Has Anyone had a timing belt snap, or know of one?

[Spike]

First, i have put this in general discussion as its not meant to have tech content.
Whilst arguing over a pint the other day the question of timing belts and change intervals came up.
So my question is as the title suggests: has anyone ACTUALLY experienced tis on a clio v6 or known someone cursed enough for it to happen to them. there has been much talk about leaving for another year also talk of the other v6's 9 year interval (pug citroen etc) but actuall failures?
what brought the question up was a megane owner who had not had a belt for 12 years, thenit SUDDENLY broke! i ask you, SUDDENLY? he had at least 7 years warning, also one of the guys at the garage warned him two months ago that the noise that was eminating from the front was the tensioner??? Just plain stooopid!
as i said no tech just has it happened on a v6 clio?

 

[Jamesv6]

K-Tec mentioned they had a belt slip, but never had one snap in all the years they've done v6s

Can't find anything on here where a belt has actually failed.

 

[Spike]

I had a new belt fitted by a dealer that i later found to be a tooth out, the dealer offered the excuse that it had skipped but i am sceptical of that, i think it was their error, i just fitted another belt correctly , whilst i had it down that far, but thats the closest i have come across. thanks for searching anyway James.

 

[Spike]

Forgot to say, considering the price of changing the belt, or even the aggro of doing it youself, its not a bad batting average!

 

[Kett]

My missus' cousin had a belt go on a Megane.
I can't remember the exact details, but it was on approx 80k miles (and 2 years overdue).

 

[Matt]

Friend had a belt go on his fiat years ago. Think it was on about 60k.

 

[thunderstarter]

Just going back to KTEC, I remember reading a story not so long ago, about a BG V6 being sold by a dealer on this forum and KTEC had carried out the first belt change. The dealer sold the car and the new owner had the belt fail on them within the first week, somewhere enroute to Belgium.

So I'm guessing this was a failure due to incorrect fitting rather than age/wear related?

 

[Lankan]

Haven't heard of any myself.

My wife's A3 is due a belt change now...............anybody know of any horror stories re belts snapping on Audis?

 

[k1ano]

No experience with Vees - apare from everything looking new when the work was done to the service schedule, but ...

An old boss of mine had his cambelt strip on his vauxhaul cavalier sri many years - a non interference engine and was easily repaired ...
I also stripped the cambelt on a vauxhall astra when the engine back-fired again this was easily fixed and there was no damage ...
I ran a GT4 celica with a belt saturated in oil (due to a seal leak) and this had no adverse effects during the time I ran it like this and was able to replace it ...

My old Toyota GT4 had a cam-belt that was 13 years old before it was replaced and that is a twin-cam engine.

IMHO I think the tensioners, bearings and water pumps are more the reason to change belts than the belt itself. But still safer to follow the manufacturers recommendations if possible but be pragmatic as required i.e. costs v usage of the car.

Martin

 

[Fred]

All failures i know of are due to incorrect fitting, i'd be quite happy to say the cambelt setup on the V6 engine is good for 7-10years without bother (depending on useage)

mine was perfect still when i removed it in May this year (factory fitted in 2004) no cracks etc, been stood for 6years after 50Kmiles!

the failures i know of relate to the upper idler wheel shearing its bolt (ALL BOLTS MUST BE REPLACED ON THE IDLERS/TENSIONER) and/or not being torqued correctly, plus people not timing the engine up correctly, it is a bit of a twat and can only be done PROPERLY with the engine removed

 

[quik99]

Fred - interesting what you say. Does this mean you really would suggest removing the engine to do the cambelt? Most cambelts are changed without removing the engine, so is this a potential grey area/risk?

 

[Fred]

i doubt you'd be able to time the engine up correctly with it still in, i'd be VERY surprised if the timing was cock on! It takes us 4hours to remove the engine/box completley, but we have the special Renault cradle for the engine/box which makes things MUCH easier!

Its a bit of a pratt to time the engine up AND get the belt tension correct with it OUT of the car, sod even attempting it with the lump still in the car!

 

[Big Iain]

Fred what would you suggest replacing along with the belt? bolts pulleys dephasers etc?

 

[Brett]

I had an aux belt shred itself 200 miles after being fitted. That was down to PAS fluid leaking onto it. I'm not sure if the same could happen to the cam belt though.

 

[Samwilde681]

I spoke to my mechanic last night, I trust him implicitly, hes been working on cars for 40 years including the Vee (last 10 years) and I asked him the question of the belt. He made some good points, mainly towards getting it done, he basically said firstly: As an enthusiast when you come to sell it and the book is up to date its attractive and the difference between good and excellent money. Secondly if you know its coming for 5 years you could start planning it OR if you buy close to the mark then take that into account when purchasing. Thirdly he said actually in his experience the lower mileage cars suffer more from belt breakage than the higher ones due to perishing of the rubber and for the sake of a grand to get it done its worth doing. I personally cant really see an argument not to get it done really, but like you rightly said Brett its luck of the draw sometimes! nice to have someone who knows what they are doing too in a garage!!! seems scarily rare!!!

When I said how do you find dropping the engine out the bottom he said: we dont, we use a tin opener :troll:

 

[Brett]

I actually counted mysef lucky the aux belt never took the cam belt out on the bottom pulley as it made a real mess and didn't just snap. My 172 is due next summer and for it'll be done along with a major service a spruce up.

 

[Alpineandy]

I think 5 years is a very conservative period but I'd guess Renault know that;
1) It gets very hot and heat effects rubber
and
2) it's the type of car were a driver will give it some revs.
In a Laguna it's much less likely to see the red line.

If you're a gentle drivier, 6 or 7 years probably wouldn't be a problem but you don't buy a Vee if you're a gentle driver..... :race:

 

[quik99]

If Fred says "sod attempting with engine still in the car" .... why do a number of specialists change the belts with engine in the car? I am now confused!

 

[Fred]

other specialists say they can do the cam timing on 172/182's also

either i'm full of shit or they are, that's the problem with this trade, anyone can become a "specialist" overnight with sod all qualifications!

 

[quik99]

Not denying what you are saying at all. You know far more than i ever will about these cars, however i seem to recall nearly all of the "reputable" companies who are recommended on here NOT taking the engine out to do the job. I would be interested to see how many cars on here have had their first or second belt change without the engine being removed. I imagine it would be the majority.