Does your cars cambelt (timing belt) need to be replaced?

Introduction

It’s a part that’s fitted onto our cars, which a lot of drivers will simply know nothing about, that’s to say, a lot of drivers will know its crucial that the car has an adequate amount of engine oil, brake fluid and power steering fluid for example- yet may not know what the timing belt fitted to the cars engine does.

Yet the timing belt, or as some people call it the cambelt is absolutely crucial to an engine running correctly.

The reason being is if the timing belt was to fail, which in most cases results in the belt coming completely detached off the pulleys, well, this can sometimes cause a huge amount of damage to the engine.

Cambelts can fail for all manner of reasons, for example, the rubber can become perished or the pulley may not be rotating smoothly, sometimes because of bearing problems, and then the next thing a broken cambelt can occur.

A cambelt failure is not something that can result in a quick fix, sometimes the resulting damage can be so great, that sometimes considerable labour by a mechanic, as well as car parts are sometimes needed, and that’s if the engine can be salvaged at all.

What are some of the main reasons a cambelt / timing belt can fail?

A failure can be caused for all manner of different reasons, for example sometimes its due to a pulley, say attached to an air-conditioning pump not rotating smoothly. The excess stress placed on the cambelt ultimately causes friction, which leads to the belt tearing off the rollers.

Other reasons can be due to no fault of the driver, but due to items being picked along the road finding there way into the engine, for example a sharp strip of metal can cause the cambelt to shear and come off.

I simply don’t know when the timing belt was last replaced, so how will I know if its due to be replaced?

Sometimes, not always, the work will be stamped into your cars service records, yet sometimes a garage will not stamp the service book. So, its better to have it replaced by a reputable garage if you are unsure.

As mentioned, the timing belt is absolutely crucial to the running of an engine, so if it needs to be replaced, due to the next replacement interval coming up, or for any other reason, you should not delay for a second getting this work completed.

The reason being is, sometimes, with some engines, the amount of damage caused by a faulty timing belt can mean the whole engine is sometimes written-off, if the cambelt was to fail, so we can’t stress that point enough.

I need to get my timing belt checked out, which car manufacturers does your garage work on?

Here at Automotive Cardiff Ltd, we work on many different car brands, we therefore can service and repair any make and model of car.

I have just purchased a used car, should I get the timing belt checked over?

Yes, when you have just purchased a used car, its so important to get the car checked over by a qualified mechanic for peace of mind, but also so that any major problems are flagged as soon as possible.

For example, someone may have forked out a lot of money on their dream car, and okay, the body work might look in perfect condition, as well as the interior. However, a problem such as a major oil leak, a timing belt that’s worn or lets say a gear box running low on transmission oil, might mean that the new unlucky owner may well be incurring large garage bills.

Therefore, its best to get your car checked over by us, and to get it repaired or serviced as soon as possible.

If you’ve bought a used car, regardless of which brand it is, or the year the car was made, we can offer you competitively priced car repair and servicing.

Don’t delay

Sometimes a car owner will suspect that a pulley has faulty bearings, or that the timing belt itself looks worn, yet sometimes choose to delay getting the problem fixed, this is never recommend.

So, why not call us today?