Timing Belt info sought

[Fastpedaller]

As our Ka+ has done 112k miles and is 10 coming up to 10 years old I think it wise to replace the timing belt.
The local place has said £400, which I suspect is about right. I understand the belt manufacturers (I've looked at 3 makes) give a 12-month warranty, but it seems to only cover the cost of the belt. The cost of the belt would be the least of my worries if the engine had been wrecked by a belt failure - Whilst I obviously wouldn't want that scenario, how would anyone claim for repairs - would it be the fitting garage?

 

[Yellow Saddle]

No, why w ould you want to claim from the garage if the belt fails? They aren't selling you an insurance policy, they're selling you parts and labour. The part is covered by the belt manufacturer. If the belt wasn't installed properly, it'll fail before you pull the car out of the garage, after that, the risk is all yours.

 

[Sharky]

I think the recommendation is every five years. Do you know if/when it was done in the past?

 

[Cletus Van Damme]

When I used to own a car with a belt, the mechanic that changed it always recommended Gates timing belts. Whether this is still true or not I wouldn't know. It's all you can really do, buy a good quality belt. Also look into if other components need to be changed that are part of the system, tensioner, possibly water pump (could be driven by the Serpentine belt though). Timing belt manufacturers often sell kits with all the required parts. You'll probably want to replace the serpentine belt at the same time, if you have no idea when that was last changed, but I'm guessing the garage would surely be doing that anyway.

 

[Fastpedaller]

I think the recommendation is every five years. Do you know if/when it was done in the past?

It's not been done previously (we bought the car new) - As far as I can establish, change is 250k Km (about 150k miles)

 

[Drago]

If it grenades within a year the garage is responsible - youfe bought the belt ane the fitting from them. If a faulty belt causes the failure its for the garage to recover the losses incurred from the belt wholesaler. In reality they'd probably just claim off their insurance.

However, a dealer will usually warranty the job for the programmed life of the belt, eg, Volvo for 10 years, whereas in independent will typically only warranty for a year.

Youve statutory rights on top or that year, but if the garage doesn't play ball then costs involved would be more than paying the dealer in the first place.

Early failures are very rare, actually less common than early chain driven issues, so provided the garage are halfway decent and it's a good quality belt I wouldn't sweat it.

Gates have a mixed rep - the in the Volvo world their repmis poor and those in the know avoid them like the plague. Pay for OE, or Continental if they do one. IIRC INA are good and use SKF beaings in the ancillaries -the quality of the idlers, tensioner and water pump are equally important. Timing belt kits are like cancer medicine - you don't really want to be trying to save money on them.

 

[biggs682]

Deffo another vote for a Gates belt.

There will always be a get out clause on any warranty

 

[HMS_Dave]

I've never heard anybody claim for or even successfully claiming against a belt manufacturer for a failure outside of work done at main dealership and recall claims. I think there would be far too many variables such as where it the work was done, the qualifications of the mechanic etc etc. There are usually several small print "get out" clauses for these manufacturers. I would go as far to say that they are marketing gimmicks.

This is Gates information about it for example:

In all warranty cases relevant Gates products will be audited by a specialist from Gates at a Gates Technical Centre, in order to determine the validity or not of the claim. This analysis will be based on:

• Defective product analysis
• Technical evaluation and observations
• Installation conditions, if possible
• Conditions of use
• Applicable OE recommendations

That being said, belt failures outside of the manufacturers specifications and normal uses cases are incredibly rare. I would just go with a reputable brand, get the work done and then forget about it.

 

[Drago]

His warranty is with the supplying and fitting garage, not the belt manufactuer.

 

[presta]

I once went to see a car for sale, and when he showed me the service history, I saw the garage had written across the last service invoice: Customer declined to have the cambelt changed

So I asked him why, and he said that the old one was still working ok.
And that on a Vectra, which were notorious for breaking belts and writing the engine off.

Fortunately, my old Capri was built in the days when you could just put a new belt on, and drive off.

 

[Yellow Saddle]

Belts often bail not because the belt failed, but because a tensioner pulley bearing or other component seized. If any belt work is guaranteed, you're bound to find in the conditions that other components would have had to be replaced as well. Modern serpentine belts drive a bunch of other components, each being a potential weak link in the system.

 

[CXRAndy]

Always do the belt, tensioner and any idler pulley associated together. If the water pump is awkward to get at in the vicinity of the cambelt, change that too.