Timing Belt failure - help!

My dealer replaced the timing belt on my 1996 855 TDI at the 80,000 service. After 1000 more liles it failed whilst I was on the M1, causing aas yet unknown damage to the engine.

The dealer, Speeds of Nottingham, tell me the incident was caused by the water pump which failed, and damaged the new timing belt, causing all the damage which will now NOT be covered by the parts warranty (which it would if the belt alone had been responsible).

Is this likely, or could the pump have been damaged when the timing belt gave way?

Sounds to me like I'm being stiffed.

Any advice please?

Cheers,

AB

Reply to
AB
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The waterpump is driven by the cambelt on the 850's. If the waterpump failed badly it would have taken the cambelt with it. Seeing as you have only done 1000 miles since the change I doubt whether the dealer checked the waterpump whilst changing the cambelt. When I changed mine at 120,000 (I do it more regually than Volvo recommend) I noticed that the waterpump was getting a bit tight and had a slight watermark around the pulley although there was no actual leak. To be on the safe side and for 30 odd quid I changed it (easy to do when on a cambelt change)

Dave

Reply to
Dave

Thanks for the reply.

Considering the potential (and in this case actuality) for disaster, I would have thought checking the water pump should be normal practice, but my dealer said it was not a requirement of the service - unbelievable though that may sound.

I still think the problem was caused during their servicing of the car - all was fine until then.

AB

Dave wrote:

Reply to
AB

Checking- and usually replacing- the water pump when replacing the timing belt *is* standard practice. Your mechanic is trying to dodge here. Check the Volvo repair manual to see what standard practice ought to be. For the minimal price of a water pump- since there is no extra labor cost as the water pump is already removed- your mechanic

*should* have said "mate, we should replace this water pump while we're in here."

You may need to get a lawyer involved as the repairs are likely to be expensive- worst case scenario will require an engine rebuild with new valves, pistons, etc. Your lawyer might be able to suggest to them that fixing their error might be cheaper than going to court.

You should also get a second opinion from an independent experienced Volvo mechanic.

Reply to
Tim McNamara

Well, if the water pump seized, it could cause the belt to break. It's a possibility. I would check if the tensioner was replaced, if it's the same as in the petrol engine. usually that is replaced as well, depending on the year of the car. I believe that the tensioner was changed at some point. The water pump could have been leaking before hand. The dealer should, could have replaced it as a maintenance item, since its right there while doing the timing belt. It would be a pain just to change the water pump and not the timing belt.

JBL

Reply to
Jeff Lesperance

Tim,

My thoughts also.

I've written to the dealer along these lines, and may have to consult a lawyer after the 7 days I gave them to respond. Not a route I would prefer to take as the dealer has the car and the parts in question, so the evidence is in their hands. However, given the actual circumstances, I would hope the balance of probabilities lie in my favour rather than the dealer should it go to court.

Thanks for the input.

Andrew

Tim McNamara wrote:

Reply to
AB

Firstly my condolancies.

It is strongly recommended to replace the water pump and idlers and tensioner(s) along wiht the belt when changing it if you;re expecting those components to last another 80k.

The dealer should have advised you have the water pump etc changed along with the belt. A pump that is going to expire in 1k miles surely is going to have at the least a noisy bearing which any mechanic worth his salt would have checked- just spin the shaft. So I would think you have grounds for negligance on that count.

That said an over tightened new belt can also cause premature failure on any components bearings, but an over tight one makes a zzzzzz-ing noise which you would have heard. (does the TDI use an auto tensioner?)

If the car has a full Volvo history then I would be leaning on the dealer severely to pay at least 1/2 the repair costs seeing as you suffered failure so soon after a new belt.

Tim..

Reply to
Tim (Remove NOSPAM. Registry corupted, reformated HD and l

Tim,

Thanks for your reply and your concern.

In August I returned the car to the dealer because I had heard a strange noise - this turned out to a defective timing belt - some teeth were missing. The belt, pulley and tensioner were changed at that time.

On this latest occasion I hadn't heard any odd noises which may have indicated a similar problem. I was cauight by surprise whwen it happened therefore. Fortunately I managed to manoever it across to the hard shoulder and safety without power assistance.

Cheers.

Andrew

Tim (Remove NOSPAM. Registry corupted, reformated HD and lost alot of stuff :( wrote:

Reply to
AB

Looking at the service schedule, it doesn't specifically state to ever check the water pump as an individual item....unless that is specified in the subjobs of replacing the cambelt.

Reply to
Conrad Edwards

Conrad,

I noted that on the service sheet also.

Apparently though, some manufacturers recommend changing the water pump when the cambelt is changed - a wise precaution given that the water pump failure can appear to be so catastrophic - it should be routinely inspected and replaced when there is any indication of a problem.

As the Volvo mechanics had the opportunity to check it over twice in 3 months, one could assume that it did not require attention / was not of any concern.

Andrew

C> >

Reply to
AB

Every 60-80K replace the water pump. This is true for almost all cars.

Yeah - that kind of seemed odd as well. You know, they have to most often remove the water pump when they take the timing chain cover off. Perhaps they munged the gasket or something? Worth checking.

Reply to
Joseph Oberlander

I had an independent mechanic look at the problem - and his opinion was that the servicing mechanic overtightened the new belt, which caused the water pump bearings to fail. No proof however.

The dealer and Volvo UK must have thought this possible, as they are covering 89% of the nearly £5,000 repair job - its still going to cost me another £525 though - at least I get the car back with a new water pump, cylinder head and valves.

From now on - it would be a very good idea to change the water pump whenever the timing belt is changed. I don't know why Volvo don't recommend this - none of the service checks currently involve checking the water pump, yet the damage is catastrophic when it fails.

Something for Volvo HQ to address.

AB

Joseph Oberlander wrote:

Reply to
AB

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