skoda fabia elegance cambelt

[a-za-za-z]

hi all..i have recently bought a skoda fabia elegance 1.4 16v from a dealer and it has done 59000 miles. My concern is do i need to do a cambelt change? Car is running fine and no issues so far..the dealer from whom i bought said that it is normally done at around 70000 miles. Also how can i spot the problem if there is something wrong with the cambelt and it needs replacing as everything is running fine at the moment. Any advise welcome. thanks all..cheers

[TriggerFish]

60,000 miles or year 4 years, which ever comes soonest. IMO, the dealer said 70,000 to fob you off, but 60,000/ 4years is the current reccomendation from Skoda UK.

If there is a problem, you will spot it when the belt is snapped the internals of the engine are a different shape!

[normanmatthew]

Uhuh, I had the joy of 4 bent exhaust valves, luckily I could sort it out my self otherwise it would have been big big bucks!

[a-za-za-z]

thanks for ur reply...it was quick

could you please tell me what you mean by "If there is a problem, you will spot it when the belt is snapped the internals of the engine are a different shape" as i am not an expert at this things..pls explain how can i spot the problem? also if the car is running fine and there is no noise or anything would i be okay to replace it at around 65k miles? cheers

[TriggerFish]

All I meant was when the belt snaps, the valves and pistons will be damaged/destroyed and the engine won't run costing a lot of money.

Other than it snapping there isn't really a way to tell what condition it's in, and on something as expensive to repair as an engine rebuild, it is worth replacing for piece of mind.

Out of interest, has the car got any history with it? In the Skoda service book the cam belt should be reffered to as the 'ribbed v-belt'. See if it's been done recently, and base anytimings from there. If it's not written done in the history I would play it safe a get it changed personallly.

Edited 14 December, 2009 by TriggerFish

[a-za-za-z]

All I meant was when the belt snaps, the valves and pistons will be damaged/destroyed and the engine won't run costing a lot of money.

Other than it snapping there isn't really a way to tell what condition it's in, and on something as expensive to repair as an engine rebuild, it is worth replacing for piece of mind.

Out of interest, has the car got any history with it? In the Skoda service book the cam belt should be reffered to as the 'ribbed v-belt'. See if it's been done recently, and base anytimings from there. If it's not written done in the history I would play it safe a get it changed personallly.

thanks for the reply mate..i will check that in the service history and post it soon as i am getting the delivery on saturday..pls try and reply then..cheers

[TriggerFish]

Your welcome.

Out of interest, what age/reg is the car?

[a-za-za-z]

Your welcome.

Out of interest, what age/reg is the car?

it is 2002 reg with 59k and i got it for 1900 pounds..with full service history..do u reckon it as a good deal or could i have got a better one?

[TriggerFish]

Not too bad I don't think.

I have a 2001 1.416v Comfort with 100k and I would say it's worth about £1,000 - £1,200, but it's a right mess mechanically. But yours is a lot less miles and a better spec so . . . I have been looking on autotrader for another Fabia with a £2k budget, and out of what that kicks up, yours does sound like a good one for the price. Most are like mine age/mileage, but priced higher.

What I will say though, is watch for oil consupmtion in the engine. It can be a problem with these engines that they burn through oil, so watch out for that. Give it an occasional trashing/ revs to keep the engine clear and it shouldn't be too bad.

[a-za-za-z]

Not too bad I don't think.

I have a 2001 1.416v Comfort with 100k and I would say it's worth about £1,000 - £1,200, but it's a right mess mechanically. But yours is a lot less miles and a better spec so . . . I have been looking on autotrader for another Fabia with a £2k budget, and out of what that kicks up, yours does sound like a good one for the price. Most are like mine age/mileage, but priced higher.

What I will say though, is watch for oil consupmtion in the engine. It can be a problem with these engines that they burn through oil, so watch out for that. Give it an occasional trashing/ revs to keep the engine clear and it shouldn't be too bad.

right. well the last service on the car was done at 57k miles..so how often should i have to change the oil? oil change after another 2k miles is ok? sorry for all the questions as i only know how to drive a car but dont know much about them :(

[TriggerFish]

That's fine, I learnt most of my knowledge about these things on here too and what the site is here for.

Service and oil change is every 10k miles I think (check the service book, will be in there when your next one is due). You shouldn't need to change the oil until then (although doing it more often won't hurt). What I mean is you will need to check the oil levels frequently for the first few months as you need to try and establish how much it uses. It shouldn't use much/any if it's in good nick, but some of these engines can go foul, meaning increased oil useage. I need to fill mine up with oil every month or two (~900 miles a month on A roads), but then again, if yours isn't as worn as mine, it might not need topping up at all.

Having a service at 57k might mean the cambelt was done then anyway, so it was then thats a few hundred quid saved!

Hope that makes sense, I have a crap way of expressing what I mean if I'm not talking face-to-face! (Does that even make sense?:S)

[a-za-za-z]

hello mate, m back with my questions..as u said in ur last post about checking oil levels..can u also tell me how do i check them :( i know thats a dumb question but still if you could help that would be great.

ps: u do make sense in what u say

[TriggerFish]

Sure, didn't want to insult you by assuming you didn't know.

Open the bonnet, then to the left of the engine bay, there will be an orange (or yellow?) stick thing with a loop/ring pull on it. When the engine is cold and has been standing for a period of time, say 20minutes, then pull this stick out, wipe it with a cloth, put it back in, wait a second, pull it back out and check where the oil is on the stick. It should be between the two indents (will make sense when you see them). If it's below the bottom one, you need some oil! To fill up with more oil, there will be a cover on the top of the engine, un screw this and it goes in there.

All of this is explained better in the manual, but thats the gist of it. Will be the same procedduor for just about every car as well, just the stick location will vary.

Hope thats clear too,

Joe.