Hi all,
My cambelt snapped today at 135k miles - I only bought the car two weeks ago and have covered about 1,000 miles :o( Can anyone tell me if this is a "safe" engine and it's simply a matter of fitting another timing belt or if it's likely I've done valve/piston damage. It didn't make any particularly nasty noises when it failed.
Thanks in advance.
According to Autodata it is an INTERFERENCE engine. Check every 15,000km (9,320 miles) and replace every 90,000km (55,923miles). Says tensioner pulley must also be replaced.
On this engine the belt should be checked every service !!! (really rare recommendation)
It will have broken things, it must come apart to establish how severe the damage is. Lack of sounds does not mean little or no damage.
Be prepared for the fact it may be scrap it time.
Mrcheerful
That sucks,
Well thanks for the replies anyway guys. As it's only been 12 days since I bought the car I'm going to try throwing it back at the dealer. Bin time for the car already is a lot to swallow so soon.
Cheers,
DEfinitely worth a try, it's difficult to see how anythijng that only lasted 12 days was fit for purpose (OK a chicken may be inedible but..._
As it's from a dealer may be worth pursuing that. If the 1st belt was changed at the recommended 55k it sounds like it's been living on borrowed time for the last 25k miles. The manufacturers probably reduce the change interval recommendation as a precaution but 25k over would be pushing it a bit far.
Thats bloody bad luck! :-(
How much did you pay for the car ?
It's a diesel my friend, hence high compression ratio, hence *high* probability of valve-to-piston contact. Give it a quick compression test on all cylinders and be prepared for the worst. Depending on how much you paid for the car, and how much you like it, it might be worth trying to source a replacement engine.
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