General Cam Belt/Timing Belt Change Just to be Safe

[quaffle]

Hello all,

I'm planning on getting my FIAT Punto Active Sport 1.2 16v 2003 booked for a cam belt/timing belt change as I can find no record of when the last one was done and I figured at about 75,000 miles it should be due for a second one (assuming it ha been changed when it should have been for the first time) about now. Also, I'd rather be safe than sorry because there's just no way I'd be able to afford repairs if it snapped and valve to piston contact occurred and damage was inflicted.

This is my first car and so obviously my first time dealing with garages and I was hoping you all would be so kind to answer a few questions.

Will just about any garage do this kind of job, or do I need to go some where specialist?

How much should I be paying for this (I actually have no idea)? What would be a good quote?

Also, I've seen multiple people suggesting that the water pump should be changed at the same time as the cam belt fitting has to be removed to access it anyway. Is it worth getting this done while I'm there?

Anything else I should know or be aware of?

Thanks very much for your time.

Cheers guys.

 

[jip0]

yes you should defiantly get it done if you haven't got any records

any garage should be able to do it but get quotes from various places shop around coz of the whole economic state garages will want your custom more then usual

i cant help you with quotes im afraid

definitely do the water pump with it as there is not alot of extra work involved and he shouldn't really charge any extra for labour just for the part

if you haven't got any service history or unsure then it would be a good idea to get it serviced while its there

 

[quaffle]

yes you should defiantly get it done if you haven't got any records

any garage should be able to do it but get quotes from various places shop around coz of the whole economic state garages will want your custom more then usual

i cant help you with quotes im afraid

definitely do the water pump with it as there is not alot of extra work involved and he shouldn't really charge any extra for labour just for the part

if you haven't got any service history or unsure then it would be a good idea to get it serviced while its there

Thanks for the response. OK will definitely start asking for quotes tomorrow during the day. It has a service history I just can't find a cam belt change listed there. Also, by service do you just mean things like oil filter change, oil change, spark plug change and air filter change? I've done all that myself in the week of purchase. If there's anything I'm missing please let me know.

Thank you for the advice on the water pump too, will definitely get that done also.

 

[jip0]

your welcome

only other thing that would be worth doing is flushing cooling system and changing the coolant for fresh stuff

 

[JustAndy]

Also get the tensioner done at the same time because that has to be removed to do it and they can fail sometimes

 

[Johnno260]

some garages I have used in the past put a label on the cambelt cover saying date and mileage when the work was done, you could check that.

But I would recommend getting it done, I had same issue, car with service history but no record of a cambelt change.

good luck.

 

[dave]

make sure the garage you use has the proper cam belt tools for this engine

 

[s and b]

of more importance insist fitting garage use quality parts
ie gates/dunlop
not imported rubbish in white boxes from china
timing belt
new tensioner
water pump

 

[dave]

of more importance insist fitting garage use quality parts
ie gates/dunlop
not imported rubbish in white boxes from china
timing belt
new tensioner
water pump

dunlop

oem, dayco or gates, dayco have a warranty even if fitted wrong they pay out for repairs (if the garage is signed up)

 

[tonyprice1877]

Apparently water pump is just 4 bolts and swap but to change this if it breaks requires the cam belt to be removed so amy aswell get it done at the time.

Go to somewhere who knows what there doing as i think they need special tools to lock everything together in the same place. Had mine done two weeks ago and cost me 196 quid for belt, tensioners, waterpump and coolant change.

the cam belt kit was 40 quid as was the cam belt kit so your looking at 100 quid labour roughly so if you dont get the water pump done you will be adding 100 quid to the job if it does go rather than 40 to a job to amke sure its safe

My car had also done around 75k 03 16v engine and no records of a change. My log book says 5 years or 72k miles so your overdue either way

Tony

 

[s and b]

dunlop

oem, dayco or gates, dayco have a warranty even if fitted wrong they pay out for repairs (if the garage is signed up)

i meant goodyear but was trying to make a living the same time as posting
the workmanship is only guaranteed at the place of fit if an agreement is in place between themselves and the supplying factor otherwise its up to the fitting garage to complain direct to the manufacturer or importer where a system will be in place to appraise parts failed
bare in mind fitting garage needs to have in place an assesment of best practise and also to hold all relevant tools needed and things like a Tensioner Flex Measurer but of course the OP would know all this

 

[dave]

i wouldnt trust a belt made by a tyre maker. a Tensioner Flex Measurer is not needed on this engine

 

[DaveMcT]

The 1.2/1.4 16V is not noted for a fragile cam belt but I would seriously avoid using the car until its changed. (ask me how I know).

Apart from oil filter and plugs as jip0 says also flush the cooling system. I would initially fill it with water and make sure its not leaking** then drop the water and add 2 litres of red coolant and top up with water. Read the coolant bleeding guide.

**Flushing the system can remove gunk that's blocking an existing hole. Better to know (and fix it) than have it blow out later and cause some serious overheating damage.