Dethleffs said:

My 2.8Jtd (on a motorhome) apparently has a timing belt change interval of five years. I’ve owned it for about two years and the belt was last changed the end of 2013. Since the belt change it’s done about 14,000 miles. I appreciate that the belt requires changing, my question is why so soon?

For instance with my last car, a Citroen, my garage told me that the timing belt should be changed at 150,000 miles. I sold the car at 13 years old with 135,000 miles on the clock.

So what is it about the Ducato timing belt technology that gives it a short longevity?

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I find quite often that even professional mechanics can't always understand the most basic instructions in service manuals - or they can but they try to fob off customers because they don't want the job.

You don't say what model your Citroen was, but it is normal for belt replacement (as with many other service items including oil changes) to be specified as required at a maximum mileage or a maximu7m ti8me interval, whichever comes first.

For the Ducato X290 2.3Mj, replacement is mandated at 144,000 kms, or at 5 years if the mileage requirement has not been reached at that time. The advice also states that the belt should be changed after 4 years in the case of heavy duty use, which includes cold conditions, predominantly town or city driving, long periods of idling or not being used, towing a trailer etc.

The reason is that belts can perish over time, from normal degradation of their material, as well as from wear during use. On some vehicles, including the Ducato, they also drive ancillaries such as the water pump. Seizure of the pump can cause failure of the belt, as can wear or failure of the belt roller or pump pulley shaft bearings, which is why replacement of those items is often advised at the same time as the belt.

If you hadn't changed the belt on your Citroen in 13 years, you were already on borrowed time. You might not have exceeded the mileage, but would almost certainly have exceeded the time requirement. You should have bought a lottery ticket!

Replacement for the belt on my Volvo is a maximum 8 years, but I certainly won't be leaving it that long before I change it.

Change a timing belt every 5 years or 100,000 miles whichever comes first, and whatever the car. In hot climates take 25% off those figures. If the belt does not drive a camshaft (some Ford diesels) there is no hurry at all as breakage will not cause the valves and pistons to contact each other. I have a Ford Escort TD and change the cam belt every 100,000km and the pump belt every 200,000km, making every other belt change somewhat easier. Fiat recommendations sometimes leave me a bit puzzled such as their insistence on Selenia oils. What can be wrong with any oil that exceeds the stated specification?

rolandbrindley said:

Fiat recommendations sometimes leave me a bit puzzled such as their insistence on Selenia oils. What can be wrong with any oil that exceeds the stated specification?

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They don't insist on Selenia, they recommend it because they have a marketing arrangement with PETRONAS, so it's in their interest to promote it. Same as Volvo "recommend" Castrol Edge.

Fiat Pro dealers I've been to don't use Selenia for servicing, although they'll happily sell it to punters who want to pay through the nose for it. They bulk buy oil conforming to Fiat's tech specification, which doesn't actually specify or recommend any particular brand of oil.

I'm told FCA in the US "recommend" Shell Helix for vehicles sold there.


Edit: Didn't mean to type PETRONAS in capitals - it gets changed from lower case when I save or post for some strange reason!

Dethleffs said:

My 2.8Jtd (on a motorhome) apparently has a timing belt change interval of five years. I’ve owned it for about two years and the belt was last changed the end of 2013. Since the belt change it’s done about 14,000 miles. I appreciate that the belt requires changing, my question is why so soon?

For instance with my last car, a Citroen, my garage told me that the timing belt should be changed at 150,000 miles. I sold the car at 13 years old with 135,000 miles on the clock.

So what is it about the Ducato timing belt technology that gives it a short longevity?

Click to expand...

What model was the car, chances are your garage was talking through their ass. Longest time interval I've seen was 7 years and that was with a fancy continental long life belt.

Worst thing about mothorhomes is most of them are sitting for 6 months or more in a year. In an industrial machine you would be required to remove or at least detension the belt for idle periods of that length and replace it if it hadn't been done. The belts are often reinforced with glass cords that can fracture invisibly inside the belt.