date on a cambelt?

[bub2006]

Do the numbers on a cam belt correspond to a date when it was made? Never checked before when i have fitted one. Car went to garage today for new cam belt and water pump as i don't have tine or space to do it at home. The chap has gave me tho old belt and it is knackered,Brown and frayed. He told me that its looking like its been on from new and the tensioner also. The car is a 2003 vectra with 140k on clock. Looking at the belt now i am surprised it still is held together. Bought car with no belt reciept and booked it in when money picked up. Is it possible for a belt to sustain that amount of mileage? Thanks

[Felly Magic]

By the sounds I think you've been bloody lucky here, as that belt could have gone twang any second, and the engine would have been toast. It could well be the original belt. I'd get shut of it ASAP, because if past owners haven't bothered about cambelts, I bet it's gone 40k or more between oil and filter changes

[320touring]

The belt I fitted to the 320 last sat had a 'fit by' date on the box.

 

Belt only had part numbers.

 

Belt was a contitech one.

[saucedoctor]

Belt can do that kinda mileage. About a month ago, me and the Long Haired C.O. were picked up by a delightful 2001 Hyundai Elantra 2.0CRDi minicab. Mint, too. Got talking to the driver about the car, and he mentioned that he changed the oil etc himself, but had only recently discovered it had a belt. He had originally been informed by the inevitable bloke down the pub that those engines had a chain.

 

140k miles on the original belt.

[bub2006]

I did service it as soon as i got it home,oil wasn't gritty and filter looked slightly dirty and serviced again 3k later so i think it will be OK. Ill keep hold of it till at least august when mot is due or if it goes tits up big time before hand it will get bridged.

[richardmorris]

When they've done the belts on my cars my mechanics that I always use write the mileage in tippex on the cover. Quick and easy reminder.

[bub2006]

No reminder,no sticker no receipts for the past 11 years of its life Richard!

[richardmorris]

No reminder,no sticker no receipts for the past 11 years of its life Richard!

 

Ah there's nothing like living on borrowed time

[Richard]

XUDs used to do about 130k on the original belt before it failed, the recommended interval on the HDi is 96k I think. The highest mileage belt I've seen was over 180k on a 1.9 XUD Peugeot 305, it hadn't failed but it was cracked to buggery.

[bub2006]

Sounds like ours. I do think it may be original. Feels very brittle

[EssDeeWon]

Are cambelts corded? I guess they must be.

 

Never really seen one because I usually end up with chain driven motors.

[forddeliveryboy]

Petrol engines never snapped their belts in the 80s.

[Noel Tidybeard]

Petrol engines never snapped their belts in the 80s.

no they just had square camshafts lol

[spike60]

Petrol engines never snapped their belts in the 80s.

I used work on some early MK3 Escort vans with CVH engines and they stripped the teeth off at 40k and 10 yards without fail. Didn't snap, much the same though.

[Pillock]

Longer mileages are possible if the car is driven greater distances at a time. The stress of starting an engine puts a greater strain on it than just running, so a 120k belt used on the motorway might be OK, a taxi or delivery van might need one sooner.

 

I wonder if stop/start tech will decrease the life even further. My car must have restarted 30-40 times yesterday on a 10 mile section of the M1.

[Albert Ross]

My Volvo with the PSA 2.0 Hdi has a recommended change mileage of 144,000. It's just over 70K and I'm already pricing the parts up.

[bub2006]

144,000 interval! Bloody hell i wouldn't like to go that far! Admitted mine isn't that far off!

[Guest Lord Sward]

Does those engines run with the rubber belt in the engine oil?  Or is that the 1.6HDi lump?

[Vince70]

XUDs used to do about 130k on the original belt before it failed, the recommended interval on the HDi is 96k I think. The highest mileage belt I've seen was over 180k on a 1.9 XUD Peugeot 305, it hadn't failed but it was cracked to buggery.

My sister in laws went at around 40000 a couple of years ago on a 306 but saying that it was on its original belt and the car was a very early 1.6 petrol on a k plate so was close to 20 years old.

 

And how she described it sounded more like a tensioner failure rather than a belt.

 

It reminds me once the Audi A4 is back in use I better get a new belt put on as I can't find anything in its history suggesting it's had one sometime and the car is 20 years old so I would say it's gone way past borrowed time for that one.

[Albert Ross]

Dunno about the belt, but both clutches run in oil.

[PhilA]

In the 125,000 miles recorded on my Renault's odometer, there have been two belt/tensioner catastrophes.

 

I'm fitting the third known belt to the engine, and the interval is 32,000 miles.

 

Mind you, the engine nor belt or tensioner set are listed anywhere in the USA, so it's unsurprising the belts get fitted back on with a prayer..

 

Phil