Technical when to change the cam belt?

[sumplug]

Hi

I just thought that id mention that I had a new cam belt when i bought my coupe, and after hearing all the `engine out £500 job` I went to a local garage who changed it easily for under £100... just thought id throw that in!!

well.you will have a broken engine down the line.ALL BELTS,TENSIONERS AND WATERPUMP MUST BE CHANGED. i cant spell this out enough:shakehead :bang: 36k is the longest any fiat engine should go without this.the garage should have advised you to change the rest.if they didn't,shame on them.use another garage i think

 

[hmallett]

I went to a local garage who changed it easily for under £100...

Is yours a 16V or a 20V?
16V belts are easy. 20V belts are hard. I don't know of anyone who can change the belt on the 20V without moving the engine over, which is no easy task.
H

 

[Ben R]

i cant spell this out enough:shakehead :bang: 36k is the longest any fiat engine should go without this.

Sorry to but in but what about mine? It says 72000 in the service book, I was going to get it done at 60000 though.

 

[sammiboo]

i would have thought 36k is a bit out, usually about 70k or even 50k if you want to be cautious.

Also £100 for a cambelt replacement - you sure they changed the belt for that sounds a bit dodgy

 

[shelton]

straight away on that mate dont risk it!!

 

[sumplug]

up to now ive seen over 20 broken cambelts on fiats and still counting.lancia owners and specialists long ago recommended no longer then 36k.a hard driven delta integrale or coupe turbo is recommended at 24k.it all depends how the engine has been driven.this is why a caution of 36k is recommended.a fiat bravo 1.6 has just had its head rebuilt after cambelt went at 38k! so be aware and dont let it go on for too long.recently,vauxhall has halved its cambelt change from 80k to 40k because of engines letting go.

 

[Palio]

Yours definitely needs doing. The Marque experts recommend every 5 years or 45k miles whichever comes first. I'd go along with that, and had mine done at 5 years (25k on the clock) to be safe!

 

[sumplug]

basically,the more you spend at the top rev limits,the shorter the belt life.

 

[pinin__prestatyn]

In an ideal world it would be good to change the belts every 36k, same as it would be good, in an ideal world, to never binge drink, and brush your teeth after every meal.
However, in real life, that's not always practical. Luckily we now have excellent coupe specialists that charge a "mere" £400 for a cambelt change on the 20V engine, but even then, that's a lot of money every 36k. Can you imagine going to fiat every time at £1,500 a pop mmm maybe if you were the sultan of brunei
The specialists on the coupe forum recommend that a change of cambelt is good for a minimum of 50K or 5 years. 36K changes is far too low, unless you use your coupe for racing I'd guess.
So I guess I'd need to change mine every 36K the way I drive then

 

[Hellcat]

Well I didn't get the water pump changed in the end - Paul had a good look at it and declared it almost new - no problems with it and changing it would be a waste of money.

One of the tensioners was installed incorrectly and was chewing through the cam belt

50k miles sounds the ideal compromise between value for money and protecting against bent valves.

 

[sammiboo]

The specialists on the coupe forum recommend that a change of cambelt is good for a minimum of 50K or 5 years. 36K changes is far too low, unless you use your coupe for racing I'd guess.
So I guess I'd need to change mine every 36K the way I drive then

I mentioned this in another thread every 50k is a good reasonable time to get the belt done.

 

[sumplug]

:bang: :bang: you still dont get it do you.it depends how the car is driven.hard driving lessens the life of the belt.the turbo's torque and lots of starting puts the belt under a lot of stress.the tensoner are a weak link.the belt should be checked every 2 months for signs of fatigue.the lanchester belt spins at twice the cam belt speed and tends to go before the cam belt unless the tensioner seize.and on the fccuk site,a number of owners were complaining there engines snapped their belts at just over 50k.if i remember,one went at 52k and one went at 54k.thats too close to 50k to make it a recommdation.36k is a good safe margin.it takes into account a bit of abuse from the owner.please refer to the sporting fiats site for a formula to work out cam belt life.also refer to the lancia delta sites for cam belt information.

 

[pinin__prestatyn]

I guess then we'll have to agree to disagree

 

[sammiboo]

:bang: :bang: you still dont get it do

Its ok, I trust Rogs judgement on this, dont worry yourself :devil:

 

[sumplug]

Its ok, I trust Rogs judgement on this, dont worry yourself :devil:

i dont.i just see these engines in bits waiting for head work.i look at the mileage.less then 50k on clock.i know who i trust.btw,my local engine shop has done a number of heads on these engines of late.all just under and over 50k.about 2/3rds caused by either tensioner or lanchester belt failing.enough said on this from me.i cant advise any more clearer.

 

[sammiboo]

*draws a big circle*

We're going round in circles, Andy I am not having a go but I wouldnt choose your judgement over rogs - FACT! No matter how much you repeatively post I just would go with Rog, he is now on the forum why not drop him a PM and explain to him why he is wrong

 

[dave]

whos Andy

 

[sammiboo]

whos Andy

hmmm dunno :chin:

 

[sumplug]

*draws a big circle*

We're going round in circles, Andy I am not having a go but I wouldnt choose your judgement over rogs - FACT! No matter how much you repeatively post I just would go with Rog, he is now on the forum why not drop him a PM and explain to him why he is wrong

i dont need to drop anyone a line.ive just seen an engine go back together this week as i told you on a previous post with 47k on the clock.if roger wants to comment,let him.but at the end of the day,here is a car [which has followed others] with less then 50k with a broken cam belt.do you say to the owner that no the belt was safe to 50k and no dont change it at 40k, as was told by his local fiat dealer when in for a service? i work in the real world. the guy who's built the engine does work for the local fiat dealer.they have so much warranty work that they have to farm work out. his word on the belt is check it religously and change no later then 36k.i back my man always.

 

[h2ypr]

i dont need to drop anyone a line.ive just seen an engine go back together this week as i told you on a previous post with 47k on the clock.if roger wants to comment,let him.but at the end of the day,here is a car [which has followed others] with less then 50k with a broken cam belt.do you say to the owner that no the belt was safe to 50k and no dont change it at 40k, as was told by his local fiat dealer when in for a service? i work in the real world. the guy who's built the engine does work for the local fiat dealer.they have so much warranty work that they have to farm work out. his word on the belt is check it religously and change no later then 36k.i back my man always.

I think there is a few more factors why it might have snapped before 50k. Auxiliary belts can snap and take out the cambelt. There used to be a problem with the cambelt cover that caused it to reduce the life of the cambelt. Also i presume the belt that is used aswell, could be a major factor in how long it lasts. Bear in mind rog is doing most of the work on coupes that get their belts changed and he knows the condition and factors that into his judgement for 50k. Just my 2 little penny's worth.

Ross