Introduction

There are certain parts of a car’s engine that unless replaced when required, or replaced to meet the car manufacturer’ specifications, the owner of the vehicle will run an increased chance of incurring serious mechanical failure.

Now, your window screen wash running low, well, that’s just a mere inconvenience in terms of needing to be topped up when it runs low.

That’s to say on the way home from work, you may notice that you see a rather bright warning light on your car’s dashboard to tell you that the “screen wash” need’s to top up.

Therefore, it may only take a few seconds to top up the screen wash reservoir- so this is a simple fix for the car owner to rectify.

That’s to say, a simple lift of the car’s bonnet, add the screen wash to the reservoir and its done.  

However, there are other components relating to the engine that if ignored or not replaced, then this means that when they do go wrong they can sometimes cause catastrophic engine failure. Your timing belt is such an item, and one that should not be ignored if it needs replacing.

That’s to say when a timing belt or it “cambelt” as it is sometimes referred, does go wrong, this can sometimes lead to very high bills for the car owner.

This can be caused because of the large amounts of labour that are sometimes needed when a cambelt fails, and causes damage to the cars engine.

Therefore if the cambelt needs replacing, then this should not be ignored. You should talk to your mechanic to gain a recommendation as to when the cambelt should be changed.

What is the cambelt?

Quite simply put on a lot of modern engines will have a cambelt, which is simply like a very large rubber band, it’s construction is very basic and once removed from the engine can look like a relatively low value car part.

However, it’s function is very important indeed, it is therefore a very hard-working item, that is fitted to your car’s engine.

If the item is not regularly replaced at the designated intervals, or replaced once it becomes damaged then a car owner could incur a high bill from some garages when it does fail.

Most cambelts are made mostly from rubber, so it is possible that the cambelt becomes worn.

For example, bearings in the pulleys fail causing excessive tension on the belt, or simply a misaligned pulley may cause extra tension on the belt which causes it to snap.

When you think of freezing temperatures, and at the opposite end of the spectrum boiling hot summer days, you can see the extreme weather conditions also this engine component has to operate within, so if worn it can easily snap.

Have your timing belt / cambelt replaced today

High bills that can sometimes be incurred because a timing belt snaps and other components within the engine can also become damaged at the same time. This is why it’s absolutely crucial that the cambelt is replaced at regular intervals. If you are unsure when you last had your timing belt replaced, or you have simply purchased a used car, and are unsure when it was last serviced, then why not talk to our mechanics to see if they recommend the timing belt is replaced?

We can take care all your cars servicing requirements

It doesn’t matter if you drive a rather expensive sports car or an everyday city car, most engines are now driven by a “cambelt” that will need replacing at designated intervals.

This does depend on the make and model of your vehicle, so if you are unsure you should consult with your mechanic who can look at the cambelt and recommended it needs replacing. Thats to say most cars have a cambelt, so it doesnt matter if you drive a Skoda, VW, Seat a BMW or any other make of car, if the engine uses a cambelt also known as a timing belt, then this needs to be replaced as per the manufacturers specification.

The garage may also ask you to bring in your cars service records, this is just to gain an idea of when the cambelt was actually last replaced on the vehicle.

We don’t just replace cambelts, which are sometimes referred to as “timing belts”, we can also take care of your cars servicing, for example we can offer engine oil and engine oil filter changes, as well as full servicing and also interim servicing as well.

High-quality car parts are always supplied

It has been known for car owners to purchase a used car, then not to gain an understanding of when the cambelt was last replaced, for it then subsequently fail a few days or weeks later.

Therefore, if it is unknown when the cambelt has last been replaced, we would recommend consulting with a mechanic, so they can recommend if the belt needs replacing.

If, however you have owned your car quite a while, and you know when belt was last replaced, you can tell this to the mechanic, and he will be able to consult with the recommendations made by the manufacturer to specify when the cambelt should next be replaced. For example, the manufacturer may say that the timing belt should be replaced after however many miles for that model car.

Obviously if you are travelling and clocking up more miles, then a timing belt will need to be replaced at more regular intervals.

Why should I get my cambelt or timing belt replaced as a priority, and why this should not be delayed?

A cambelt and a timing belt can be relatively inexpensive to replace when operational and working as it should, however if this component was to fail, then the labour charge on repairing the engine can sometimes be very considerable, as often multiple other car faults will occur when the cambelt fails.

This is why it’s always better to prevent the belt from failing, your mechanic can also examine the engines pulleys to make sure that the belt can move freely.

Does your car need to be serviced?

If you would like your car to be serviced within Cardiff, then our mechanics, and our garage can offer all manner of car servicing, to book your car in for service, why not give us a ring?