hello

Skoda Fabia 2003 comfort

My ribbed V belt needs replacing. Is this something which can be DIY work?

Can someone please guide me as to how this can be replaced and what item(s) and code I need to buy to replace this.

ribbed V belt is the cambelt. It is not a DIY job unless you are very confident with the spanners, etc. For a complete cambelt kit (plenty on Ebay) you're looking at around £80, with an extra £25-£30 for the waterpump which is worth replacing at the same time. Labour time, around 3 to 4 hours for someone taking their time.

Are you sure that the OP does not mean the micro rib belt - ie used to be a V belt years ago, otherwise known as the auxiliary belt?

auxilliary belt is called the "ribbed belt" in the service book due to it just having 4 or 5 ribs on the inside edge. The V belt is definitely the cambelt, due to the V shaped notches in it.

In the service book, (I have mine in front of me now) there are two belts mentioned, The Ribbed V-belt and the Toothed belt.

The V-belt is the auxiliary belt and used to be called the Fanbelt and the Toothed one is the Cambelt. It states the Toothed belt for camshaft drive. The V-belt should be checked and/or replaced at 40,000 miles (and/or 4 years in Haynes). The Toothed belt with tensioning pulley should be changed every 60k miles and/or 4 years.

The V-Belt I am sure is something you can DIY. The cambelt requires special tools so is best left to a garage.

Edited 12 March, 200917 yr by Jim H

I stand corrected, Not looked in my service book for AAAGES. service as and when

Why call the auxilliary one V - I can't think of anything V shaped as the ribs are square which run along the length of the inside.

On my previous old car the fanbelt was a V in section. A very quick Google search has found this.

Are you kidding me?!... Mercruiser 165 - Boat Design Forums

I recently changed the ribbed belt on the Wifes' 1.4 MPI and it took all of 10 minutes. the belt will vary depending which engine you have, but on the MPI you just slacken off the alternator bolts and push it towards the engine to de-tension the belt. Remove the belt, but note the route the belt takes, fit the new belt over the pulleys and gently lever the alternator towards you to give the correct tension and tighten the alternator bolts. Check that the ribs of the belt are correctly seated in the pulleys. Run the engine briefly, stop the engine and check the belt tension is OK.

Its even easier if you have a setup that has a tensioner, just put a spanner round the tensioner and move it out the way! job done!