Hello, i own a Multipla 1.9 diesel.

It's time for the cambelt to be replaced and i think im going to have a go at doing it myself, but i've heard that it requries special tools to do so.

Can an intermediate mechanic do it or will it be too tricky? Also, can anyone shed any light onto what tools i would need to do the job and can it be done with the engine in-vehicle? Any help recieved would be greatly appriciated.

Thanks!

can be done with engine in.as long as the engine runs ok before you remove the belt,then all you have to do is mark all the pulleys positions to the engine,remove belt and fit new belt,the fuel pump pulley can move ,it does not matter as it is a jtd,it can be in any position.if you do not feel confident,get some one else to do it,get it wrong,and you will have to pay some one to fix it,and it will cost you loads more.............MP

Does anyone have any idea of what a Fiat dealer will charge to change the Cam Belt? Also, I guess it's not just the belt - there's usually a dealer 'kit'


(I have a Pug 106 diesel from new and the suppling dealer wanted to charge me 500 quid to fit a new cam-belt kit and insisted the water pump would need to be removed and therefore replaced at the same time. I had another pug dealer just replace the belt for 100 quid)

Hi there,
Quick question - about what mileage *should* I consider changing the cambelt on a 1.9 JTD ELX - It's currently got about 53k on the clock?

Not sure on mileage but it should be done every 5 years or X miles (cant remember what this is) so if its older then 5 years old and has no evidence of a previous change then it might be safe to get it done.

it annoys me intensly that car manufacturers put other devices on the cambelt drive pulleys, in my oppinion the cambelt should drive the cam only, that way if you do suffer a water pump failure, its not death to the engine !
Some car manufacturers even drive the air conditioning pump off the cambelt !
I was running a doblo and punto jtd, BUT I have switched to driving fiat 1.3 multijet double overhead cam, which are cam CHAIN driven, so hopefully will remain more reliable and cheaper to maintain in the long run, I've been told the chains are good for 150k + which means in most cases it should last the life of the car.

The belt went on my Bug, lots of damage-own fault as it had gone over the recommended miles, which is 73K or 5 years, whichever is sooner.The water pump was also replaced as well.Have to keep it now....
£1100 quid- ouch!

pip3 said:

Does anyone have any idea of what a Fiat dealer will charge to change the Cam Belt?

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I paid £403 in June 09 to have Fiat fit mine on my 2003 JTD with 48000 miles on the clock and this included a new water pump and a new ancillary belt. The timing belt kit on it's own would have cost me £300 fitted but I went for the extras. I asked for the parts to be kept for me and I can tell you if I knew what condition the belt was in before I got the job done I would have left it for a few more years. I have changed many timing belts in the past and I know what a worn belt looks like when it is turned inside out. Well the belt that came off of my JTD had no signs of wear at all and I believe it would have lasted for another 30-40000 miles more. It may be down to the way I drive or the kind of journeys I do I don't know. I hope this helps.

coopersan said:

The belt went on my Bug, lots of damage-own fault as it had gone over the recommended miles, which is 73K or 5 years, whichever is sooner.The water pump was also replaced as well.Have to keep it now....
£1100 quid- ouch!

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72,000 miles is what fiat say

Schlo_50 said:

Hello, i own a Multipla 1.9 diesel.

It's time for the cambelt to be replaced and i think im going to have a go at doing it myself, but i've heard that it requries special tools to do so.

Can an intermediate mechanic do it or will it be too tricky? Also, can anyone shed any light onto what tools i would need to do the job and can it be done with the engine in-vehicle? Any help recieved would be greatly appriciated.

Thanks!

Click to expand...

Not a bad job if you know how to do them not much help I know

Its quite easy actually, ive never messed with belts before the multi but i had changed the dmf and clutch and thought it couldnt be much harder.
When i changed mine i kept thinking that was too easy maybe ive forgotten something but it was fine.

The main thing is to not leave it too long, a lot of people ive spoken to over the years seem to be under the impression alfa/fiat cambelt changes are way out , i allways change every 3 years or about 50 thousand miles there is a common belief that when fiat published the belt change intervals it was in kms not miles just like the mpg readout.

Ill see if i can find my piccy from autodata about the fitting..........

Just make sure you change the cambelt the tensioner the fixed idler and the water pump , its just not worth scrimping as its mainly the tensioner idler or pump that causes the belt failure.

daza001 said:

72,000 miles is what fiat say

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Yes, but they also say 5 years and my belt after 5 years had another 30-40000 miles left in it. I know it's a gamble going past the manufactures recommended mileage/intervals but depending on how the car has been driven some could snap at half the mileage compared to others.

I done mine myself, easy job with no special tools (just a set of torx sockets and normal sockets and spanners) I never needed to lock up the engine, all you need to do is line up the lines on the new belt with the notches in the pullies, adjustment is as instructed on the new belt packaging. I done mine at about 50,000, because I was due for my trip to Italy.

Well I just had an MOT and Service at my local Autocentre, and they have quoted £177 for cambelt kit fitted, which i thought reasonable. They also said 5 years/72k, and is mine is 5 years old now and on 70k now is the time i guess!

My Multi passed with flying colours so i might actually be able to afford it!

Shepherd said:

Well the belt that came off of my JTD had no signs of wear at all and I believe it would have lasted for another 30-40000 miles more. It may be down to the way I drive or the kind of journeys I do I don't know. I hope this helps.

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It may have lasted or it may not have.

I've seen plenty of timing belts which looked perfectly serviceable - except for the fact they'd snapped! I've even seen a replacement Peugeot belt snap after only 2 weeks running.

However, you'll feel more comfortable knowing that the job's been done. And the sooner manufacturers stop saving pennies and every engine uses a cam chain the better.

shepherd said:

yes, but they also say 5 years and my belt after 5 years had another 30-40000 miles left in it. I know it's a gamble going past the manufactures recommended mileage/intervals but depending on how the car has been driven some could snap at half the mileage compared to others.

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o.k then 72,000 mils or 5 years what ever comes first.
That is what they say sorry i missed the 5 years out on my last answer.

The belt ages and thats a good reason to change it not if you have done less miles , ive seen soooooo many low mile cars that have loads of money chucked at them because parts fail. Give me a high mile well serviced car anyday.

jcc said:

Well I just had an MOT and Service at my local Autocentre, and they have quoted £177 for cambelt kit fitted, which i thought reasonable. They also said 5 years/72k, and is mine is 5 years old now and on 70k now is the time i guess!

My Multi passed with flying colours so i might actually be able to afford it!

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Had cambelt changed by Autocentres, cost £168 in the end. However, the new one seems really noisy, and car now sounds like a tappety old Ford! Getting it checked next week, will update.

i say if you change the warter in you window washer you should allways have a look around and feel the cambelt and feel the ribs in it and that will give you a clue when it should be change and look for any signs or shreding or dents into the rubber hope thats helps i learnt that of the net

Generally its not the belts that fail its drag that causes it to fail with either a crappy water pump or a seized idler pulley or the tensioner pulley.
Mine stood for 2 weeks while i did the clutch and dmf and in that time the idler pulley could no longer be turned by hand it had seized solid.