Timing Belt/Cambelt replacement according to your car manufacturer schedule is essential Snapped Timing belt can cause serious damage to the engine. It is often cost-effective to replace your Water Pump at the same time so don't be surprised if we suggest it.
Timing Belt is a rubber belt which controls the timing of internal combustion engines. It is vital in the process of making the car run smoothly as it also ensures the crankshaft and camshaft rotate in synchronisation.
A snapped timing/cam belt is uncommon however tension issues are more widespread.
If the belt is too loose it will end up whipping around inside the engine which will cause a variety of knock on effects and if the belt is too tight it will put a strain on the bearings of the cogs, it's fitted to.
A tight belt will cause a whining noise to be emitted from the engine so if you hear this sound make sure to book a repair as soon as possible. You shouldn’t wait until this happens though, as the damage caused by a faulty cambelt will end up costing you even more money in repairs.
The most difficult aspect of your timing belt maintenance is that it will usually continue to give dependable service, with minimal attention, for several years.
But rubber is, of course, a perishable item, and the constant exposure to the high temperatures found in an engine, together with the speeds at which the belt has to constantly rotate, means the timing belt has to work really hard to keep everything running harmoniously.
If your timing belt snaps, there are two likely scenarios, which will depend on the type of engine timing configuration employed.
So-called ‘interference’ engines need the cam belt to prevent the valves and pistons inside your engine from smashing into each other at high speed. And of course, if they were to do this, it’s likely to result in the respective parts being smashed to pieces and distributing the resulting debris all over the inside of your engine, so unleashing all kinds of mayhem which can cause damage way beyond the individual components involved.
If your car has a non-interference engine, the pistons and valves are housed separately, so a snapped timing belt shouldn’t cause any damage to them, and a repair can be made simply by fitting a new belt. However, your car will still be immobilised if the belt snaps, which could result in you having to pay to have it towed to a garage if you don’t have the benefit of membership of a recovery service.
As a rule, you can expect a timing belt to last up to five years, or 60,000 miles. In cars where this replacement is needed, it is usually built into the servicing schedule.
Your first resort for checking the manufacturer’s recommended intervals for cam belt changes is your car’s manual. Of course, if you didn’t get one when you bought the car, you should take a look at your manufacturer’s website, as this often contains full details of servicing and maintenance schedules, on which the replacement will be flagged.
In any case, if you’ve stayed within the mileage mentioned above, you should be prepared to have the belt replaced in the run-up to your car’s fifth birthday, and every five years after that.
A replacement timing belt will be a relatively modest cost on the menu of a typical car service, especially if carried out as part of a scheduled maintenance programme.
But as we’ve already seen, it’s the consequential damage of a failure which can prove catastrophic and costly. So, you should establish as soon as you can after taking ownership of a car what the recommended interval for having it changed is, and whether or not, and when, it has been changed in the past.
But importantly, because the belt must be fitted and remain in perfect synchronisation with other engine parts, it’s a repair which is best done by a mechanical expert.
So whether you have your car serviced by a franchised dealer or an independent garage, you should work closely with them to make sure you know when the job needs to be done, and certainly not be tempted to skip having it looked at the appropriate time. Make a note of it in your car manual, or on a calendar, and once you get into the habit, like plenty of other car maintenance tasks, it will soon become second nature.
Sometimes, the worst part of getting your car fixed is having to bring it to the garage. We are therefore happy to offer our customers a free collection and delivery service If you prearrange a collection, we will pick your car up from your home or place of work and drive it to our premises, carry out all the necessary work (having consulted you) and deliver it back to you at the end of the day.
We are able to tow, jump start or repair your vehicle if you are experiencing problems or broken down for a small fee. If we can’t sadly start your vehicle, we can contact a local recovery firm to collect your vehicle for a very competitive price.
Here at Many Autos, we believe that we offer a valuable product with our Free Collection and Delivery Service, we can collect either from your place of work or from your home address. If you are unsure about whether the address you are considering having your vehicle collected from is not within our range, then please do contact us.
Many Autos operate a fleet of pool cars with a dedicated driver, so wherever we are collecting from, we need to be able to leave one of our pool vehicles either in your work car park / parking space, or if in a residential area, we would need to be able to leave our car either at your house or on the road with a permit if required. We would be grateful if you could bear this in mind when booking to use our free Collection and delivery service
