CAM Belt and Water Pump change

[Markdleeming]

My dealer has contacted me recommending a cam belt and water pump change. A bit surprised about this has van has less than 33k miles on it and is 4 in Feb. Am I being conned or is this really neccessary as they are quoting over £550 to do the work?

 

[calikev]

4 years or 120k whatever comes first get an independent garage to do it using genuine parts about £400

 

[paradise city]

If you do get an independent garage to do it, make sure to keep the paperwork. If you are ever selling the van in future, prospective buyers will want to know.

Sent from my CLT-L09 using Tapatalk

 

[clarinetbcn]

VW Spain says 220,000km or 10 years. Have checked on forums here and that’s the usual practice, no problems. That’s a huge difference for the same motor. Is there any way to know what VW Germany recommends?

 

[clarinetbcn]

View attachment 54184

VW Spain says 220,000km or 10 years. Have checked on forums here and that’s the usual practice, no problems. That’s a huge difference for the same motor. Is there any way to know what VW Germany recommends?

By the way that’s kilometers, not miles.

 

[Stoneybroke]

I notice you have a T6 Beach 150.
Could it be that your dealer has spoken to you about a recent recall on cambelts - see below

T6 Cambelt Recall - November 2019

Just called into my local VW commercial dealer (not my regular one) for first free AdBlue to up. Checking the system, it is subject to a recall. A limited run of T6 vehicles were fitted with a cambelt make (Gates) which shows excessive wear with risk of early failure and engine damage. Visual...

vwcaliforniaclub.com

 

[Markdleeming]

No it was a routine email stating that as the vehicle is coming up to 4 years old that they recommend the cam belt gets replaced. When I rang to confirm they then also mentioned the water pump. Not due a service until Sep so they suggested it would be ok to have the work done then.

 

[blondebier]

When I rang to confirm they then also mentioned the water pump.

The water pump will probably be fine, but they suggest you change it as the part is relatively inexpensive compared to the labour element of the service required to change it on its own.

I think the logic goes something like - "while we've got the van in bits we could replace the water pump at the same time to save you money".

If it were me I'd pay the VW price and get it done. It'll look good on the service record and will be covered by the "Das Welt Auto" warranty thing for a further 2 years. An independent garage may save you a few quid but I can't see it's really worth the hassle on a vehicle like this.

 

[blondebier]

Here's the latest "Fully Fitted Parts" price list from VW's site...

https://www.volkswagen-vans.co.uk/en/service/service-options/fully-fitted-parts-pricing.html

CamBelt on its own is £355

Try booking online and see if it's any cheaper.

 

[paradise city]

I thought they have to remove the water pump to get the cam belt off so when they're putting it back together they may as well put a new one in.

Sent from my CLT-L09 using Tapatalk

 

[Stoneybroke]

When I had my cambelt changed under the recall, I was told that the normal price for cambelt and water pump was £475+vat.
I paid a discounted £75+vat for the pump, which they fitted for free at the same time as the recall cambelt.

 

[blondebier]

@Markdleeming

FYI in case you missed this...

T6 Cambelt Recall - November 2019

I took mine in today (Sep 2016) and the belt is not Gates, so wasn't affected. Engine management update also done with 10 refills of adblu in the future. Something to check if you bought the factory extended warranty when new, which I did. It still does not appear on the VW system despite 2...

vwcaliforniaclub.com

 

[Pro moochers]

Just reminded me...
I bought my 7 year old van with 33k on the clock and no receipts to say it’s been done so, looks like I need to spend £400 on peace of mind


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[PeteS]

I had my cam belt changed at the VW Dealers. I found a price locally which my dealer matched. VW say it must be a like for like written quote using genuine parts. Whilst the quote was for genuine parts it was on the internet but they did match it for me. If you can get them to price match the you will have the fully warranty on the parts and labour should the worst happen.

 

[TripleBee]

View attachment 54184

VW Spain says 220,000km or 10 years. Have checked on forums here and that’s the usual practice, no problems. That’s a huge difference for the same motor. Is there any way to know what VW Germany recommends?

My Belgian California needs a new cambelt at 210000 km.
Have done 145000 so far, so nowhere near a new belt any time soon...

 

[clarinetbcn]

My Belgian California needs a new cambelt at 210000 km.
Have done 145000 so far, so nowhere near a new belt any time soon...

In addition to the km requirement, is there a year requirement? The difference between between 10 years in Spain and 4 years in UK sounds like UK owners are being taken for a ride.

 

[clarinetbcn]

I've been reading up on Caliboard.de and TX-board.de. In Germany it's 210,000 km, period. Users say 6 years is early and 10 years is late. In German forums, T5 is T5.1 and our T5.1 is their T5.2.

T5.2 California - wann den Zahnriemen wechseln?

Moin zusammen, ich konnte im Forum keinen Eintrag zu Zahnriemenwechsel nach Jahren vs. nach KM finden. Ich habe einen California Beach im Blick und stehe kurz vor dem Kauf. Jetzt sagte mir ein Bekannter, dass er damit rechnen würde, dass der Zahnriemen bald fällig sei. Kosten tippt er auf 800...

tx-board.de

 

[Eber123]

Good evening.

Hm, changing a cam belt with 50.000 km? I can't imagine this. In all the years, with all the different cars from different car manufacturers this was always between 120.000 and 210.000 km. Looking back I can't even remember that there was a time suggestion for chaning, just the km.

I can't imaging that the VW Transporter needs this in this early stage done. Builder, craftsmen, couriers, emergency services (Police, fire brigade) would not accept that such an expensive repair, service needs to be done on the transporter.

At the end of this year I would get around the 50.000 km mark. Because of this I will check with VW Ireland and VW Nutzfahrzeuge Hannover what the offical recommendation is. I would be shocked if they confirm in an eamil that the cam belt should be changed after 4 years and / or 50.000 km.

Regards,
Eberhard

 

[PeteS]

i am amazed at the differences in Cambelt change intervals.
My 2.0 180bhp is 5 Year’s or 60,000 miles.
The cambelt on my wife’s VW 1.9 TDI Beetle is 4 Year’s or 40,000 miles.
It seems in Europe the intervals are much higher. It would in interesting to what the intervals are for other models in other countries.

 

[WelshGas]

Good evening.

Hm, changing a cam belt with 50.000 km? I can't imagine this. In all the years, with all the different cars from different car manufacturers this was always between 120.000 and 210.000 km. Looking back I can't even remember that there was a time suggestion for chaning, just the km.

I can't imaging that the VW Transporter needs this in this early stage done. Builder, craftsmen, couriers, emergency services (Police, fire brigade) would not accept that such an expensive repair, service needs to be done on the transporter.

At the end of this year I would get around the 50.000 km mark. Because of this I will check with VW Ireland and VW Nutzfahrzeuge Hannover what the offical recommendation is. I would be shocked if they confirm in an eamil that the cam belt should be changed after 4 years and / or 50.000 km.

Regards,
Eberhard

Not sure where you got the 50,000 km from.
I had mine changed at 4 yrs and 80,000 miles or 128,000kms.

 

[ArunAlec]

I suspect VW have a ”Target Cam Belt Income per annum” and use a spreadsheet to calculate how many and the frequency cam belts need changing to generate that target . Nice little earner.

 

[em13]

Hi there

I was also dubious when I got the call saying my T5 Cali needed its cambelt changing once it hit 4 years old - it had done less than 20,000 miles at the time! I did a bit of research (working in the motor trade helps) and found that it is strictly a 4 year interval on my model, but interestingly, VW cars with the same diesel engine as mine at the time were an 8 year interval. This shorter interval is seemingly because it is a commercial vehicle and therefore 'under more strain' than a car, which of course is not usually true in practice as most are used as leisure vehicles. However, the fact remains that this is the recommended interval for this work to be done, so in my case I decided to put it off for around 6 or 7 months as I did not believe this would hurt on such a low mileage van. It is entirely your decision, but apparently it thousands if it goes bang, so you will protect yourself from this horror if you get it done.

Also, my dealership (Hatfield, Herts - now called Beadles) had a special set price for this work (including water pump), which turned out to be cheaper than independent workshops (using genuine VW parts). I would only have got the work done cheaper if not using genuine parts, so it was a no-brainer to get the dealership to do it.

I know it is a nuisance, but with my own vehicles (6 of them!) I always try and strike a balance between the manufacturer's scheduled work and the mileage they have done/when I can soonest afford it. I hope this might help a little and you can get the work done for a reasonable price when you're ready.

 

[Eber123]

Not sure where you got the 50,000 km from.
I had mine changed at 4 yrs and 80,000 miles or 128,000kms.

Good afternoon,

Well, based on the first post it was mentioned 4 years or 33.000 miles (which should be around 50.000 km or so). Also some other posts in different forums.

I never heard about a time frame that the cam belt should be changed, only the driven kilometers. My wife's Polo got the cam belt changed with about 163.000 km, which I thought it was fair (I can't remember how old the the Polo was at the time).

Regards,
Eberhard

 

[WelshGas]

Good afternoon,

Well, based on the first post it was mentioned 4 years or 33.000 miles (which should be around 50.000 km or so). Also some other posts in different forums.

I never heard about a time frame that the cam belt should be changed, only the driven kilometers. My wife's Polo got the cam belt changed with about 163.000 km, which I thought it was fair (I can't remember how old the the Polo was at the time).

Regards,
Eberhard

Rubber compound belts etc: often have a time limit due to atmospheric, temperature and solvent ( oil vapour etc: ) degradation. Just like tyres which are also susceptible to UV light.

 

[AlisonF]

Rubber compound belts etc: often have a time limit due to atmospheric, temperature and solvent ( oil vapour etc: ) degradation. Just like tyres which are also susceptible to UV light.

Which would lead me to think some of the European (more southern) countries would be more at risk? Higher temps, more UV radiation... I’m not seeing why the limits are lower in UK...?