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[GHC1975]

Hello

I've been having a look through the paperwork for a 2001 2.2 that I've just bought and have found evidence of a fairly large and recent amount of work (22/01/2019). From what I've read on this forum, it seems that the cambelt is quite important and so my question is whether I'm alright for the near future or if I should get it done as I can't find any other work to suggest that it's been changed. The car has done 129,000 miles but from the stack of paperwork that came with it the last owner clearly didn't let it want for anything and so I would assume hasn't abused or neglected it. This isn't my only car so I'm not in massive trouble if it needs to stay off the road for a bit.

Transcription from the recent paperwork:

- HEAD SET GASKET
- WATER PUMP
- TIMING BELT KIT
- ENGINE OIL
- DRIVE BELT
- HEAD ENGINEERING SKIN
- THERMOSTAT
- SPARK PLUGS

I've excluded some lesser stuff in attempt to not make this post too big.

[Andy B]

Cam belts should be replaced every 4 years or 40 000 miles ..... which ever comes first. 

[GHC1975]

Ah ok. Well, I'll give it a second look over then but it's probably long overdue anyway. Thanks 

[johnnydog]

Was all the head work done around Jan 2019? If so, and assuming it hasnt done 40k since, then you should be ok for another couple of years or to the remainder of the 40k mileage interval - as Andy says,  whichever comes first.

[GHC1975]

That seems like it. I bought this as a stop gap car for £400 (dealer wanted it gone as it was a part ex) but have ended up loving it. Very underrated IMHO. Anyway, I'm now stuck deciding whether to spend a bit more money on it then I had intended lol.

[GHC1975]

I guess for clarity I should I also say that it has a coolant level warning but I've looked and it seems fine to me. I'm guessing it's just the sensor.

[Nick W]

Your list from 2019 includes timing belt kit. That is an abreviation of camshaft timing belt, as is cam-belt.


The service interval for these parts is 40,000 miles or four years; whichever comes first. So there's another 2 years before it's due, and your paperwork should state the mileage when the work was done.


Any professional mechanic who does that sort of head rebuild without fitting a new camshaft timing belt as part of the job probably shouldn't be trusted. The water pump is driven by the cambelt, and must be replaced with it.

[GHC1975]

Your list from 2019 includes timing belt kit. That is an abreviation of camshaft timing belt, as is cam-belt.


The service interval for these parts is 40,000 miles or four years; whichever comes first. So there's another 2 years before it's due, and your paperwork should state the mileage when the work was done.


Any professional mechanic who does that sort of head rebuild without fitting a new camshaft timing belt as part of the job probably shouldn't be trusted. The water pump is driven by the cambelt, and must be replaced with it.

Well, I've learned something new then. That's reassuring though as the water pump was done along with it. The paperwork states that it was done at 122,878 miles so should be happy motoring for the foreseeable future (providing that rust doesn't eat it up first).

Any ideas on the coolant sensor though?

And thanks for the help so far. Really impressed with this place. 

[Migv6 le Frog Fan]

The coolant level sensor is built onto the header tank and it is common for them to fail. Only real fix is a replacement header tank, but in order to clear the annoying message you can unplug the connector from under the tank and bridge the terminals with a paperclip or similar then cover it with insulating tape.

[Doctor Gollum]

Coolant tanks are common failures, both the sensor andd cracking around the cap.

Also not uncommon for the coolong pipes to leak, often unnoticed at the back right corner of the engine and at thee heater bypass valve just above.

Whilst 2.2 headgaskets do fail, most Omega leaks are HBV and associated plumbing, so may still have a leak.

Keep an eye on it before diving in.