Cam belts

[Allen Crisp]

God only knows what they do, but how often do they need to be replaced?

[MORELLO]

Depends upon the make/model of car, but on average around 40,000 miles - check with the appropriate dealer (but get it done elsewhere). If it's time to change it, do it. If it breaks you're looking at costly repair bills to your engine..

[BigDogsWang]

For your info, a cam belt is what times the opening of your inlet / exhaust valves in each cylinder. If it snaps, you will do untold damage to your pistons and cylinder head. I would say 40,000 miles is a bit early, more like 60 - 70,000 but check you maintenance manual. As morello says, it depends on the make.

[Shire]

I like to replace mine about every 18 months as I do about 30000 miles a year. I had one break on my old Cavalier a few years back, and luckily escaped with minor damage (about �80 worth of repairs) despite the RAC chap giving me a long list of what could possibly could need fixing. However I have now got a Vectra, and am reliably informed by my trusted mechanic friend that if the cam belt goes on that, I might as well get a new car, so it is worth having it regularly checked and replaced.

[BenDToy]

A few years ago I had a Passat which had one go. It was only a few thousand past the mileage when it should have been replaced and the dealer hadn't done it, although they actually did the rest of the work on that service. Cost them a lot of money!

[madgeezer]

it only costs about 20 quid to replace. if it breaks you look at buying a new engine or buy a new car. its a black elastic belt looking thing on your engine, i'd replace it if it looks a bit spongy or showing signs of wear.

[KebabMeister]

Depends on the manufacturer of your car.  Some cambelts are replaced at 48,000 miles, others at 60k, 72k, 96k.

 

If the belt has become contaminated by oil or coolant then it can 'rot' the belt. 

 

Although the belt itself is fairly cheap to replace, actually fitting it can be rather expensive.  Unless you're good at DIY mechanics then always have it replaced by a reputable garage since if it does fail then it comes down to them.