[welshdrover]

Wow March 14th has come around so quickly, that i cant really believe it.
I booked my Up Black back in January, for its timing belt and pulley change, and its being done tomorrow.
The cars just passed its ninth birthday, with still only a registered 8382 miles on the clock.

A timing belt change is not something i am willing to put off year on year, just because my car has done such a small mileage.
There is no big con on having a timing belt changed, its a job that has to be done sometime, and the reason most of us put it off, is because of the cost of replacement.

 

[Charliefarlie]

You either do the job or run the gauntlet. Those who say nay won’t be around if the belt goes. It’s not really possible to know by looking at the belt because belts on any car can look good and still snap.

Without reading all the posts above on the basis this topic has been done loads of times it has been said the plastic components are in reality the weak point. Yes I hear you say but my cars low miles so these plastic parts can’t be worn out. But plastic can go hard and that may cause a problem.

VW should be asked to clarify positively why the UK gets differing service requirements to Europe. To fail to answer would be pretty stupid by them.

You pays yer money or takes yer chance. 👍👍👍👍

 

[freemansteve]

Plastic ages according to heat x time, so it can probably be guessed...
Or you can believe what VAG Germany has to say.
If not, we are down to changing belts and tensioners every year, or even every time test-driver goes on the the bus, instead of using his GTI...

 

[TEST DRIVER]

Plastic ages according to heat x time, so it can probably be guessed...
Or you can believe what VAG Germany has to say.
If not, we are down to changing belts and tensioners every year, or even every time test-driver goes on the the bus, instead of using his GTI...

I do find the car has much less wear and tear when i get the bus and the MPG is excellent.

Being the Master Mechanic that i am, i am going to change the cam belt and fit a cam chain. That will solve the problem!!

In truth i will not change the belt, unless i keep the car for 20 years, which is very unlikely. I have never changed the belt on any car i have owned.

At least EVs do not have belts which is another plus point for electric cars. Also no exhausts to change.

 

[welshdrover]

A pleasant surprise, the Up has returned from the garage, after having both the belt and tensioners replaced, and the bill only came to a modest £180, i was expecting it to be more.
So parts and labour, came to only £238.

The old belt was the original, and looked in decent shape, but you could see the difference in wear of the teeth, from old and new.
It was the tensioner pulleys, that were showing their age, they were quite worn, more so than the belt, so i suppose the belt itself could have lasted many more years, but not the pulleys.

A shame really, that you can't see the wear on the components, until the whole assembly is taken apart, and when everything is in bits, you might as well replace old with new, as its a job and a half to do it all again.

Where Vw get their £716 from, for the same work, heaven knows, thats a huge difference in price, but the job has now been done, and should be fine for years to come.

 

[CityGo Man]

I am confused. If the bill labour and parts was £248, what was the "modest £180" for?

 

[welshdrover]

The kit which included a new SKF belt and pulleys came to near enough £58 and the labour charge for fitting the belt was a more than reasonable £180.
I had budgeted for around the £250 -300 mark for the labour alone, as i know what's involved, a minimum of two to three hours under the bonnet.

When i collected my car, i was half expecting to cough up a lot more than £180, but that's what he wanted, and i went away more than happy.

I know VW hourly rate charges are high, but there;s a big difference between £716 and £238, for the same work.

 

[MrBritBoy]

I have just replaced mine at 58000miles (10yr old). It was making a ticking noise which has now gone so Im glad ive done it now. I had been weighing up whether to change it for the last two years (when I bought the car, done 28000miles at that point), with all the debate over this topic, Im glad I waited.... but glad I didnt leave it any longer !!

 

[welshdrover]

Im still surprised that owners are putting off the inevitable, a timing belt has to be changed sometime in a cars life, just get it done.
The replacement doesn't have to cost a fortune, ive proved that case, with a more than reasonable bil of £238 all in.

Just get it done, then its out of mind for probably the life of the car

 

[Reiver]

It's funny how people that have had this unnecessary work done try to convince others to do the same. I'll get mine inspected at 100,000 miles as recommended by the manufacturer. My problem is that at my current yearly mileage I'll be about 120 years old when it's due its inspection and I'll probably forget to get it done.

 

[freemansteve]

I'll be about 120 years old when it's due its inspection

Me too. I'm more likely to be concerned with the driver's seat "commode conversion" in a few years....

 

[CityGo Man]

Thanks welshdrover. I have "found" a vw independent just 8miles away, done an oil/filter change for me and we seem to get on ok. I will ask of they do the commode version just for Freemansteve.

 

[freemansteve]

I will ask of they do the commode version just for Freemansteve

On the plus side, I did the 325 miles from Derby to PZ yesterday morning with only one bio-break, and that was on the 2nd or 3rd services on the A30 in Devon! Maybe the cam-belt will still outlive me!

 

[welshdrover]

Having had the work carried out, YES i agree a timing belt can last a considerable time, maybe a lot longer than the suggested 6yrs or 60,000miles.

The things that cannot be ignored, are the belts tensioners, and mine were showing real signs of age, with significant wear, even on an engine with tiny mileage.

Unfortunately, the tensioners cannot be replaced without removal of the belt, so either way, have both belt and tensioners changed at the suggested time.