Cam Belt Change requirement

[clarinetbcn]

Perhaps some feedback on the condition of the removed belts at given age and mileage would be more helpful for those that are considering extending the service interval.

I chickened out...

I chickened out after 11,5 years. Cambelt replacement at 154000km. Everything was still ok for a few more years, and maybe even for the predicted 210000km... New complete set from SKF: You see the matching blue water pump and bearings? Absolutely no play or leakage from the water pump...

vwcaliforniaclub.com

 

[Niknak]

Perhaps some feedback on the condition of the removed belts at given age and mileage would be more helpful for those that are considering extending the service interval.

Yep I can definitely it had been used as I threw it in the bin lol, I’m not being harsh but I have little care if people want to exceed the belt change interval I offer no opinion on this nor do I if they want to change earlier
I’m to long in the tooth for the “since you looked at my car “ or “you said it would be ok “

 

[Niknak]

Customer always knows best, I’ll be there with a box of kleenexe and a bin bag to put the loose engine bits in

 

[Niknak]

Just because the cambelts can be done in around the 2 hrs mark dealers run on book time and you’ll be charged a standard vw labour time, personally I won’t fit pattern parts to me it’s the equivalent to using deep heat as pile cream just cause it’s in a similar looking tube doesn’t mean it’s the same, the cambelt debate is getting a bit tedious tbh if you want to run the risk of grenading your engine leave it and that’s fine but you don’t get to whinge when it goes wrong, to me it makes me smile so many people seem to haemorrhage money onto their vans on things that are shiny or others can see, when it comes to engine parts it’s a different storey.
Each to their own no one knows best but I’d like to thank some people that think they do for paying my bills and the shiny bits for my van lol

This will put a spin on it for those that are unaware dealers operate bonus schemes so the faster you work as a tech and quicker you do the job the more money you get on top of your wages, and most of them get their pay slips on round bits of paper ..... cause so many corners get cut

 

[rover220]

Customer always knows best, I’ll be there with a box of kleenexe and a bin bag to put the loose engine bits in

As opposed to you always knowing best?

 

[Niknak]

As opposed to you always knowing best?

Sorry have you got something you want to add ?

 

[YellowHound]

I've booked my van in with Auditechnik in Gloucester for cam belt & water pump.
They've quoted £399 and have assured me that they will use VW OE parts, itemised on my receipt.

 

[Niknak]

I've booked my van in with Auditechnik in Gloucester for cam belt & water pump.
They've quoted £399 and have assured me that they will use VW OE parts, itemised on my receipt.

Sounds great cant miss out on that

 

[Tourershine]

I had mine done a few weeks ago at a local garage I trust and my invoice was just under £600, but I did tell them to replace anything serviceable when they removed it as part of the job, even if it didn't look worn. I see no point putting old aux belts and tensioners back on if they've been removed as part of the job, because they aren't daft money to replace and I do too many miles to have the worry.

 

[Niknak]

You’ll be suprised lol, great to hear you done it logically

 

[Niknak]

Seen people in the past have head gaskets done and not replace cambelts it’s just daft

 

[Niknak]

Seen people in the past have head gaskets done and not replace cambelts it’s just daft

And before anyone wants put a sarcastic response it wasn’t on an engine with a timing chain

 

[JOG]

As opposed to you always knowing best?

I fail to see where @Niknak is claiming to know best. I actually enjoy his tongue in cheek views on the cam belt subject, particularly given his professional experience in this area (including dealership!)

 

[t0mb0]

All this talk of cambelts concerned me so much I took mine off and now keep it in a glass case just to be on the safe side. Jury’s still out though, whilst the wear and tear has been reduced to zero, the van doesn’t quite go like it used to.

 

[JOG]

All this talk of cambelts concerned me so much I took mine off and now keep it in a glass case just to be on the safe side. Jury’s still out though, whilst the wear and tear has been reduced to zero, the van doesn’t quite go like it used to.

That cracked me up!

 

[Mooncat]

Just because the cambelts can be done in around the 2 hrs mark dealers run on book time and you’ll be charged a standard vw labour time, personally I won’t fit pattern parts to me it’s the equivalent to using deep heat as pile cream just cause it’s in a similar looking tube doesn’t mean it’s the same, the cambelt debate is getting a bit tedious tbh if you want to run the risk of grenading your engine leave it and that’s fine but you don’t get to whinge when it goes wrong, to me it makes me smile so many people seem to haemorrhage money onto their vans on things that are shiny or others can see, when it comes to engine parts it’s a different storey.
Each to their own no one knows best but I’d like to thank some people that think they do for paying my bills and the shiny bits for my van lol

I guess it depends on what you are classing as 'pattern parts'. VW like all over automotive OEMs have a supply base for the majority of the parts that go into the build of their vehicles and make very little themselves - they are assemblers. For the belts, they have a set of approved suppliers and approved parts (PPAP process) and those that have seen what has been removed at the first cambelt change will typically see either Gates or Dayco names on the belts. If your garage fits a Gates or Dayco belt kit then you have absolutely nothing to worry about - they are exactly the same parts as you'll get from the dealer but without the huge dealer mark up.

 

[DaveD]

I had mine done a few weeks ago at a local garage I trust and my invoice was just under £600, but I did tell them to replace anything serviceable when they removed it as part of the job, even if it didn't look worn. I see no point putting old aux belts and tensioners back on if they've been removed as part of the job, because they aren't daft money to replace and I do too many miles to have the worry.

Totally agree, I did the same at 5 years and 40K miles, I'm sure I read somewhere that if the aux belt fails it can cause the cambelt to fail too, so for the small cost it's a no brainer.
I don't endorse the "drive it until it breaks" mindset, I'm just happy to go with the same intervals as the dealers in Germany and every other European country recommend.

 

[Niknak]

I guess it depends on what you are classing as 'pattern parts'. VW like all over automotive OEMs have a supply base for the majority of the parts that go into the build of their vehicles and make very little themselves - they are assemblers. For the belts, they have a set of approved suppliers and approved parts (PPAP process) and those that have seen what has been removed at the first cambelt change will typically see either Gates or Dayco names on the belts. If your garage fits a Gates or Dayco belt kit then you have absolutely nothing to worry about - they are exactly the same parts as you'll get from the dealer but without the huge dealer mark up.

So these no oe parts what parts warranty do you get on these just asking ? No great mark up on these either if you go to TPS for instance, in regards to air, fuel , dsg, and pollen filters do you know if the particulate size is the same a genuine as my time in a dealer and experience is you’ll be handed a much higher bill if a tech sees pattern parts and comes to do a repair, cheapest can be the most expensive in the long run, in reality pattern parts are not really cheaper these days, i had a customer wanting shocks doing the other day and they wanted to supply their own bits from a supplier and they were £30 more for unknown brand compared to genuine

 

[Niknak]

Totally agree, I did the same at 5 years and 40K miles, I'm sure I read somewhere that if the aux belt fails it can cause the cambelt to fail too, so for the small cost it's a no brainer.
I don't endorse the "drive it until it breaks" mindset, I'm just happy to go with the same intervals as the dealers in Germany and every other European country recommend.

Yep the aux belts are a pain, they either shred and jam up behind the bottom pulley the worst I’ve seen a section of belt about two inches long had gone between the belt and the pulley and a friendly AA man had made sure that if the engine was not ruined he made sure it was by cranking it over and over whilst the bottom end spun the cambelt was held off the pulley and repeatedly in straightened the valves

 

[DXX]

My background is marine engineering, there are no small repair bills and no support when you are at sea.
Maintenance schedules are based on opportunity and Mean Time Before Failure. Real world maintenance report trends are used to modify intervals and in general it works well.

Mean Time Between Fail (MTBF)

Learn about MTBF, what it is, how to calculate it, how to use mean time between failures, and why MTBF is important.

www.fiixsoftware.com