Hi all, I know from when I bought my car last month that it needed it's cambelt changed, so I thought ok I'll do it soon, but know I had a look this morning and I found to be cracked and stressed.
98 R reg Marea 2.0 20v 73,000 M



What do you think

I plan to change it next friday, I hope it lasts till then.
Oh, and I have read the thread on the camblt change.

Cheers Rob.

Difficult to tell from the pic but if it's looking rough you're on borrowed time! If you can please don't use it. You'll be gutted if it snaps on you a day or so before you planned to get it changed - and yes - this does happen to people!

Yes, just as I thought. It does look rough, but the rubber stress lines cause me the most concern.

Rob

yeah deff get it sorted ASAP, mines not looking too healthy but i'm in the middle of chaging heads so its being done, i knew it was due (ish) my engines on 60k and the chassis is on 100k

I know in smaller engines people often recommend it early, but is every 70,000 a pretty safe bet with the 2.0s? Mine was done at 72,000 (now at 98,000), is it easy enough to do the visual check?

chrisb46 said:

I know in smaller engines people often recommend it early, but is every 70,000 a pretty safe bet with the 2.0s? Mine was done at 72,000 (now at 98,000), is it easy enough to do the visual check?

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72 is what fiat recommend but i think everyone will tell you do it at 60k at the latest as they seem renound for snapping early!

I think I'll order the parts this week if I can.

But looking at the pic, do you think the belt is 73,000 miles old or do think there maybe the possibility of the belt being changed maybe at the 40,000 miles mark. Bearing in mind my car didn't come with a service history, but I didn't mind that because I got it from ebay at a good price. But hey that's life.

Rob

honestly couldnt tell from the pic, on shop4parts they belt and tensioners total £92 but my brother has just told me he has a friend in the fiat/alfa parts industry so he's getting me a price, will let you know on that one

Given how hard the belt is to change I would guess it's the full 73k. The reason they are so cheap to buy around the 70k age is the cost of the belt change by Fiat. It's just not worth it! Many people simply drive them until they snap. Some offload them before it snaps. Luckly we have guides written by Pete and specialists who do it for a lot less than the £1000+ quoted by Fiat.

I guessed when I looked at the belt this morning, that it could well be 73,000 miles old, but I can't believe that neither the last 2 owners could have beared the maintanence cost considering the cost of the when it was new.

Rob

Hellcat said:

Given how hard the belt is to change I would guess it's the full 73k. The reason they are so cheap to buy around the 70k age is the cost of the belt change by Fiat. It's just not worth it! Many people simply drive them until they snap. Some offload them before it snaps. Luckly we have guides written by Pete and specialists who do it for a lot less than the £1000+ quoted by Fiat.

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i would actually go as far as saying it actually pretty easy to do its just the ****ing rusted bolts are a complete bitch to work with!

i've gotten stuck again as i cant get the tensioner nut off and dont want to round it off, dunno if i should do the manly thing and just cut the belt and worry about it later or try get it off now, tempted to dill thru the winng so i can get a socket on it :chin:

EDIT: and yes my car was very cheap only £15 more than my uno

Save that for when it's running! Don't jinx yourself! As for your tensioner, heat (if you can get it in) and lots of oil.

Hellcat said:

Save that for when it's running! Don't jinx yourself! As for your tensioner, heat (if you can get it in) and lots of oil.

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i could heat it but will ment the belt and i think theres rubber bits in the tensioner...

I hope you are replacing the tensioner!

Hellcat said:

I hope you are replacing the tensioner!

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yup

Good luck, we should be able to advertise 20V belt changes at reasonable prices shortly.

Belt changes should be about every 50k, depending on how you drive, to be on the safe side. Fiat say that the belt should be changed on 72k or 72 months whichever is sooner.

Fiat have actually halfed the cam belt renewal its approx 40 -50K now or every 3 years. They can snap at 30K, 50K depends on how the cars driven and what its used for. Short trips wont do it any good.

JoskeJTD said:

Fiat have actually halfed the cam belt renewal its approx 40 -50K now or every 3 years. They can snap at 30K, 50K depends on how the cars driven and what its used for. Short trips wont do it any good.

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yeah, i know my marea had an engine swap at 40k, i suspected it was because the belt snapped, probably going flat out lol cruddy belts

why cant we just use chains or cogs?

When I bought mine at 92,000 it was still on the original belt - but I don't think it had ever been thrashed. Belt still looked ok though!

good point about chains, my old escort 1.3 had a timing chain, ford dont recommend it ever needs changing or any kind of adjustment or maintanance. my escort had over 120k on when i sold it and the chain wasnt even slack. i'd screwed it all over for 47k. great idea, why anyone uses rubber belts is beyond me