Technical 36000 mile service

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Technical 36000 mile service

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Dec 3, 2007
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Belper
Hi all

I will hit the 36000 mile mark this week and so am due to put the b in for a full service. At this point I believe I should get the variator and cambelt changed. I know someone here has suggested before buying the items myself to make sure of getting the right quality but I can't find the thread. Can anyone tell me is this the best idea and if so, please direct me to where I can buy the right variator from? My car is 2004 MkII.

Also I'm sure someone has mentioned that you need a special tool to remove/fit the variator. Is this something my local garage is likely to have? I don't really want to go to the Fiat garage as the one near me doesn't have a great reputation.

Any finally, can anyone give me a rough idea of what it will cost for a full service including cambelt and variator change?

Thanks guys

Xs
 
Lots of dollar (LOL)

I would also look at sourcing your own Spark Plugs (Iridum ones from E-Bay) May have spelt that wrong.

Good quality oil as they put cheap 15\40 Semi in.

Variator I believe is £80 cost.
Cam belt and tensioners £40 ish...

You could phone your Fiat dealer and ask them for a print out of recommendations and see what you can afford. being honest if you car starts well 1st time why replace the spark plugs.

Also look at total fluid change, power steering, gear box, breaks, air con etc. (Air con can cost you £80)

I think your looking in the region of £450 +

(n)
 
Hey Shel! - hope all is well with you guys?

DTR do a fixed cost of £400 for CAM belt and Variator (with tensioners etc), I called several FIAT and Alfa specialists and could not get better than £550. I know its a bit of a drive but might be worth a trip to DTR to get it all done at once.
 
Hi LRB
We are both fine thanks, hope you are too. Are you going to Bristol this year?

I had a look at where DTR are now on the map, if had been North of London I think I would have gone to them but that is just too far for me. I trust my local garage to do the service, its just the variator and timing belt aspect of it that I want to make sure they get right. I drive past them on my way home so I might just pop in for a chat and see what they say.
Would you buy your own variator or let them do it?
xs
 
I've been reading through some of the threads on variators and see that they say the variator problems were sorted out on post 1998 cars. Is that correct?

Please can anyone tell me if it is OK not to change the variator on a 2004 car? It would be good to save a bit of money...!

xs
 
I amj planning on going to Bristol again this year (situation permitting)...

I was going to suggest that anyone who was planning on attending meet somewhere so we can turn up together, this will ensure that we don't get split up over 4 or 5 streets like we did last year.

You should be fine with the variator but I would suggest changing the tensioner and followers.
 
I've been reading through some of the threads on variators and see that they say the variator problems were sorted out on post 1998 cars. Is that correct?
Hi Shel,

It's not correct I'm afraid. There have been several models of variator over the life of the barchetta, each better than the last but none of them is perfect. My car (a 2000 model) is now on its third variator. The first two started getting a bit noisy on start up before they were changed despite being newer revised models.

If you're getting the timing belt changed I'd definately suggest getting the variator and possibly water pump done too. DTR will supply you with latest model by post which you can then give your garage to fit. The risk is that if you get one from elsewhere it may be an earlier one that'll last less well.

All the best,

Stuart
 
My 2004 b with 20,000 miles on the clock used to rattle occasionally at start-up, so I'd agree that the variator problem wasn't solved on the later engines.
 
There was a release of an 'upgraded' variator that was supposed to have fixed the problem - trouble is there does not seem to be any logic behind what cars they were fitted to!

Main way to keep the variator working well is to use the correct grade of oil and change it about every 6k miles or so. According to DTR dirty oil is the main cause of them failing, apparently the tolerances inside the unit are tiny and it takes very little to foul them up. That said mine was fine when I bought the car at 54k-ish miles, I changed the oil as regular as clockwork and it still failed late last summer............
 
I've just rung MGC Servicing in Nottingham for 36k service inc cambelt prices and both with and without variator change. I think Silverbarchetta said he'd heard good reports of them so if they are reasonable I'll let you know for those of us in this area.
xs
 
I certainly would not use the Derby Fiat dealer again, I put mine in to them for a major service, they didn't change the air filter and although they charged me for new plugs didn't actually change them!

Also after fitting a new variator, under warranty, the engine died each time you came to a stop as the timing was set wrong.

I would be interested to hear how you get on with the Nottingham garage.
 
I got a price from MGC Servicing

36k service £124.63
Cambelt change £244.24
Variator change £133.92

They said to note that on barchettas they always change the rocker cover when they change the belt, some problem they have noticed, sorry I didn't really catch why. They also said they always have at least 2 of the latest variators in stock as they change at least one a week on fiat and alfas.

What do you think?

Also can anyone tell me what exactly is meant by a 'reconditioned' engine? If my car had a reconditioned engine at 23k miles then does that mean it has really only done 13k miles and the cambelt and variator are only that old ? Maybe it is too soon to change them?? :rolleyes:

Hopefully
xs
 
Prices don't sound too bad to me, if they know what they are doing I would go with the quoted prices.

If the engine is re-cond at 23k then it should have a new cam belt and variator so you should be OK for a while. That said if it was over 3 years ago you should have the cam belt changed as a matter of course.
 
Ok its booked in for Wednesday assuming I can get it started to get to the garage! I think I will ask for their advice on variator when I get there. I'm not sure whether to trust that it had a new one with the reconditioned engine so if it comes to it i'll have to spend the money for peace of mind.
I'll let you know how it goes with the garage as I think we could do with a good one in the midlands!
xs
 
Hi guys.
Latest update.
The car has just been into MGC Servicing in Nottingham. It had the service, cam belt, variator, plus they gave it a thorough check over and looked into the starting problem. Also ferried me to work and back.They think the problem was that I was using the service key (the blue one) and also had the other blue/silver key on the key ring - both of which have chips in and they had started to interfere with each other so the immobiliser was playing up. Hopefully that is right as its a fairly simple thing to sort out and since I've put the service key on my other key ring the car is starting fine!
They also gave me some good pre-advice, went through everything with me that they had done in detail and generally seemed genuine and friendly.
The bill was approx £485 which was less than I was expecting. So far pleased and will use them again.
xs
 
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