Omega Owners Forum

Omega Help Area => Omega General Help => Topic started by: donna-marie on 27 April 2007, 13:37:23

Title: Cam Belt change
Post by: donna-marie on 27 April 2007, 13:37:23
how much should i be looking at to get a cam belt change. No service history on the car running at 60,000 should it have had it done and how can i check??

Title: Re: Cam Belt change
Post by: Elite Pete on 27 April 2007, 13:43:27
The cambelt and tensioners should be replaced every 40,000 miles or 4 years which ever comes first. The only way of telling if theyve been done is a receipt or the service book but if your unsure then I would get them changed because if they break its a very costly job to put right.
Title: Re: Cam Belt change
Post by: Admin on 27 April 2007, 14:52:24
A garage (that will do it, some are too scared!) will charge anywhere from £330 - £400 .
Parts are £100 for full genuine kit, £25 for water pump and £7 for 5l of anti freeze (using Vx TC card)

If you are were coming down to Derby/ Nottingham one weekend there are certain members who may be able to assist. ;)
Title: Re: Cam Belt change
Post by: donna-marie on 27 April 2007, 16:03:57
Cheers guys, upon looking at docs i have the telephone number of guy who had the car before, i will give him a call and ask him the question. Will let you know. Always handy to have a friend. You not far away

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Title: Re: Cam Belt change
Post by: Darth Loo-knee on 27 April 2007, 16:10:37
Been honest not sure I would trust to what people selling a car would say unless they were off here!
I got told all sorts by a bloke when i was looking at his MV6.. he told more lies than a cheap watch...

But then I did drop on a nice one off here Elite Pete :y

I had my Cambelt and Tensioners, Water Pump and new Anti Freeze all done at our Vauxhall Main Dealer, it cost me £350.13... but I did get my service book stamped and you have a Guarantee if anything goes wrong within those 4 years or 40,000 miles or so they say ;D

I think it was worth every penny to pay for piece of mind... Other than that there are some real nice guys on here who do Cambelt Parties, that don't charge Labour just need feeding with Bar-b-que food and an endless supply of beer ;D

Title: Re: Cam Belt change
Post by: TheBoy on 27 April 2007, 19:56:10
Quote
that don't charge Labour just need feeding with Bar-b-que food and an endless supply of beer ;D

::)

We're easily bought ;D
Title: Re: Cam Belt change
Post by: Marks DTM Calib on 27 April 2007, 20:53:41
Yes....and some of us even change cambelts at these events to....
Title: Re: Cam Belt change
Post by: swanseauk on 04 May 2007, 20:19:24
Hi all, new to this forum today. I have owned an Omega 2.5 V6 GLS for the past year and I luvvv it. Although the fuel consumption scares me sometimes.

Anyway, I have been reading this thread and I am a bit confused over the cam belt change times. most of the treads here say that the belts and tensioners should be changed every 40K miles. However, I have been reading my Haynes "bible" and a Vauxall TIS disc and they both say that from 1998, my model year, Vauxall changed the type so that the cambelt only needs changing every 80K miles.

I was fortunate in buying a car with a full service history. The cambelt was changed at 72K. My car is now at 134K. According to the afore mentioned publications, the cambelt is not due for change for another 10K miles approx.

Is this correct?....... Should it be changed anyway?.......Being almost ten years old,does the cost of changing the bits outway the value of the car?........Are there any mechanic members of this forum based in Swansea, who could give me advice or help with this?.......ANY help or advice would be most welcome, Cheers.
Title: Re: Cam Belt change
Post by: Kevin Wood on 04 May 2007, 21:00:06
Vauxhall did at one point specify 80,000 miles but they revised it back to 40,000 miles due to the number of premature failures.

It's the tensioner pulleys that tend to go more than the belt itself so always ensure that these are changed with the belt. It's worth doing the water pump at the same time, especially if yours is the original one. They do fail and they are easy to get to when the cam covers are off. It only adds another 30 quid or so to the cost.

I would say you need to get yours done now. You're already on borrowed time!

The cost of a cam belt change might seem high but bear in mind that if it breaks the car will be almost worthless anyway due to the cost of rectifying the bent valves and damaged heads that will result. If you plan to keep the car for a few years and it is otherwise OK it's definately worthwhile. As a DIY job the parts are around the 100 quid mark.

There is a DVD available to use as a guide to changing it. Hopefully someone will pop up with the details. Hopefully there'll also be some members in your area who can help. We do have "cam belt parties" from time to time in various parts of the country so this is something to look out for.

Cheers,

Kevin
Title: Re: Cam Belt change
Post by: ffcgary1 on 04 May 2007, 21:01:22
Change it as soon as poss my man ,you are on borrowed time,40,000 or 4 years without fail.if the rollers fail,then you will have an expensive repair on your hands.
Title: Re: Cam Belt change
Post by: TheBoy on 04 May 2007, 21:54:32
40k/4yrs on all Omega models with belts. No exceptions.

Haynes is wrong as this was reverted back to 40k after a high number of failures...

Get the DVD (£3), and realise you can do this yourself ;)
Title: Re: Cam Belt change
Post by: ians on 04 May 2007, 23:09:41
I suspect that the Haynes Omega manual was published before Vx changed their guidance.   The other major omission is that Haynes just tells you to change the belt at those intervals, and not the rollers/tensioner.

There is a get together being discussed in Wiltshire.  May be a bit of a trek for you,  but could be an opportunity to get it done then -check out the meets section of the forum.

Cheers

Ian
Title: Re: Cam Belt change
Post by: Markjay on 04 May 2007, 23:53:21
Vauxhall did indeed say 80,000 miles / 8y, which is precisely why they paid me back 75% of the repair costs when my FSH Omega had its tensioner fail at 60,000 miles in 2001!

My current Omega is 2001 and the manual still says 80,000 miles, but when I booked the car for year 4 service in 2005 I was advised by the garage that the service interval has been reduced back to 40,000 miles / 4y. So if I refused the cambelt change I would have had no come back if anything went wrong this time... needles to say I did the cam belt & tensioner change in 2005.



Title: Re: Cam Belt change
Post by: Markjay on 04 May 2007, 23:56:47
Quote
A garage (that will do it, some are too scared!) will charge anywhere from £330 - £400 .
Parts are £100 for full genuine kit, £25 for water pump and £7 for 5l of anti freeze (using Vx TC card)

If you are were coming down to Derby/ Nottingham one weekend there are certain members who may be able to assist. ;)

£330-£400 is Vauxhall dealer prices, an independent will probably do this for around £250 (if you can find one that is willing to tackle the job...)

Having one of the resident gurus here do this for you is the best option yet!  :y Though for some reason they are all based in Derby / Nottingham...  :(



Title: Re: Cam Belt change
Post by: Markjay on 05 May 2007, 00:00:43
Quote
...and you have a Guarantee if anything goes wrong within those 4 years or 40,000 miles or so they say...

I am not sure about this... as far s I know the repair is usually guaranteed for 90 days, and the part for one year - the difference being that if it fails between the 90 days and the one year then the replacement part is free but you have to pay for labour. I really don't see Vauxhall giving you a new engine if the tensioner fails after 3 years... do you have such a statement in writing?


Title: Re: Cam Belt change
Post by: Ronald_McBurger on 05 May 2007, 05:34:32
Oh yes, good old Haynes. Engine removed for clarity!!!!

Haynes rate most really difficult jobs at 3 spanners. I rate Haynes at 1 turd.
Title: Re: Cam Belt change
Post by: ians on 05 May 2007, 08:57:20
Quote

Haynes rate most really difficult jobs at 3 spanners. I rate Haynes at 1 turd.

such as changing thermostat for example... >:(
Title: Re: Cam Belt change
Post by: Darth Loo-knee on 05 May 2007, 20:59:29
Quote
Quote
...and you have a Guarantee if anything goes wrong within those 4 years or 40,000 miles or so they say...

I am not sure about this... as far s I know the repair is usually guaranteed for 90 days, and the part for one year - the difference being that if it fails between the 90 days and the one year then the replacement part is free but you have to pay for labour. I really don't see Vauxhall giving you a new engine if the tensioner fails after 3 years... do you have such a statement in writing?

No i just was under the impression that with Vauxhall doing the job and a big sign on the wall saying Cambelts all need changing at 40,000 miles or 4 years you got a warranty.