Decided Not To Replace Cambelt (Ford Figo)

Slootvreter said:
According to your mechanic, whom you trust explicitly? Which car is this?
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Dealership done under maintenance plan. My old cupra. I saw the invoices. Nothing unnecessary or extreme on them
10 valves, new belt and tensioner, head overhaul (new seals etc), new water pump
 
abzo said:
I had the opposite experience. If my cambelt had been done with the service it would have only cost R1900. I told them not to, thinking I'd do it another time. When I got back and asked them for a quote on the cambelt so I could do it later, it was R3600. The belt alone was R2200 which didn't make sense to me considering it could all have been done for R1900 extra initially. They also wrote "No cambelt" in the service block.

My car was at a 150k service although it's only done 145k. I think I'll have the cambelt done at the next service. ( should be around 155k by then) or sell it before it reaches 150k and it can be the next guy's problem.
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I think it's sneaky that they write "no cambelt", when I buy a car over 100K I check the service book for cambelt service so when it's explicitly noted in the book I know it means the owner elected to skip the job and I run the risk of the thing snapping on me. Either take the cambelt service off the price or walk.
 
I won't buy a second hand car if the owner didn't replace the belt when he should've. Who knows what else he/she neglects to do....
Bad choice to skip that.

In any case, what year model is the Figo? I was under the impression that the Figo's has a chain.
 
Sinbad said:
Dealership done under maintenance plan. My old cupra. I saw the invoices. Nothing unnecessary or extreme on them
10 valves, new belt and tensioner, head overhaul (new seals etc), new water pump
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I don't trust a dealership as far as I can smell it. What did they do that costs so much?
 
for most cars what is the interval for changing cam-belt?

I dont have a service book for my car a 2010 kia picanto; nearly nearly at 100000 Km but at the moment still under;
 
Slootvreter said:
R23k for a snapped cambelt and damage caused by it? I'm not so sure. I had my Astra's cambelt snap years ago, twice in a row (yeah facepalm, I know), and each time they only replaced the pulleys, belt, and 4 valves.
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It depends on whether it is an interference engine. Iow the pistons and valves interfere with each other. Ot means the pistons and valves occupy the same space but at different times. If you remove the cambelt, it can become the same time. You astra was a non-interference engine, so no bent valves.

That said, the figo has such a crappy engine with no torque, especially at the low end (compared to similar priced cars) it probably has a very old engine design that is also non-interference. Perhaps try and find out from the dealer. Cambelts can last twice as long as the service intervals, especially if it is in a short time, and if it is a non interference engine, you can let it wait a bit.
 
Years ago on my first car I was told to replace my cambelt. Did not do it. I was cruising on the freeway when it snapped. I had to basically replace everything.

Expensive lesson learned. Note that it is not difficult to replace. Buy the part. I normally phone all the stealerships and get the cheapest quote. Remember some parts salesman can authorise up to 10% discount. See if you can haggle. Then get a reputable mechanic to replace. Remember you might have to replace the tensioner also. This method works out the cheapest. Just keep the receipt of purchasing of original part as proof of replacement.
 
silver6933 said:
What you mean is 'non interference design engines'.
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Non interference: Valves can't hit the pistons even if the timing is way out or belt snaps. This is the case with most 2 valve per cylinder engines. If the best does snap you simply replace the belt and tensioner.

Interference: during the intake and exhaust strokes the valves push down into the space where the piston was moments earlier in the stroke. If the timing is badly out or the belt snaps the pistons and valves collide. Valves generally bend in this case and that's all that's needed to be replaced, but it's a head off and to the engineers procedure, new top gasket set and head bolts, coolant and oil. Most 4 valve per cylinder heads are interference design.

This is a major reason why cambelt service needs to be done by someone who is sure of what they are doing. Get the timing wrong and you can bend the valves on startup. Replacing the belt is very easy though and so is setting the timing.

I would have the belt replaced by an independent workshop and staple the receipt to the service book.
 
Sly21C said:
Hi All

My Ford Figo went for a 100 000km service today, at a Ford Dealership in Centurion (Lazarus). The consultant told me that when a car reaches 100 000kms, cambelts must be changed. He told me it will cost me R6300. This was a surprize to me and therefore I declined for them to change my car's cambelt.

They went ahead to service my car and replaced other things, which cost me R1700. When I fetched my car, I asked the consultant if I can bring back my car after about 10 000kms later so that a cambelt can be changed, he mentioned that I can and it might set me back R4000. Bear in mind that in the morning he told me R6300.

I also noticed that on my service book, he wrote "Cambelt not replaced". I'm obviously not happy with this because nowhere does it say on my service book that my car's cambelt must be replaced. Is this normal? Did I make the right decision not to replace my Ford Figo's cambelt?

Thanks
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It most certainly will be in your service book so it definitely is mentioned.

This is a crucial part and I'm surprised they haven't given you **** about your warranty, but that will only come into play once something breaks now.

This is a perfectly normal replacement for cars that use cambelts and is always a costly exercise. It's one of the big reasons you often see people selling cars at this mileage as well to try and skip the cost...by incurring an even greater cost in a new car.

So NO, you did the wrong thing by not replacing it.

*****

That being said they are shafting you for cost. I was quoted R3500 by an independent to do mine and I would imagine a Figo would cost hte same or less.

I would negotiate with them about that price, or take it elsewhere if your warranty allows for it.
 
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R13... said:
Some cars indicate various things that must be done at various kms like VW recommends cambelt around 100k or so. You might be lucky and make the 10000 km but then you may be unlucky and the belt snaps and then it sets you back >20k and your warranty won't cover it. It's a risk you take.
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Actually my VW has it recommended only at 180k.

And I suspect in most cars it will cost much more than 20k if the dealership handles it.
 
When you buy the cam belt you get a sticker with it. I always add the sticker in the service book with the date when I change the cam belt. So where they wrote, Cam Belt not replaced. Just stick that sticker underneath it. You need to fill in the KMs and the date on the sticker.
 
The car is out of warranty. Take it to an independent service center for the cam belt. Should be under R500 for belt and tensioner and 1hr labour. Staple the invoice to your service book.
 
Slootvreter said:
I don't trust a dealership as far as I can smell it. What did they do that costs so much?
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It all depends on what car it is, some are cheaper to fix than others.

I just spent R6k in December replacing the intake manifold on my car and I did it myself. Other cars the intake manifold will cost you less than R2k, others it will cost over R10k

A cambelt failing can be really expensive, I redid the head on an old Opel engine for a friend that had a cambelt snap about 10 years ago and the parts alone was around R5k. Had the head tested for leaks and machined as well, total cost was around R8k. Newer cars will be much more expensive.
 
Also another thing to remember with camblets is that you get cheap cambelts and you get "Full Service Distance (FSD)" cambelts, the cheap ones need to be replaced every 60 000kms, FSD belts need to be replaced as per manufacturer spec.
 
grim said:
It all depends on what car it is, some are cheaper to fix than others.

I just spent R6k in December replacing the intake manifold on my car and I did it myself. Other cars the intake manifold will cost you less than R2k, others it will cost over R10k

A cambelt failing can be really expensive, I redid the head on an old Opel engine for a friend that had a cambelt snap about 10 years ago and the parts alone was around R5k. Had the head tested for leaks and machined as well, total cost was around R8k. Newer cars will be much more expensive.
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I had a 1998 Opel Astra 180iE, cost me about R4k to fix everything, and I didn't do it myself.
 
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