Whats the recommended KM thatthe Cambelt should be changed! Also if its due for a second one should the km figure be less!
phillip.weston,
Feb 22, 9:03pm
10 years/100,000kms intervals. Make sure the water pump, cam shaft and crankshaft oil seals along with the oil pump housing gasket are replaced with the cambelt, because if any of them give trouble it means the cambelt has to come off all over again. It's common for the S series engine to leak oil from the oil pump housing gasket when they get to be about 15-20 years old. Parts are cheap - cambelt is $40, idler bearing is $25, tensioner bearing is $35, all oil seals are $15, water pump is $60-80.
kcc55a,
Feb 23, 4:52am
Slightly O/T. Why are manufacturers recommending a time period or a mileage!Had a cambelt done in my car 4 years ago and agent tells me that I should get it done again even though I've only done about 15,000km.
jasongroves,
Feb 23, 4:57am
Because everything perishes with age.rubber belts are no different and become more fragile and prone to breaking with age. 4 years does sound very early though. What make, model, year and engine please!
thejazzpianoma,
Feb 23, 5:21am
+1 Also, they have fibreglass reinforcing which goes brittle and compounds the effect.
BTW, the 3S-FE engine in the RAV has a very long replacement interval (in years) not because its some kind of magical engine that stops the natural degradation of the cambelt over time, but because its a non-interference engine. Thus the manufacturer can reduce the safety margin as its hardly end of the world if it fails before its due.
Its likely also true that the 3S-FE does not stress the belt a hang of a lot, but that does not usually constitute an age interval as long as 10 years.
Most older twin cam interference engines specify a new cambelt in the 5 -7 year bracket. Some like certain Alfa's and Opel's require them earlier.
kcc55a,
Feb 23, 3:54pm
Its an Alfa 156 2001. To me it looked like the agent was trying to frighten me. I queried it and was told that the belts stretch!I thought tensioners took care of that!Wondered if it was just a workshop reception guy acting on instructions to get more work but not given the proper information.
phillip.weston,
Feb 23, 4:07pm
At 15,000kms I would tell them to take a hike, they're clearly trying to get work. Even the most smallest of interval cars like some Euros having travelled just 15,000kms wouldn't need it doing for another 20,000kms surely, even if that's spanned over another 2-3 years.
phillip.weston,
Feb 23, 4:09pm
Toyota themselves state 10 years, and towards the late 90s/early 2000s when they were still using belts their kms range often extended until 160,000kms while still retaining the 10 year age interval. With Toyota being so over-cautious and typically over-engineered, if they state 10 years, you know it's going to last at least that, if not much longer.
tigra,
Feb 23, 4:17pm
Alfa suggest changing cambelts every 70,000kmwhich seems ultra cautious to me.But the suggestion that it should be redone every 3 years is ludicrous.
Interesting! The last two are for the 2.5 V6 engine.For the 2 L 156 seems they have changed the initial change period from 120K to 60K or 3 years.
by_hdt,
Feb 24, 4:37am
Alfas are 60,000km or 3 years, it is very common for the teeth to strip off the belt not long after the interval has been reached. It is an expensive repair. Alfa reccomends this for a reason, it must not be ignored. As I work for an Alfa agent I may seem biased, but I have also witnessed first hand the results of ignoring cambelt replacement.
craig04,
Feb 24, 10:14am
Face it Jazz, it's a Toyota. Nothing else to say really.
thejazzpianoma,
Feb 24, 4:15pm
Quite right, its like trying to find something exciting to say about beige.
pauloc,
Feb 24, 4:19pm
1980's one day cricket uniforms
thejazzpianoma,
Feb 24, 4:25pm
kcc55a, DO NOT listen to tigra or philip weston on this one. Unqualified speculationthis case it could cost you a LOT of money.
As noted by others the V6 and 2.0 have different intervals and this has been revised (reduced) by the factory. What I would suggest is that you post which engine you have and also what exactly was done last time, along with what km's are currently on the car.
If the car is a 2.0 in particular look for any reference to the variator being replaced.
There are a few tips and tricks to keeping the cambelt replacement cost down. I am happy to point you in the right direction if you want.
BUT AGAIN exceeding the recommended intervals is VERY risky. Do not follow the advice of people who do not know these cars.
I am not in the trade so this advice is unbiased and coming from a fellow Alfa Romeo owner (who also restores and works on these cars and owns/owned/maintains many Italian Cars)
BTW, for reference. The twin spark Alfa's are 60'000km/3 years and the V6 Alfa's are 120'000km/5 years BUT the general consensus from those are really in the know is this is a bit long and 100'000km/4 years is generally accepted as a safe "unofficial" rule.
You have a LOT to lose if you break one on the V6 especially so erring on the side of caution is part of the unofficial 4 year limit.
thejazzpianoma,
Feb 24, 4:29pm
LOL touche!
phillip.weston,
Feb 24, 4:36pm
I had a quiet chortle when I read that. Very true, but you can't ignore the facts that they are just built better, beige or not.
phillip.weston,
Feb 24, 4:37pm
jazz, so you're incredibly quick to rubbish Hiaces because they, and I quote in your words "need frequent and expensive servicing", but it's no big issue that an Alfa Romeo needs another timing belt change JUST 15,000kms since its last replacement! What's next, daily oil changes!
thejazzpianoma,
Feb 24, 4:37pm
Lifes to short to drive beige.
thejazzpianoma,
Feb 24, 4:40pm
LOL, you buy a commercial van for practicality and low running costs and buy an Alfa for a great driving experience BIG difference there. Plus you are confusing the time/km interval in an attempt to sensationalise it.
phillip.weston,
Feb 24, 5:00pm
surely if the Hiace, NZ's (and multiple places around the world, too) #1 commercial van, was so expensive to run and was not practical, then it wouldn't be #1 at all.
Having to replace a cam belt every 15,000kms isn't a great driving exerience.
It's great that you can see that I am sensationalising it, I wish you could see the same when you do it also.
vtecintegra,
Feb 24, 5:06pm
I've always found it strange that timing belt intervals for Japanese cars in North American are often 100,000 miles whereas here they're 100,000 kms.I realise they generally do bigger distances but its a hell of a difference.
phillip.weston,
Feb 24, 5:26pm
I think perhaps they do higher milage per annum on average than we do, and most the American models would be the low-tech models with non-interference design engines.
thejazzpianoma,
Feb 24, 5:26pm
LOL, I love how you are still trying to incorrectly say that you have to replace the belt every 15'000km in an effort to make things sound worse.
By the same logic you could say that the cambelt needs replacing every 5km if that's all they travelled in the 4 years!
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