Replacing the Cam Belt
Hi everybody. Sorry if this has been mentioned before, but I have a 2006 Swift 590RS Lifestyle with a Fiat Ducato 2.3JTD Diesel engine. Generally, looking at different forums, it seems that some M/homers replace the Cam Belt at very low mileage indeed. I've
seen some advertised for sale as having 25/40,000 miles on the clock, and quite a few state that they have had the Cam Belt replaced at (?) miles, which seems very low mileage to me. Is this normal for Motorhomes, as this is our first one, we've had it a couple
of months now and are still coming to grips with it. I have had many cars over the years, and never had the Cam Belt replaced on any of them (as far as I can remember). I can't see a recommended mileage for changing it in the manual either. Am I missing something
here, are M/homes a special case. Any advice would be very helpful. Many thanks.
Comments
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It probably varies with makes but is generally 50k or five years or some such. My guess is that owners do them earlier because of an impending long trip and want to play safe.
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i would change at about 50k or 5 years or so , i would also replace the tensions and water pump while on the ramp . i aslo replace the alternator belt.
these belts perish over time (like tyres ). if your van is working hard this puts more stress on the belt .
if the belt breaks the cost of repair is expencive
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As said above.....
it has little to do with mileage and everything to do with age, it perishes and I doubt that standing idle for long periods helps.
Almost everybody will recommend you change tensioners, pulleys & waterpump at the same time, whilst the mechanic is in there get everything associated done.
If you do it early in your ownership of the vehicle you will have peace of mind for the time you own the vehicle.....
The horrendous cost of not getting it done is well documented on this and many other forums......!!
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Hi Philipemmo. We have a VW Autosleeper, second hand, bought around 18 months ago. We were advised not to overlook getting cam belt done, and after putting around 8000 miles onto it in a year, we had it replaced, with the ancillaries as part of giving our
MH it's first service. Not sure where you in South Yorks, but can recommend a garage if you need one. We were pleased with work done for us, and have had another minor repair done recently. Getting a MH into workshop can be an issue for some garages! Let me
know if you want details of garage. Cheers!0 -
As has been said, the problem is lack of use. The engine is designed to be thrashed, oops, used day in, day out. Driving it sensibly and infrequently means that things that contain rubber or other flexible compounds become brittle and likely to fail prematurely. Timing belts, tyres, suspension bushes, etc are all prone to this kind of failure.
The cost of a belt failing is little short of catastrophic, so always a good idea to play safe and get it changed, along with the water pump, tensioner, etc.. A good workshop that handles motorhomes will know what's needed. If possible try to get some personal recommendations.
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From memory my 2012 Ducato Fiat handbook says something like 70k or 4 years whichever comes first but in the case of low mileage like with the MH then every 5 years. Your handbook will tell you. Regards Roy
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Thank you all for your valuable information. The mileage on our M/home is 46,000, so I think I will contact the previous owner and ask if he had the belt changed during the 3 years he had it. If not I think judging by everyones comments on here, I'll have
it changed."Takethedogalong", Thank you for your offer of help with finding a reliable garage, I am from Doncaster, so any good recommendations for the work would be very much appreciated. Many thanks to you all.
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Thank you all for your comments. I spoke to the previous owner this morning, and as far as he can recall, he didn't have the belt changed during the three years he had it. Time for some quotes I think. Kenexton, special thanks for giving me some idea as
to the cost of this job. Does that include the Water Pump and Tensions (Whatever they are). Thank You.0
..... just saying .... not a clue about yours
