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Cambelt on focus

I know ford say its either 10 years or 100k which ever comes first. I bought the car a few months, full service history at a ford specialist. It has had a tow bar on the back at some point as there was one in the boot on sale for it, and has had some kind of power out fitted down near the tow bar bar, so it might of have done a bit of hard work. The car itself has only done 45k so I may be being over cautious here? but I think I should have it done for peace of mind really. The car runs like a dream but you never know the condition of a rubber band really. Its a pretty long interval from ford at

10 years / 100k but no doubt they know what they are talking about.

What are the average costs of having a job like this done ?

I have had a quote from a local ford specialist which is for the cambelt kit, water pump, tensioner, coolant labour vat for £460 which is a lot compared to my other cars I've had in the past which have been about £350 even when done at specialists. The main dealer want £540 + vat for it but does not include the water pump.

So just after a bit of advice if you think I should get it done and likely costs and if there's anything else that should be done whilst all of that is stripped down that should be replaced ?

Thanks

Reply to
Pete
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Give us a clue; what year is it?

Chris

Reply to
Chris Whelan

Give us a clue; what year is it?

Chris

Pfft lol I thought I put the vitals on that post. It 2004 and the mk1.5 ;)

Reply to
Pete

We've all done it at some point!

Premature belt failure is very rare; sometimes the tensioner fails early, but it's not common.

On that basis, yours should be safe to leave for 2.5 years; do you intend to keep it for that long? If not, don't change it.

OTOH, if you intend to keep it for considerably more than 2.5 years, you are going to have to change it at some point, so doing it a year or so early would give you peace of mind.

If it was my car, I wouldn't do it yet. There's always the risk of it being written off in an accident, and you won't be able to recover that money.

The water pump is not driven by the cam belt, so pump failure won't normally cause the engine to enter grenade mode; the amount of parts to be removed is similar for both jobs, that's why it's sometimes advised to be done at the same time.

Autodata labour time for the 1.4/1.6 is 2.7 hours; the belt kit is £58.90

  • VAT. Labour for the 1.8/2.0 is 2.2 hours, with the belt kit costing £64.87 + VAT. Auxiliary drive belt (which should be changed at the same time) is about £18.

This makes your prices a touch high; I would expect to get the belts done for nearer £250 using an independent or (my preferred choice), a mobile. Add perhaps £100 if you include the water pump.

Chris

Reply to
Chris Whelan

We've all done it at some point!

Premature belt failure is very rare; sometimes the tensioner fails early, but it's not common.

On that basis, yours should be safe to leave for 2.5 years; do you intend to keep it for that long? If not, don't change it.

OTOH, if you intend to keep it for considerably more than 2.5 years, you are going to have to change it at some point, so doing it a year or so early would give you peace of mind.

If it was my car, I wouldn't do it yet. There's always the risk of it being written off in an accident, and you won't be able to recover that money.

The water pump is not driven by the cam belt, so pump failure won't normally cause the engine to enter grenade mode; the amount of parts to be removed is similar for both jobs, that's why it's sometimes advised to be done at the same time.

Autodata labour time for the 1.4/1.6 is 2.7 hours; the belt kit is £58.90

  • VAT. Labour for the 1.8/2.0 is 2.2 hours, with the belt kit costing £64.87 + VAT. Auxiliary drive belt (which should be changed at the same time) is about £18.

This makes your prices a touch high; I would expect to get the belts done for nearer £250 using an independent or (my preferred choice), a mobile. Add perhaps £100 if you include the water pump.

Chris

I think your right I could be being a bit over cautious. I'll have a good search around for some one slightly cheaper. My plan is to keep this car to the bitter end :). I guess if its not driven I could leave the water pump as theres no signs of failure or for £40 just get it down in case.

Reply to
Pete

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