Does the cam belt need changing? (1 Viewer)

solitaire woman

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Have just purchased my first motorhome, a hymer 544k, first registered in Jan 02 with 23,300 miles. Dont know the first thing about cam belts, but have read a few posts where it seems to be the main topic of conversation! Would you think the cam belt should be replaced on my motorhome, or will there be a few more years/miles before it is necessary?
Anything else I should be thinking of changing/checking on a vehicle of this age?
Thanks in advance for any helpful info!
 

moandick

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New thread label

Hi Solitaire woman

I always have the same problem - trying to find where the "New Thread Label" is - but I have an excuse, in as much as I'm old and worn out and my memory is almost non-existent so Jim and Brian look after me a little bit. :thumb::thumb:

How to do it.........

1: go to the Homepage and click on the "Forums" tab

2: select your forum (in your case, I would suggest "Base Chassis Section" or "Tech/Mech General" and click on that tab

3: At the top left of the page you should see the label "new thread"


What I don't know how to do is tell you how to transfer your thread to that forum, sorry. :Doh::Doh::Doh:
 

hopperleslie

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cambelt replacement

has your vehicle got any service history, if so check to see what maintenance work has been carried out, it may cost you £200 to have the belt replacement but you will have piece of mind, when a belt breaks it virtually wrecks the engine,:cry: the replacement cost for a new engine will be a fortune.:Sad:
the hymer has only done a small mileage but like all parts the timing belt may have perished over the years.
hope this helps.:thumb:

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I

irish rover

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cam belt

hey how are ya,your cam belt and timing belt should be fine at that sort of mileage!hope you are enjoyin yer motorhome? i used to sell motorhomes for a livin,maybe you should get yerself a habitation test carried out,this should cover bamp checks,gas leaks and electrical installation etc!!!!!!!!!!!good for yer own peace of mind..............happy campin for the future.....(cam belt etc good till approx 50,000 miles)
 

haganap

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hey how are ya,your cam belt and timing belt should be fine at that sort of mileage!hope you are enjoyin yer motorhome? i used to sell motorhomes for a livin,maybe you should get yerself a habitation test carried out,this should cover bamp checks,gas leaks and electrical installation etc!!!!!!!!!!!good for yer own peace of mind..............happy campin for the future.....(cam belt etc good till approx 50,000 miles)

well sorry irish rover but im glad i nbever brought one of your vans then.

A cam belt and tensioners should be changed at five years regardless of milage. it is not just milage that dictates but life span.
Why take a risk of 2-4k worth of damage for the sake of a couple of hundred quid for peace of mind and happy motoring.

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Terry

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Hi agree with haganap, if you are not certainit has been changed get it done,it is the age rather than miles :thumb:I always change mine on aquiring vehicle unless cetain it has been done
terry
 
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solitaire woman

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Thanks everyone for the info, although now its getting slightly confusing! Thought
they all had a cam belt!! Cant see now that buying the motorhome is the easy bit, knowing all about its little foibles will take rather longer! Thank heavens for sites like this!

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solitaire woman

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Yes it is a Fiat chassis. Does this mean there is a timing belt? Drove it for the first time last week and I love it! Wish now that I had perhaps bought a bigger motorhome! Mine is 18"6 or there abouts and
I thought for the first van would probably be big enough, but its easy peasy to drive! Did it the wrong way around really, bought the motorhome, and then found this site, although I think sometimes it is better to take the plunge as at least I am at least a motorhome owner, wonder how many people actually buy the perfect van first time?
 

Digger Driver

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The timing belt is a cam belt! (two names for the same thing)
I believe you have a timing chain!

Maybe Johns Cross can tell you for sure!
He's normally on here!

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pappajohn

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hi solitaire woman,

exactly which engine is it?
both capacity 20ltr, 2.3 ltr, 2,8ltr. and type ie- jtd, td, turbo

if you can give me this info i can give you the exact milage and time to change the belt (yes....it has a belt) from the autodata disc.

it varies between 36,000 and 72,000 and 4 years to 6 years

john.
 
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solitaire woman

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hi pappajohn!

Its a 1.9 turbo diesel. First registered Jan 02 so just over 6 years. I suppose
that means I should get it changed? Brownhills, where I bought it from quote £475 but that sounds expensive to me! I should have asked them to replace it before I handed over the money I think!!
 

Geo

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I am somtimes worried about the technical advise given albeit it is given in good faith,
It is fair to asume your cambelt is over due and should be replaced ASAP complete with new tensioners and Pully's as req cost for this work is aprox £180 +vat at a non main dealeship and will vary acording to the part of the country your in (overheads) if you bought at Brownhills you may be close to me so the costings are about right
Geo
ps if you have a warranty in place only genuine parts should be used and will efect costs slightly

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haganap

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I'm an oldbie MH number 9
No digger driver, a ducatto that age will have a cam belt not a chain.
Thats deffinate, my hand book says to be changed at 72k or 5 years whatever is sooner.
 

haganap

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I'm an oldbie MH number 9
I am somtimes worried about the technical advise given albeit it is given in good faith,
It is fair to asume your cambelt is over due and should be replaced ASAP complete with new tensioners and Pully's as req cost for this work is aprox £180 +vat at a non main dealeship
and will vary acording to the part of the country your in (overheads) if you bought at Brownhills you may be close to me so the costings are about right
Geo
ps if you have a warranty in place only genuine parts should be used and will efect costs slightly


Absoloutly agree,
 

pappajohn

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according to the autodata disc it should be checked every 36,000 or 4 years(whichever comes first) and replaced at 72,000 or 5 years.
as others have said though, because of the low milages involved it should be replaced due to age fatigue.:Sad:

like tyres, if they dont get used they rot at a much faster rate than those that get used every day. dont know why but thats the way it is.:whatthe:

if you just bought it at 6 years old the chances are it wasn't done by the previous owner. it doesnt look to complicated so should be resonably cheap just dont go to a fiat dealer. while they know the engine, their hourly rate is equivilant to a mortgage.

john

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blackie

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Thanks everyone for the info, although now its getting slightly confusing! Thought
they all had a cam belt!! Cant see now that buying the motorhome is the easy bit, knowing all about its little foibles will take rather longer! Thank heavens for sites like this!

hi solitaire, do as the terry and others said get it changed,for peace of mind.will cost you more in the long run.good luck. blackie
 

pudseykeith

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Originally Posted by solitaire woman
Thanks everyone for the info, although now its getting slightly confusing! Thought
they all had a cam belt!! Cant see now that buying the motorhome is the easy bit, knowing all about its little foibles will take rather longer! Thank heavens for sites like this!

Hi Solitaire
As a motor engineer [retired ] I would not gamble. the damage that a cambelt WILL
cause if it snaps is horrendus it can totally reck your engine. :cry: For peace of mind change the belt and the tentioner.

Pudseykeith :thumb:

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Johnnie Gee

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Hi Pappajohn:Smile:
Just bought my Hymer, would like to know if it has a cam belt or a chain.
Gettin back into motorhomin after a few years, pickin the beast up middle of the month, quite excited bout it really(old enough to know better but never mind).
If you got the info that'd be great
Cheers
Johnnie Gee
 

Wildman

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Hi Pappajohn:Smile:
Just bought my Hymer, would like to know if it has a cam belt or a chain.
Gettin back into motorhomin after a few years, pickin the beast up middle of the month, quite excited bout it really(old enough to know better but never mind).
If you got the info that'd be great
Cheers
Johnnie Gee

Johnny, only room of one beast on here and thats mine, hee hee. fiat 2.5TD will have a cambelt.
 

45eEver

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Link Removed, it's a little known fact that cambelts need changing every 5 years to be 100% safe.

There are two sorts of engines.
One sort selfdestructs when the cambelt goes.
The other sort just breaks down without being a pain in the wallet.
If you tell me which engine you've got, I'll tell you which sort it is.

That said, many, very many garages, don't do the job properly.
You can be worse off if you have your belt changed by one of them.
I'd use a main agent to change cam-belt if it was my problem.

Camchains can jump cogs whem they are worn, which may damage a self-destruct engine.
But they only have a mileage restriction, not a time one.

Sorry if I'm a bearer of bad tidings, but cam-belts often go wrong.

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pappajohn

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Hi Pappajohn:Smile:
Just bought my Hymer, would like to know if it has a cam belt or a chain.
Gettin back into motorhomin after a few years, pickin the beast up middle of the month, quite excited bout it really(old enough to know better but never mind).
If you got the info that'd be great
Cheers
Johnnie Gee

hi johnnie,

yes...its a belt and its an interference engine... ie serious damage if belt breaks...

the only info i can get from the autodata disc is replace at 60,000 miles.....no time interval given but later ducatos recommend 4 to 6 years model depending.

for piece of mind i would replace it regardless unless you have documented proof it has been replaced and a mileage to go by.

autodata state it should cost between 5% and 10% of the cost of a belt breaking and a cylinder head rebuild + possible pistons and conrods.

really not worth taking the risk.

a cam belt kit (belt and pullies...fit the full kit) should be in the region of £80---£100 + fitting...cost unknown but not a long or difficult job

cylinder head rebuild + gaskets etc....in the region of £1000 +
 
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Johnnie Gee

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Cam Belt/CamChain

Hi Solitaire,

Many years ago, all engines had steel cam chains (the cam chain drives the camshaft which opens the valves in the cylinder head).
The cam belt is made of a kind of fibre and rubber mix, cos it was cheaper to produce.
If the cam belt breaks, the valves stop moving up and down, but the pistons keep on going, and smash into the valves, and normally write off the cylinder head.:Doh:

I've just bought a 1998 Hymer 564 on a Fiat Ducato chassis, and would like to know if my 2.5 td engine has a cam belt or a cam chain.
I don't pick my M/H up till I get home (I'm bobbing around on a boat in the north sea just now), but the first thing I am going to do is take it down to the local garage to find out, and if it is a belt, change it for my peace of mind. :Smile:
My son's car had one break last year and it cost him thousands to get it fixed.:cry:

Hope the first bit of info helps you understand why you are better not to take any chances.

Happy Motorhomin

Johnnie Gee
 

45eEver

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If you decide to get your belt changed Johnie Gee, ask the garage you choose to show you the gadget they use to ensure the tension is correct?

If they can show you it, ask them if they will confirm the tension is correct with the gadget.
If they don't agree, try another garage.

Many garages don't bother with a the gadget, they rely on twisting the belt.
Which is much the same as twisting you.

It may be that your engine has a tensioner that automatically sets the tension correctly.
PapaJohn seems to have access to that info, and will no doubt help you if you ask him.

I recommend a main agent as they have the gadget for your engine, and should be happy to confirm the tension to you.

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45eEver

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PapaJohn, the 5 year change on anything rubber to do with motorvehicles is a general one.

After 5 years, the risk increases ballistically with age.

With things like tyres, we notice the changes in road holding, and adapt our driving style.
However, it is recommended that when you fir new tyres against used tyres, you fit them to the back.
The new tyres grip better than the old ones, if you fit them to the front, you risk becoming over confident, and losing the back end.
The recommendation is based on research into people's experience rather than theory Wildman.

Only people with more money than sense replace all rubber every five years.
Fan belts are probably worth replacing every five years though to maintain alternator efficiency.

As you point out, replacing cambelts is much cheaper than replacing engines.
Incidentally, the garage I was in the other day said 12 hours to replace the cambelt on the Frog saloon they were working on, probably £50 an hour.
They seemed to have half the engine bay stacked nearby.
 
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solitaire woman

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Thanks everyone for the replys! I had the cambelt changed to be on the safe side. I love motorhoming but like most people have found that my motorhome does not have all the things I want, so am on the look out for a six berth with garage, separate shower at a bargain price of course!
 

pappajohn

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Thanks everyone for the replys! I had the cambelt changed to be on the safe side. I love motorhoming but like most people have found that my motorhome does not have all the things I want, so am on the look out for a six berth with garage, separate shower at a bargain price of course!

and, beleive me, the next one wont have all you want either.:cry:

it would be soooo nice to design your own but it would be 25mtrs long and 8mtrs wide.......then you realise you forgot to add a " insert your item here":ROFLMAO:

lifes a compromise :Sad:

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