General Ducato tensioner question

[blue_eyes]

Hi there, I really hope someone might be able to help me with a technical question.

About three weeks ago I had my 1990 Ducato motorhome serviced, all told it came to over £600 (with quite a lot of bits replaced etc). One of the things he fitted new was a timing belt.

So I set off on Friday for the Bank Holiday weekend, get about 15 miles and the engine cuts out. Turns out the tensioner's gone and the engine's not looking great. The mechanic who serviced it now says the problem was with the bolt holding the tensioner, but since it was inside the engine he didn't know it was loose/worn/whatever causes bolts to go suddenly and rip through your valves.

My question is, is it reasonable that a mechanic would fit a new timing belt to an eighteen year old van and not check that the tensioner's in good condition and secure? Or is it more than convenient coincidence that his pal just happens to have a Ducato engine going spare?!

I know nothing about engines (hate to say this but they don't really offer car maintenance classes at girls' schools), so would really appreciate any help.

Thanks a lot.

Alex

 

[Xen]

sounds very suspicious to me. it is certainly recommended to replace the tensioner when doing the timing belt. I can't see any excuse why he would not have spotted a knackered tensioner when doing the timing belt - you have to slacken the tensioner to do the timing belt anyway so there really isn't any excuse to have 'missed' it.

If anything it may have actually been his fault when retightening the tensioner... it would be such an unbelievable coincidence for the tensioner to have failed due to its own fault just shortly after being re-adjusted.

It could be that he didn't tighten the tensioner nut quite enough so that it worked loose, allowing the timing belt to slip and ruin the engine. Could have been a genuine mistake, could have been malicious. either way its his fault. I can't imagine they'd be much call for Ducato engines of that age so maybe it was intentional so his mate could get his engine sold.

Get it independantly inspected and take the guys ass to a small claims court if necessary, sound like he could be a right cowboy.

 

[ken page]

totally agree with the above only an idiot would change a cam belt and not the tensioner. persue it and tell him that it will go to court if he does not fix it at his expense..best of luck

 

[Torq]

Hi Guys,
It only takes another 5 minutes to change the tensioner pulleys and as Ken says only an idiot wouldn't do it. On my van in this thread the belt had been changed but not the pulleys, if they had been then the "mechanic" might have noticed that the tensioner was cracked and about to fail.
keep well,
Torq

 

[TinCanMan]

Hello,
I would agree with all the above. I am due to get my 2000 reg. Ducato motorhome timing belt changed for the first time and am pondering where to get it done, trying to balance cost with reliable service. One local garage refuses to change the belt without replacing the tensioners also (false economy). I priced the timing belt kit and I believe it also includes the belt, two pulleys, two heavy duty mounting brackets AND the mounting bolts, there is obviously a very sound reason for there inclusion in the kit, if this is indeed the case. Don't let them 'fob you off'. If you're in the RAC/AA they may be willing to support you in this matter! Best of luck.

 

[blue_eyes]

Thank you all very much. I suspected as much, but it's good to have it confirmed by people who know what they're talking about! He's now saying that the particular design of engine has hydraulic tensioners which get pushed back to slacken the belt for changing, so he never had the tensioner off or went anywhere near the bolt. Sorry to keep picking your brains, but is this just something he's saying because he knows I don't know about engines or is this possibly true? Apparently the belt stayed on and even nearly maintained proper tension right up till the engine stopped running, it was a bolt on the inside of the engine block which sheared off and has caused damage inside.

Thanks again.

 

[simon_h]

I recently changed the belt on my 1993 2.5TD. The kit came with a tensioner pully and an idler pully. The tensioner itself is spring loaded but once in place and correctly tensioned MUST be locked securly by tightening the tensioner pully bolt. THis means that the tensioner spring is only really used when setting it up. If this is not done properly the belt may loose tension and slip. The belt may well still be on but the valves will have clashed with the piston crowns causing lots of damage.

On mine this was tricky as there isnt much room, it took me a couple of goes before I was happy with it. I would suggest that any garage should be able to do this properly.

Good luck getting them to sort it out!

 

[Xen]

Ask him exactly what it was that sheared and we will be able to give you a better idea whether it could have been his workmanship at fault or maybe something he should have spotted while servicing the engine.

Changing the belt without the tensioner on such an old engine is still very bad practice.

 

[Xen]

Apparently the belt stayed on and even nearly maintained proper tension right up till the engine stopped running,

As simon said, it doesn't matter if the belt has stayed on - if the tension was lost even slightly, the belt could have slipped and ruined the engine. So maintaining nearly proper tension while the engine is running isn't good enough - it has to be properly tensioned or damage could easily occur (which is probably what happened in this case.)

It still sounds very suspect to me I'm afraid

Like I said, get him to name the exact part that failed and we can advise you further from there