the belt and try and catch them out. Good luck, hope the engine's OK . Whatever happens now it's imperitive it doesn't fail again. Take it to Fiat.:)

Spirito di Punto | M-reg 55SX, black, 5dr.

thanks for the quick reply,
it really tough cos i live in a small village and its the local mechanics that fitted it who i've known since i was about 3 years old! i'm just keeping my fingers crossed that they'll admit it was their fault or the belts and write off the bill! i'm willing (sort of)to forget about the extra expense of towing (so gutted when i found out that my works rac cover didnt cover a tow grrr £150 down the drain!) and hire cars. depending on what they say i may get a second opinion....
i had a look myself and the belt thats fitted looks a quite narrow for what its fitted on and its a different colour to the previous one (its more beige than black like the last one) have't a clue if its a fiat made one or not though. god i'm such a girl!

Just because you know them don't let them walk all over you. It's not your fault. It is a tricky one though.

http://www.forzafiat.com - the onlin...or Fiat owners
<h6>
Click here for pictures of my Uno
Click here for pictures of my Brava </h6>

Throw the boyfriend at them?

Hey, if I find I bought clothes that didn't fit me after all (I never try them on in the shop - don't you just hate doing that?) I get the Mrs. to take them back :)

I hate those bloody poncey clothes shops!

Spirito di Punto | M-reg 55SX, black, 5dr.

alice h ,just remember as you live in a small village then word of mouth is probably there strongest method of advertising and im sure they dont want you telling everyone how they 'fixed' your car and then 3 months later hit you with a bill for the same thing.stand by your guns.i have never heard of a belt going that soon except for ecotec vauxhalls where the crappy plastic tensioner falls to bits if its not changed with the belt.as for the tow charge that is a direct result of the belt failure.if they want your and other locals business in the future then they should absorb the cost.its s**tty for them too but hey thats what being in a service industry is about;)

The Fiat Cinquecento
Fun While It Runs

yup i may be tiny but i can stand up for myself! which i will be doing if i dont get what i want
Thanks a lot for your replies
:)

Well, keep us informed. I'm sure we all want to know what exactly went wrong (just to prove ourselves right:D. I'd be anxious to know if this has damaged the engine as I'm trying to work out an average amount of 'damage done' when cambelts go on modern engines.

Spirito di Punto | M-reg 55SX, black, 5dr.

i'm rather anxious myself! garage are ahving a proper look thursday. typical they've got a mechanic of sick this week so i got to wait!
i'll keep you informed!
:)

Never EVER trust garages to do a proper job!
A cambelt should NOT fail within 3 months if it's been properly fitted - in fact, the original FIAT item should last a minimum of 40,000 miles (and FIAT's recommended interval is 70,000). So the garage either fitted a crap belt, or fitted it incorrectly, or both. It's dead easy to get the belt tension right even without using any special tools, so they've no excuse.
Just to be on the safe side, when you go to the garage take someone with you who knows about cars and who can see through their bull***t (I have to do this whenever my mum takes her Citroen for servicing as they try anything to get your £££!).
And, as Pritch says, it'd be interesting to see how much carnage a broken belt causes to a Punto engine...

------/F/I/A/T/------

Fart In A Tin

Hey guys someone on here i think it was fiat expert( where is he latley) said that the 8 valve engines are ok if belt goes because even if valve is fully open it won't hit piston.

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Really? Sure would be reassuring to hear that from the horse's mouth. I could almost see how that might work..

Spirito di Punto | M-reg 55SX, black, 5dr. Clear repeaters. I'm fitting remote locking this week!!

Did they replace the timing / cam belt tensioner as well? These have had history of going. If they havent replaced the tensioner and just the belt, there isnt a reason why the belt shouldnt go again if you have a dodgy tensioner bearing. Worth asking the question...

regards
Paul

www.fiatbravo.org.uk - http://welcome.to/thebravoforum - paul@fiatbravo.org.uk
Current Fiat fleet:
'00 Punto Sporting (broom yellow) - '02 Punto Sporting (sprint blue) - '94 Tipo 1.4 ie S

I've found the horse it was fiat expert read it hear..
http://www.fiatcentral.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=5567

He is right i had 10thou skimmed of my head and the valves still didn't come past the bottom.

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Please do not Email or PM me asking for support. Post on the forums instead. Your reply may help someone else. Thank you