I suffered a cam belt failure on my 1995 1.2 petrol clio today.The car has 87k miles on the clock and has had belts changed at 30k and 60k at the suggestion of my local independent garage. Am I to expect major engine damage on this type of motor or will it be a case of a quick check and a new belt. I do not have much knowledge of this particular engine.
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That is very very unlucky as you have been so cautious with your belt changes. I would strongly suspect that damage will have occurred and this is the reason why your mechanic advised the 30k intervals in the first place.
The only course of action here is to take the head off and have a look to see what has happened.Or you could simply have a new belt fitted and see what happens when you try to drive it (not advised)
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As an addition to P2501 - when looking at the head all may appear fine and dandy, but it is very hard to tell if a valve has been bent or not. To be doubly sure you need to compress and remove each valve and check the stem for any evidence of slight bending.
Once on a MK3 Escort I thought I had escaped and put the head and belt back together only to find bad running due to a valve bent, but hardly visible and easy to miss.
If you decide to do the work, it may turn into a minor top end overhaul - eg remove valves, check for straightness, grind back in, new head gasket, also check water pump condition whilst timing belt off (renew if looks dodgy or leaking) then new timing belt and all back together.
Nice weekend job if you have the time and skill.
If the rest of the car is worth the investment you will know that the engine should give at least another 30k without problems from the timing belt and associated items.
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Yet more support for 'if it works, don't mend it'......
In over half a million miles the cost of needlessly replacing pristine belts would have paid for an engine or two, quite apart from the inconvenience of being without a car.
[Passat....232,000 on original cambelt when I sold it].
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>quite apart from the inconvenience of being without a car
at a time when you can cope without a car, instead of when you desperately need a car, but it isn't working. Tricky one, that!
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When the belt was changed, was a genuine Renault part used or something from a factors?
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... and have any of the other bits including the tensioner ever been changed ???
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Thanks for all the advice. The belts were the genuine Renault article. The tensioner was declared "iffy" by my local garage at only 30k and renewed. I'll strip the head down and expect the worst! At least I have two other vehicles so no hurry.
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In view of the care you have taken, it may be worth writing to Renault UK to see what they have to say about such a premature failure of a replacement cambelt, and asking whether or not they would be prepared to contribute towards the costs of repairs.
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£28,200was £28,485Details
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