v6 cambelt snap?!

[john_macinho]

I would like to get some response as to whether anybody on this site who owns a 156 v6 in particular has ever had their cambelt snap on them..and if so after how many km's?

I realise it's highly unlikely seeing as this would cost a fortune to rebuild, so noone really takes a risk in leaving it too long to get done.. but here's the dilemna I'm facing..

Most places I've searched online, including the majority of peoples opinions on this forum say it's best to do it at ~ 70,000km's or 3+ years, whichever comes first.
BUT.. In my actual owners manual it suggests 120,000 km's....

It doesn't seem like such a hassle in the UK, Australia and alot of other countries, but here in New Zealand I'm getting quotes around NZ$3000-$4000 (full service, including tensioner, water pump, spark plugs etc) due to the limited number of these on the road.
...3-4 times the UK going rate.. Even experienced mechanics who have done thousands of cambelt changes and generally charge low cost won't touch these models.

What makes it worse is that the original owners manual that came with the car is Japanese.
There's a sticker on the engine which reads 42,000 km's but I don't have solid proof that it actually was changed. My current odometer reading is ~108,500 km's. So I'd rather be safe than sorry and get it done asap. I need to get someone who can read/speak Japanese to take a look at these papers I have.. Anyway, apologies for the ramble.. I basically wanted to see what others think about the 70,000km's vs 120,000km's issue..

Any advice/feedback will be much appreciated!


Nicholas.

[DennisDK]

in Denmark its 80000 / 3 years... if youre not certain, then get i it done... A new engine is far more expensive,id suspect :-)

[Pascs]

The 2.5/3.0 V6 is much less susceptible to belt failure than the TS or GTA engines. Both the V6 I bought here 2nd hand were about 5-6 years old and 70,000kms without any belt change.

First thing I did was to get the belts etc changed. IMO I would get the belt, tensioners, water pump changed as soon as possible. Any problem with the water pump will lead to a belt change anyway and the V6 water pump is not the greatest for durability.

For the belt change are you paying a lot for parts too or majority is labour, in this country they take the engine out but labour costs are relatively cheap even from Alfa dealer........but still its definitely not cheap

[john_macinho]

that's about 1300-1700 Euros, 1200-1600 Gt Britain pounds..
I might as well just save up and get the whole thing done though.
WIll post up exact figures on parts and labour here asap.

thanks guys

[sprint_veloce]

Unfortunately NZ$3000 is about the going rate in NZ for a 24v v6 belt change with all the right bits replaced. Best to just get it done and then you won't have to worry about it. Once you know it's been done correctly you can probably drive it for 100,000km without concern, so you're unlikely to have to do it again.

And I don't think the Alfa is anything special in this regard - get a quote for a cambelt change on any modern euro quad cam v6 and it won't be that much different.

[Spider95]

Definitely get it done. The belts/tensioners on the 2.5 V6 do break before the recommended 72,000 miles, so for peace of mind I would just do it. Make sure you change the waterpump as well, this pump on the 2.5 V6 has plastic impellers, these melt/corrode over time leading to overheating problems/head gasket failures. Make sure the waterpump is replace with a 3.0 V6 one, which has metal impellers. Hope that helps.

[john_macinho]

Indeed it does. In fact thanks to all of you.

The guy I talked to from Alfa reckons the model I have already has steel/metal impellers not plastic ones.. These guys should know what they're doing though, they've worked on many before. I've booked it in for Monday.
$4k all up including getting a new key & code with central locking (and perhaps an alarm) from Alfa also.

I've had this baby since August and she's been a dream to drive... there was no way I was going to sell this like some suggested rather than do the cambelt job.
The fun has just started

[Pud237]

Only V6s that came with metal impellor'd waterpump was the GTV 3.0 V6 and possibly some very late model 156/147 GTA. You will need a metal impellor waterpump for sure.

Make sure the garage that does the belt change has the proper cam locks.

[shinymetalass]

I bought a V6 with a broken belt and ended up repairing it myself and it sucked.Parts alone was around £1000, all 24 valves were well bent.Car had done 58,000 so get it done asap.Belt breaks car worthless almost.

[leohgh]

My 2002 156 selespped is 67000Miles now. Shoud I do something on the belts?

Thanks
Leo

[Mitch166]

Originally Posted by leohgh

My 2002 156 selespped is 67000Miles now. Shoud I do something on the belts?

Thanks
Leo

Has the belt ever been done?

V6's should be done 48k, 60k latest (if you like a gamble)

Twinnies 24k, or 36k latest.

[leohgh]

God, I need to check the history.

Thanks A lot!

leo

Originally Posted by Mitch166

Has the belt ever been done?

V6's should be done 48k, 60k latest (if you like a gamble)

Twinnies 24k, or 36k latest.

[leohgh]

I have checked the history. it only has the history from 2007 and do not shows anything about belts.but it has all the stamp from 2002 till now. I assume it has done it?¬¬¬ a bit worry. What should I do?

Cheers
Leo

[mo 156]

theres no way of knowing then, unless you call the dealer thats stamped up the book to see if they have record on computer (unlikely)

you have to get it done, just have a quick search on this forum to see why!

[Pud237]

I would get it done now, then its done and won't be needed for another 3 or 4 years..

[leohgh]

Originally Posted by Pud237

I would get it done now, then its done and won't be needed for another 3 or 4 years..

I will make calls. Meanwhile, it has some noise issue from engineer, please see: http://www.alfaowner.com/Forum/alfa-...e-help.html.if (156 selespeed Noise from enginee( Help!)) I change the camp belt, shoud I change the water pump and tensioners as well?
God, money from wallet again!
Leo

[Pud237]

Originally Posted by leohgh

I will make calls. Meanwhile, it has some noise issue from engineer, please see: http://www.alfaowner.com/Forum/alfa-...e-help.html.if (156 selespeed Noise from enginee( Help!)) I change the camp belt, shoud I change the water pump and tensioners as well?
God, money from wallet again!
Leo

There is a cambelt tensioner, and two cambelt idlers, these definitely need changing too. They all come as part of a kit with a new belt. I'd say more often than not people with "cambelt failure" have actually suffered "tensioner failure", which has shred the cambelt, or made to run at an angle and slowly wear away against the cam cover. I'd change the waterpump, the ones in the V6 are known to sometimes split and become leaky. You need to order the waterpump from the 3.0 GTV V6, this will then last the life of the car. But you never know, this might have already been done when the car had its belt changed previously, there is no way of telling. But if you buy a new 3.0 GTV waterpump and don't end up using it because you already have one fitted, you can always return it.

You should probably change the auxiliary belt too, as this needs to come off to change the cambelt and its not well thought of to put an old belt back on..

[leohgh]

Originally Posted by Pud237

There is a cambelt tensioner, and two cambelt idlers, these definitely need changing too. They all come as part of a kit with a new belt. I'd say more often than not people with "cambelt failure" have actually suffered "tensioner failure", which has shred the cambelt, or made to run at an angle and slowly wear away against the cam cover. I'd change the waterpump, the ones in the V6 are known to sometimes split and become leaky. You need to order the waterpump from the 3.0 GTV V6, this will then last the life of the car. But you never know, this might have already been done when the car had its belt changed previously, there is no way of telling. But if you buy a new 3.0 GTV waterpump and don't end up using it because you already have one fitted, you can always return it.

You should probably change the auxiliary belt too, as this needs to come off to change the cambelt and its not well thought of to put an old belt back on..

Thanks a lot! Do you know how much for doing all? I am living in Sunbury on thames( Middlesex). Any good garage recommend?

Cheers
Leo

[purple145]

my 166 service hisrtort shows it snapped at 67,000 miles. I think the PO just swapped the heads, it's as fit as a butchers dog. Still, several do seem to have gone at the 60k mark.

HTH

[Pud237]

Originally Posted by leohgh

Thanks a lot! Do you know how much for doing all? I am living in Sunbury on thames( Middlesex). Any good garage recommend?

Cheers
Leo

Shop4Parts have an offer on at the moment for a 2.5 V6 timing belt kit, which includes cambelt, 2 x idlers, 1 x tensioner. Its £164, which sounds like a lot but its not, its usually about £210 or so.

Fiat Parts and Alfa Romeo Parts from Shop4Parts

[Pud237]

Best place to find a good garage near you:

http://www.alfaowner.com/Forum/gener...endations.html (Independent garage Recommendations)

Last Alfa indie I used were AutoLusso, they fitted my Q2 limited slip differential, did a fantastic job of it, I would thoroughly recommend them, except for they're in Bedfordshire and I'm in North Yorkshire

[leohgh]

Thanks a lot.

I found one on ebay:http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.d...m=350143519480

It did cost around £210. When I rang for the previous histories, I got a quote for the gargage in Manchester £220 for changing the cam belt.

BTW: I couldn't find the kit from shop4parts.

[leohgh]

Originally Posted by leohgh

Thanks a lot.

I found one on ebay:http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.d...m=350143519480

It did cost around £210. When I rang for the previous histories, I got a quote for the gargage in Manchester £220 for changing the cam belt.

BTW: I couldn't find the kit from shop4parts.

Just rang to my garage. They will do it £320, including cam belt 1 tensionor, two idlers and variator +auxiliary belt for me as well. Is it a good deal?

Thanks
Leo

[0of0]

£320 - snap their hands off

[purple145]

Originally Posted by leohgh

Just rang to my garage. They will do it £320, including cam belt 1 tensionor, two idlers and variator +auxiliary belt for me as well. Is it a good deal?

Thanks
Leo

is that a V6? Variator?

if a V6 a cracking price, ask about the water pump as well though, plastic ones crack, bumps it up £80 or so plus a bit of labour

if a TS, not bad, but what about the balancer is a 2.0

if a 1.6 or 1.8, not too bad

HTH