Cambelt Issues...

[VivianeBrezillet]

We have a Citroen C3, 1.4 55 Registration which was bought from a dealer in 2009/2010 in Leicestershire, and we now live in Bristol and just took the car for a service as we always do when it's due in September but at a Garage here and they asked straight away about the cambelt and we said we can't remember if it had been done while we've had it and although there was a sticker on the car door from the Dealer that mentions the cambelt there was no date as they never changed it. The garage here said they don't know if it's been done as it would involve stripping it down to find out. But we know it was checked on a previous service at our old garage as a form we have has the checkbox ticked and I'm sure they never stripped it down.

We were told that the cost of stripping it down would be the same as putting the new cambelt in, and they quoted us 300 for the cambelt alone. A mechanic that does a friend of mine's car laughed at that and said yes it would cost that much if it snapped and the mechanic from our old garage said it was astronomical as that would mean £600 in total! Both other mechanics have said £100-200. The garage in question has a good reputation but we have to wait until tomorrow morning to get the car back from the servicing when there's pretty much not much wrong with the car as they shut earlier than our previous garage. 

The garage in question is calling us back tomorrow and have said they can do it next week but I think we'll just get the car back and pay the servicing and look elsewhere but our previous mechanic is going to look into the service history of the car and call us. He did say we do know that it needs changing every 5 years and I said yes we know but I never thought it would be that costly! We had a Citroen Saxo for 9 years and never changed the cambelt on that despite it having had a high mileage due to going to France a lot and relied on it constantly living in an area that had poor public transport,which is where we lived before. Whereas here we only use it twice a week and for holidays. 

Just wondering if anyone has any advice?

I'm new to this forum btw. 

[Johndouglas]

Hello & welcome to the forum. Cambelts need to be changed at the recommended interval which varies from engine to engine. If the belt isn't changed and it should snap, serious damage can occur which might put the cost of repair beyond the value of the car. Changing of the cambelt isn't included in any service schedule. It's a job that is requested outside the servicing. In my opinion there is little point in removing a cover to look at the belt, since it is on the teeth side where aging is likely to show. If the history of a car's belt changes is unknown, it's always better to assume it hasn't been done. Since you bought your car in 2009 (maybe as the second owner) it would be fair to assume that the first owner exchanged the car without changing the belt.

 

When one goes to the expense of changing a belt it's advisable to do other jobs at the same time. One is to change the tensioning pulleys, and the other is to change the water pump. In fact, all the items come as a complete kit - usually around £100, but then the job takes a few hours of labour charges..

[paul.h]

The timing belt replacement interval on the 1.4 petrol engine is every 10 years or 80k miles if sooner for Citroen parts, so unless the car was on a high mileage when you bought it I would think the belt has not been changed. If you look in the Warranty and Maintenace book with the service stamps it will be noted if the belt was replaced. This book also gives the service intervals. If the servicing has been done at a Citroen dealer the service records will be on their computer system so can be checked.

 

If the 8 valve engine (75 bhp) you can remove the belt top plastic cover by removing 2 bolts and then inspect the belt for condition, only takes a few minutes. I used to do this every year on our previous C3. When I did replace it I also replaced the water pump, the tensioner, the auxiliary belt and its pulleys, the anti freeze, thermostat, all with parts from Citroen and was about £300. It took me a day but a garage used to working on the car would not take that long.

 

Since the car is now 10 years old, the first garage would have been possibly negligent if they had not mentioned the timing belt being due for replacement, it then being up to you to check your records to confirm this and then deciding if you replace it. If you are going to keep the car for some time and the belt has not yet been done then I would budget for doing it soon. If you do not do the aux belt and pulleys, as a minimum replace the water pump, tensioner, timing belt and anti freeze.