When I first bought my scooby in January the first thing I did was to give it the 45K service (it had done 37K). I took it to a reputable specialist (I thought). Unfortunately my engine let go about 2months ago (my fault). However, when my engine builder was working his magic he remarked that the idler needed replacing. I'm suprised the specialist that serviced my motor hadn't noticed this. Further, if the idler had let go I would have been faced with another engine re-build. It worries me that this can happen even with specialists with bullet proof reputations. Do you reckon I should mention this to the 'specialist' ?? I think people would be suprised to know who this was

Dave

Sorry to hear about your engine.

If I read your post correctly, you had this *specialist* look at your car in Jan, and when it's inspected in Aug the idler needs replaced.

Are you not being a bit harsh suggesting he missed something ??
7 months is a long time ! ;)

DJ

who was this specialist then dave e-mail if you dont want to name and shame.

also when an idler goes it tends to let the belt slip off and start to rub on the timing cover making an awful rubbing noise. but it is pretty rare i iv only seen about 2 scoobs do this in 6 years of servicing them

The idle unit might of been borderline or only slightly wearing back in Jan so I don't think that you can complain about the specialist. Nothing to worry about if you ask me.

Dave,

The problem with bearings, is that one minute they can be fine, and the next, they've had it. If you're lucky, they just start to get noisy, and you have a chance to change them.

With the idlers, the only "practical" time to check them, is when the cam belt is being changed, and unless they are "really" bad, they don't seem to get that noisy. However, they are very easy to check when the cam belt is off, and I'd have thought any "good" mechanic would do this.

Lastly, just because a company "specializes" in something, doesn't mean they are "experts" in all areas, even though that may be the image they have.....

Mark.

It's interesting that someone else has had idler/tensioner problems - I've had it twice on seperate BMW 3 series, both within months of a belt change, one of which let the belt go at speed and caused serious top end damage (fortunately I had dealer FSH and BMW did a good will freebie, despite it being out of warranty). I thought maybe it was a BM thing, but a couple of weeks ago a mates Mitsubishi GTO did the same thing - again just after a belt change. Unfortunately his car is an import so it's turned out a bit expensive.

The worst part is when the mechanic says "Hard to believe that a part that only costs a tenner can cause all this damage" :(
If this is a common problem, you would think that replacement (or at least a check) would be part of the belt swap, or have we just been unlucky?

Anyway, now I'll always get 'em to check it on a cam belt service and replace it if necessary - at least that way I should have <some> comeback if it goes and they said it was OK.

Dean