Cambelt advice for octavia VRS

[saxby2026@yahoo]

Hi I`m asking for advice refering a cambelt change on My Vrs. I have had the car 4 years and changed the cambelt when i bought it.The mileage then was 63,000 now four years on i`m now told i should change it as the new rule of thumb is 4 years or 100,000 but i have only covered 30,000 in 4 years.I work 12hr shifts and only drive it 3 miles a day other than on days off.Do I really need to change the belt or not Ive got prices ranging from £300 to £460. Of course I don`t want to change it unless it is totally essential. The four years is up end of april.I look forward to any replies.

Thanks

[JezvRS]

Hi I`m asking for advice refering a cambelt change on My Vrs. I have had the car 4 years and changed the cambelt when i bought it.The mileage then was 63,000 now four years on i`m now told i should change it as the new rule of thumb is 4 years or 100,000 but i have only covered 30,000 in 4 years.I work 12hr shifts and only drive it 3 miles a day other than on days off.Do I really need to change the belt or not Ive got prices ranging from £300 to £460. Of course I don`t want to change it unless it is totally essential. The four years is up end of april.I look forward to any replies.

Thanks

It does seem like an unnecessary expense although the argument (to get it done) will always be think of the cost if it goes....as I understand it its not a huge expense yet its still £300 odd squid. I can't that you'd be taking much of a risk by waiting until your 100k service though mate...you're not doing high mileage so the risk is minimal. Garages always seem very keen to pressure you to do these things before they really need doing. Its their bread & butter after all yet sometimes I get the feeling they are leading you down the wrong path for their benefit as opposed to yours.

[saxby2026@yahoo]

Hi thanks for the quick reply.Really appreciate that.I understand what you mean about dealers of course they are in business and car companies like to cover there back.I`m tending to agree with you that I dont do much distance and now and again i may give it a little blast.Its abit frustrating really 4 years ago im sure they said when I had it done its good for 80,000 to 100,000 again no 4 years mentioned.Now i`ve been told about the 4 years thing its in the back of my mind all the time.Had a quote of £295 with the water pump from local vw specialist so not sure what to do at the mo.Amazing thing is you ask a majority of people that drive whats a "Cambelt" and they wouldn`t even know.To me any car I buy has to have it done before I get it or knock the car price down.Mnay thanks again.Just going round in my head for a mo.

Cheers

[The Ors]

Hi thanks for the quick reply.Really appreciate that.I understand what you mean about dealers of course they are in business and car companies like to cover there back.I`m tending to agree with you that I dont do much distance and now and again i may give it a little blast.Its abit frustrating really 4 years ago im sure they said when I had it done its good for 80,000 to 100,000 again no 4 years mentioned.Now i`ve been told about the 4 years thing its in the back of my mind all the time.Had a quote of £295 with the water pump from local vw specialist so not sure what to do at the mo.Amazing thing is you ask a majority of people that drive whats a "Cambelt" and they wouldn`t even know.To me any car I buy has to have it done before I get it or knock the car price down.Mnay thanks again.Just going round in my head for a mo.

Cheers

The reason for the changing advice is that the 4yr rule is a relatively new thing. I believe VW found belts were failing at low mileage due to age, so they changed their recommendation from a mileage only basis to an age/mileage basis. This happened about two months after I bought my 40K mile car which was just coming up to 4 yrs old. Instant unexpected 350 quid bill!

Personally I would get it changed & would get the waterpump done at the same time.

Edited 13 April, 2010 by The Ors

[vwcabriolet1971]

Belts do deteriorate with age . Lots of short trips stress belts more than long motorway trips. Agree with waterpump recommendation as most of the labour is already included in the cambelt job.

Also the alternator/ air-con ribbed belt can be replaced for the cost of only the belt itself ( ribbed belt has to be taken off anyway).

Edited 15 April, 2010 by vwcabriolet1971

[JezvRS]

The reason for the changing advice is that the 4yr rule is a relatively new thing. I believe VW found belts were failing at low mileage due to age, so they changed their recommendation from a mileage only basis to an age/mileage basis. This happened about two months after I bought my 40K mile car which was just coming up to 4 yrs old. Instant unexpected 350 quid bill!

Personally I would get it changed & would get the waterpump done at the same time.

Having to change a cambelt every 4 years seems excessive to me, particularly if you are doing less then 10k miles in it per year. This may be recommended by garages...the same sort of garage that recommended that I change my head gasket on a Puegoet 206 because it should be done after 10 years and apparently it was leaking oil. Later I discovered neither was true. I take these 'recommendations' on board (with a pich of salt) but look at this this way, the cambelt could last 4 years...it could also last 10 years. If I did 60k in 4 years I'd definitely change it but if I do 20k in four years, I'll leave it at least another year, perhaps even two.

[Guest westallc]

and then it breaks at 5 years and then cost you a new engine!!!!!! every 4 years without fail and doesnt matter on the milage

im having to get mine changed tomoz emergency new one lol was done 9k ago but 3 years ago so shouldnt be due for another year but it has slipped half a tooth and this could be a disaster if not changed quick

[TouranMan]

...shouldnt be due for another year but it has slipped half a tooth....

Half a tooth? :wonder:

I did mine the other day whilst I was doing the water pump. I just bought the car and the guy I bought it off couldn't tell me when it had last been done. I know it's an expense when you have to pay someone to do it but it's a worthy investment in my eyes! If you didn't get it done it would always be in the back of your mind!

[Guest westallc]

a tooth lol why did i put half a tooth

[vrs180]

I changed my vRS cam belt, tensioner, idler, water pump etc myself when the car was almost six years old and had done 19K.

The belt showed no visible signs of wear, cracking or any general deteriation at all..... looked as good as new.

I checked all the parts I removed in an attempt to discover what had caused Skoda to shorten the cam belts original service life.... all the parts removed looked to be of good quality and the belt did not visually appear to be subjected to excessive load or direction changes.

I did however discover an issue relating to the operation of the spring loaded cam belt tensioner/damper, by testing how well it maintained cam belt tension when the engine is stopped and restarted (done with the belt covers off).

What I found was sometimes when the engine is tuned off, the crankshaft "rocks backwards" due to compression and the cam belt becomes very slack on the "driven" side of the belt ie; from the crankshaft pully to the camshaft pully.

This is caused by the tensioner not being strong enough to withstand the forces that are required to rotate the cam shafts.... and why should it be..... its not its job.

The problem comes when the car is next restarted with the cam belt in this condition ie; slack on the driven side.... as the starter engages and starts to rotate the crankshaft, the camshaft's remain stationary until the slack in the belt is taken up.

IMO its in this condition the cam belt is subjected to extreme strain and shock loading and in particular the cam belt teeth that are engaged in the crankshaft pully and the cam shaft pully.

Hope I've explained that OK and it sort of makes sense..... I could of course be wrong, I'm no VAG expert, but I'm an experienced HGV fitter and used to diagnosing and sorting problems and I think this is a contributing factor to Skoda's reduced cam belt service life

[saxby2026@yahoo]

The reason for the changing advice is that the 4yr rule is a relatively new thing. I believe VW found belts were failing at low mileage due to age, so they changed their recommendation from a mileage only basis to an age/mileage basis. This happened about two months after I bought my 40K mile car which was just coming up to 4 yrs old. Instant unexpected 350 quid bill!

Personally I would get it changed & would get the waterpump done at the same time.

[saxby2026@yahoo]

Hi thanks for the comments to.I agree with you I should get it changed but seems like a load of money when I`ve only done 30,000 miles ,maybe be I should av done double that.But with the cost of petrol etc etc.I`ve had a quote from my local skoda dealer and it was £350+vat but found a local Vw dealer who has quoted me £295 and thats with the water pump.Reassured me its all genuine Skoda parts.I cant get anywhere near that anywhere else.Thanks agian.Its a great car but somethings seem well expensive,still thats motoring for you.

[saxby2026@yahoo]

Half a tooth? :wonder:

I did mine the other day whilst I was doing the water pump. I just bought the car and the guy I bought it off couldn't tell me when it had last been done. I know it's an expense when you have to pay someone to do it but it's a worthy investment in my eyes! If you didn't get it done it would always be in the back of your mind!

[saxby2026@yahoo]

too true what you say.Been in the back of my mind all this week.I`ve booked it in for this Weds.thanks again

[saxby2026@yahoo]

I changed my vRS cam belt, tensioner, idler, water pump etc myself when the car was almost six years old and had done 19K.

The belt showed no visible signs of wear, cracking or any general deteriation at all..... looked as good as new.

I checked all the parts I removed in an attempt to discover what had caused Skoda to shorten the cam belts original service life.... all the parts removed looked to be of good quality and the belt did not visually appear to be subjected to excessive load or direction changes.

I did however discover an issue relating to the operation of the spring loaded cam belt tensioner/damper, by testing how well it maintained cam belt tension when the engine is stopped and restarted (done with the belt covers off).

What I found was sometimes when the engine is tuned off, the crankshaft "rocks backwards" due to compression and the cam belt becomes very slack on the "driven" side of the belt ie; from the crankshaft pully to the camshaft pully.

This is caused by the tensioner not being strong enough to withstand the forces that are required to rotate the cam shafts.... and why should it be..... its not its job.

The problem comes when the car is next restarted with the cam belt in this condition ie; slack on the driven side.... as the starter engages and starts to rotate the crankshaft, the camshaft's remain stationary until the slack in the belt is taken up.

IMO its in this condition the cam belt is subjected to extreme strain and shock loading and in particular the cam belt teeth that are engaged in the crankshaft pully and the cam shaft pully.

Hope I've explained that OK and it sort of makes sense..... I could of course be wrong, I'm no VAG expert, but I'm an experienced HGV fitter and used to diagnosing and sorting problems and I think this is a contributing factor to Skoda's reduced cam belt service life

[saxby2026@yahoo]

Hi thanks for your comment.I have now booked it in for new cambelt next Weds.I`ve never not done what needs to be done on any of my cars but this is quite a costly every 4 years 1 but Id rather spend 300 than for a new engine.thanks again