Talk to me about Cam-Belt Tensioners
 

Ok, my mum works at the garage that are currently doing the service (inc cambelt) on my Pug. Their phones have been down today but she had been talking to the machanic who told her some of the following. She has zero mechanical knowledge which isn't really bettered by mine :rolleyes:

From what I can pick up the machanic noted that of the 3 cam-belt tensioners (would that be right?) one of them didn't sound right when 'rotated/spun' but that it would be fine for 'now'. Apparantly it'll cost £800 for three new ones but what I want to know is if one of them isn't quite right should I just pay that while the engine is still in bits. What do they do and what happens when they go wrong?? Remember I do 20k miles a year so I'd rather pay £800 NOW than £3k a year from now if the thing goes taking the rest of the engine with it.

Bring me up to speed on cam-belt tensioners so I have half a clue when I talk to them tomorrow :)

It would be wise to change them all if they are getting worn to ensure correct tension obviously and so you don't get any horriblle noises, but £800 pound sounds pretty steep to me!
In an extreme case your belt could become loose in the area of the knackered tensioner will flap about and possibly slip a tooth not good , but that is an extreme case. Usually they will just get noisy.
But with you doing 20k a year.... I would have it done if it wasn't for the £800 does sound very steep.Make sure they are not trying to get some extra cash for no reason though.... sorry I can't be of any more help

Kin hell......tell her to get a scoob a cambelt tensioner for thos is only circa £125.00

I wonder why its so much? Can you get reconditioned parts or 2nd hand ones or would it really have to be the full monty new ones for the piece of mind? Could this dodgy tensioner perhaps explain why for the last 2 weeks the car has had a big flat spot at 3krpm and doesn't come 'on cam' (so to speak) until 5k rpm when it should be at 4k rpm?

Just had mine done.
 

Just had my 45k service on my MY00 last week.

Mechanics heard a suspect idler as I drove in (cam belt runs on it) and found a leaking hydraulic tensioner when changing the belt. Turned out two other idlers were on their way as well.

1 Scoob Hydraulic tensioner and 3 idlers came in at about £350+VAT just for the genuine Subaru parts.

Service was circa £800 in total, but the labour in that was only £150 and VAT was about £120. Better than an engine rebuild I suppose ;)

If the tensioners are being "spun" and are noisy, then they are just rollers that the belt runs on. (idlers)
The noise generally means the bearing is not quite what it should be.
The idler that created all the noise on mine actually has a fair bit of lateral slop in the bearing, so it could have proved dangerous to say the least.

£800 just for them does seem a steep when compared to a Scoob.
The total for mine would be about £400+VAT based on what I've just had done.

Does any one know if the cambelt for a model 99 GT is the same as a 99 STI?

Don't suppose anyone has a picture of a cambelt tensioner so I know what they look like?

Also, lets work on the assumption that I have to replace them. If so I'm guessing £800 is for the pug parts. What other company might make or source such a part that would be cheaper?

you could give pug ecosse a call to price parts, they have done quite a bit with the v6, so may be able to source parts cheaper.

motor factors such as dingbro and partco should also be able to source parts.

if your mum works at the garage, would they really be shafting you?

If you're keeping the car, doing a lot of miles, and if there is any doubt whatsoever, get them done!
If you don't it will cost you more in the longrun.

What engine is it?

Its the 3.0v6 - cheers for the companies T-UK. No, the wouldn't shaft me, quite the opposite actually I'll get very cheap labour on the service. I just talked to the machanic and got the full story - there are 8 tensioners on the car and one of them is making a little noise. You CAN buy them seperately so the part would be £50 (phew!) so I told him to change it at his discretion if he feels its necessary. Having discussed it we agreed I'd change the belt again at 45k miles as opposed to 70k on the basis that the car is getting on and just to check the other tensioners, etc. Since I've effectively just saved £750 I might phone pug ecosse and see what interesting things they can do with that money ;):D Slippery slope :D

John Banks if you are reading this did you change the spark plugs at the rear (the ones that are a total nightmare to get at (manifold removal job)) or just the front 3 when you changed them. It doesn't matter as they are all getting replaced but if you didn't it might explain why the engine was not running 100% of late.

cheers for the link rob - just one problem on my Pug - lol :D

I should have been more specific its just the most of the tech heads know exactly what and who's pug it was :D

Hi Kenny, I did all six in the autumn. It was an utter moo of a job.

Glad it is only £50, would be a little embarrassing otherwise :eek:

I always thought Coupe Brembo brakes would be good, coilovers, exhaust, induction and changing the power steering setup to something with more feel.

I think the chassis is a goodun, just too soft.

Knew you wouldn't do a job by half so it can't be the sparkies playing up :confused:

LOL :D

Just have to see how she is when she comes back. At least all the 'basics' are covered so if she still plays up Job in Dunfermline will have some digging to do. Missing the dang thing already, scooby is rattling my teeth out, I don't have my arm rest anymore and I have to actually use my feet to drive the car :(

I think the car would need a suspesion overhaul to make any difference to the handling with lower profile tyres and it would still get pasted by a scooby or hot-hatch through the bends. I think a s/c or turbo and retaining the outside appearance would be a lot of fun for the straight line stuff.

I might consider an exhaust and induction though as these are relatively cheap might free up a horsepower or two but will sound seriously :cool: The scooby's steering feels unassisted now :eek: