I am hacked OFF ....Cam belt change - HOW important is this?

[Alan.F]

When i had the belts done on my blue 180 the belts were fine but when we took the plastic tensioner off it was cracked and fell apart, so really its how much YOU value your car at not the crap valuations that are going around atm

[Alan.F]

Originally Posted by petet16

Good used v6s are a good deal less than a £600 belt change.

yes but you should change the belts as you dont know any history if bought off the bay

[Alan.F]

I paid £800 for my CAT D ZT but first thing i did was fork out £600 to have head gasket and belt done on it as it had no history, its all down to how long you plan to keep the car, I have owned 2 180's and had belts done on both

[Smokey]

I have found that mk1's seem to have a belt change more so than mk2's, but that might just be coincidence. Thing is, if I (along with Grimmy, Marcus and Stephen) manage to change the engine in the site track car, I think I will have no fear over belts. I will either take on the challenge of the belts with the site tools or if they snap, I'll already know and have a how-to to swap the engine.

Cost of changing belts/water pump myself £250ish?

Cost of replacement engine, swapping myself £350ish?

Both are cheaper than going to a garage and I would enjoy the challenge!

[stamford]

To put things into perspective my belts were overdue on my ZS, I was pushing my luck as the mileage was low but age was the factor. When they were removed they were in a bad way and cracking badly.

I have been in engineering all of my life and have used HTD timing belts etc in alot of equipment. They do last longer than stated but alot will depend on the manufacturing quality and maintenance carried out plus not forgetting the climate as that will have an adverse effect on its expected lifespan.

Okay so an engine can be bought for less than a belt change, but tell me this, do you know what you are buying?

As with any car that is getting on in years you get what you pay for and if you don't like the costs to maintain then don't buy it!

I have had mine 8 years and I will be keeping it and when the time comes for another belt change I won't hesitate to get them changed, better the devil you know I say.

There will be some positive news soon regarding belt changes for forum supporters

[scotttait]

If your mechanically minded. A decent DIY, someone who likes to take his time on doing a job and enjoys getting mucky, get yourself a Haynes manual and DIY

[Ritchy]

I always think of it as perhaps id be in the middle of nowhere. No reception. Belt snaps. Stuck out in the cold.
Or some family emergency needing to get to the hospital. Or even driving to work. Just hastle i cba with. Would rather know its all good and its not going to die on me when i need it. Different people have different circumstances ect but thats my feeling

[vanishing days]

The way I think of it if the previous owners havent had the cambelt changed what else havent they done im looking for a mk 2 180 and have been for a while ive walked away from 3 mk2 180s in the last few months ive got 3k to spend and I wont be buying a badly maintained car as I need it for work.

[Ippon]

Originally Posted by vanishing days

The way I think of it if the previous owners havent had the cambelt changed what else havent they done im looking for a mk 2 180 and have been for a while ive walked away from 3 mk2 180s in the last few months ive got 3k to spend and I wont be buying a badly maintained car as I need it for work.

Hope you aren't looking north of Watford

[waynester]

Did my belts quite quickly after purchase.. for approx £410 if I remember correctly..
I only paid £700ish for the car, so with the belts added..it was still bloody good value performance car!
I wouldn't have bought any other Z.. it was the 2.5 V6 quad cam engine I wanted.. & I'm not disappointed!