whilst on the way home tonight. power failure and loss of pressure. come to a stop and look under the bonnet. the cam belt is ok but the other one has snapped. car is secure but cant move it. What shall i do tomorrow? I cant think straight at present. Is this a big job to fix?

aux belts not a big job at all but you better hope nothing has gone into the cambelt

is this a specialist job then or can anyone do it?

Just an update for tomorrow.
I went back to the car for a closer inspection with a powerful torch. There is no dmage at all to anything else and i have managed to pull the remaining piece of belt out. I am parked right next to a skoda garage so i'll be asking them to sort it out for me. I have a couple of questions though
1)All the belts were changed about 2.5 years ago. Does the cambelt last longer than the aux belt?
2)if i were to order the part myself, how easy it to fit?
3)Anyone in the Manchester area willing to do it for me if i get the part in?
I know its asking a lot and i realise i've been lucky (all being well tomorrow) and i know it could have been a lot worse. Thanks a lot guys.

Anyone can do it really but I would have it towed to a garage rather than drive it just in case the timing belt has jumped a tooth or three.

I know he takes some stick but if you are in a recovery service have it towed to Wigan Pauls at Golbourne - about 12 miles down the East Lancs. He knows enough to check out the timing before running it.

If it's just the aux belt and nothing has happened to the timing it will be a cheap fix. If the timing has slipped it could be a few bob for new valves fron the sound of it though you will (hopefully ) be ok

I just read your last post. Yes the timing belt does ususlly last longer than the auxilliary belts. In fact *every* tale of the timing belt failing is usually due to the aux belt failing and taking the timing belt with it

Is it right then that if the aux belt has gone, the car will be undriveable anyway? I seem to remember that the steering was almost non existant and there was no power.

The aux belt failing means that the alternator and power steering pump won't be driven by the belt anymore so the steering will feel heavy and the electrics will be weird.

The Skoda garage would be able to repair if they are told about the adjustable tensioner and how to access it through the drivers side wheel arch.

Do you have aircon?

Caution - this does *not* apply to the 16v on which the cam belt is *much* less robust than that of the 20v.

16v cambelts can and do break without any interference from the aux belts.

thanks guys. Im going to take a trip down in a minute. What do i need to tell the garage? Are they going to be able to sort it without to much trouble?

i dont have air con. Does that make a difference?

Yes, it means it's easier for the garage, only one belt to worry about. They should be able to sort it easily enough.

thanks stan. I've been up all night worrying about it. I hope they dont charge me stupid money as i expect they'll have to order the part in for me. I think i've been really lucky.

Skoda dealers are very good, most of them, very old-fashioned customer focussed, they don't come top of the JD Power survey for nothing

The belt shouldn't be difficult for them to source and if they have problems point them to Alternative Autos (or James Twist)

I got auxilliary belts at my local motor factors and they had them in stock. Even Halfords list them, but probably don't have them in stock.

Why does Wigan Paul take stick? I thought he was a recognised coupe guy, like Motormech etc?

Not heard of anything personally but i believe there has been a couple of mistakes made. Whereas motormech and powerfiat etc havent really had any bad press.

Ross

Main reason is that these days it's not guaranteed that it will be Paul who actually works on your car.

Some people, myself included, have had some not very good experiences lately. Even though they are on my doorstep, Bella will be going to MotorMech for any specialist work. Routine stuff is now being completed by a local, family run service centre.

It's a shame really as my first drive in a coop was through Paul and I bought one within 2 weeks of driving one.

Bella,

Bella,

Who the F'ks Bella

http://watershedonline.ca/literature/frankensteindracula/images/bela_lugosi.jpg

Ah, thee cheeldren of thee night... how beeeyooutiful their museec...

I had the car towed to james twist in the end. It has been tested and upto 16 of the 20 valves could be damaged but won't know for sure until a closer inspection is carried out. It seems as though the timing belt was knocked out by the aux belt which has bent the valves. Im not really an expert on how engines work but at present im waiting for a rough quote for the work.
Am i to beleive that i am just very unlucky?
Anyone know how long it will take as i havn't got another car and am gonna have to bike to work?
Anyone had similar and could advise on a rough price for the repair?
I know the price/time may vary so im not going to read to much into it but just so i can get a little sleep. Thanks a lot guys.

James Twist, christ that will be EXPENSIVE.

Ive got a sprinty blue here that had a head rebuild there 12 months ago (its dead now) bill in the history is £1200+

it amazes me that more cars dont have chain cambelts...... its such a disaster when they do go, a few quid saving on a belt over a chain seems folly.

They dont really go though, its only "lack of maintenance" if the aux belts were swapped too for the sake of £40 this problem wouldn't happen. Same as chain engines, lack of maintenance and something will take them out.

They need swapping every 30k in my opinion to be on the safe side. (aux belts that is not cambelt)

they were only changed 2.5 years ago and 15k so i wasn't expecting it at all!

They wouldn't have gone if they were and all "correct"

Probably either:

Not actually changed, usually people think they look ok, leave them
Tensioned wrong.
Oil/water got to them.

No reason for them to go otherwise.

I'd go with that too. Certainly my next aux belt change will be happening in 20k or so.

All i can say is that it was power fiat that did the change so i know it was done correctly. Does the tension alter over time? It had another full service by another specialist in march so it would have been checked then wouldn't it?

Another thought, you got an undertray on? Wonder if any debris wiped them out.

Do they all have undertrays on? I'm not sure. I'll ask when i ring up tomorrow.