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Timing Belt replacement typical cost?

  • 21-03-2005 2:45pm
    #1
    Registered Users Posts: 880 ✭✭✭


    My Renault Megane '01 hatch is at 61k and even though
    I've heard 75k was the original specified interval for the
    01 Megane from my visit to a local dealer for a service
    over the weekend I heard they have pulled it back to
    around 55k because of issues with some tenioners loosening
    earlier than expected. So basically I need to get my timing
    belt replaced asap and I was wondering if folks up here
    have typical estimates of what typically one might pay
    for a timing belt replacement of such a class of car.
    I haven't yet checked with the dealer because I'd like to
    get a feel for what folks are generally paying before he
    hits me with a quote. Also I am based in the West of
    Ireland so I am hoping that labour costs might be marginally
    cheaper than city centre Dublin garages.

    I understand from googling that the water pump is typically
    replaced at the same time as the timing belt so I would
    be getting both done at the same time and paying VAT
    on top of labour, etc.

    Any ballpark estimates on what you folks have paid or
    friends may have paid. Doesn't need to be specifically
    the Renault. I imagine Renault procedures are middle of
    the road (no pun intended) as far as servicing costs go.
    Also has anyone got this operation done by a non-dealer
    garage with a savvy mechanic ?

    --ifc


Comments

  • Registered Users Posts: 8,235 ✭✭✭BrianD3


    If you go to a Renault dealer the job will cost around 390-450 euros. Some dealers (eg Dublin) have higher labour rates than others hence the difference. That price includes the tensioner and pulley but not the water pump, figure on paying at least 100 quid more if you decide to get the pump done as well. It's hard to know whether to get the pump done as well, I reckon the pump should be good for at least 90k miles so you might be better leaving it till the 2nd timing belt change.

    If you decide to get the job done by a non franchised garage be aware that there is some sort of "special tool" that Renault dealers use to take off the crank pulley, if the non franchised garage has this tool or can do the job without it then you're laughing as you will be charged less.

    BrianD3


  • Registered Users Posts: 880 ✭✭✭ifconfig


    great info Brian(D3) ! I'll probably skip on the water pump as
    per your advice and depending on what the non-franchise
    mechanic says. He was going off to figure out a price/quote
    after I called him and you replied. I'll be interested to see if
    he feels he can do it with/without the crank pulley release tool
    you mentioned.

    great info again thanks. Much appreciated

    --ifc


  • Registered Users Posts: 8,235 ✭✭✭BrianD3


    No probs. I'm just after looking at the workshop manual for your car and it appears there is more than one special tool needed for this job. Also the manual says that the engine must be supported from a kind of beam placed across the engine bay while the belt is being changed. This is because the engine hangs from an engine mount located near the timing belt and the mount is removed when changing the belt

    It's possible that this operation and the special tools aren't absolutely necessary but it's hard to know.

    BrianD3


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 248 ✭✭comanche


    nope these special tools are needed - had the timing belt done on my megane (1999) done in an independent garage. They didn't have the proper tools (tried to cut cornors without telling me) - end result 8 bent valves.

    Personally I would get the water pump done when ever changing the timing belt - the a water pump is not that expensive.


  • Registered Users Posts: 6,031 ✭✭✭lomb


    id second that def get the water pump done. my mums pump failed at 55000. if the pump seizes the belt will snap as the belt drives the pump at the bottom. if the belt snaps renault wont cover it as they will say ur water pump failed. not getting the water pump done is a false economy.


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  • Registered Users Posts: 231 ✭✭yellow012


    I had a Fiat Punto Sporting and it cost 120 euros for the timing belt change in a Fiat dealer (Colmans in Millstreet, Cork).


  • Registered Users Posts: 880 ✭✭✭ifconfig


    Yellow, 120 Euro for a timing belt change from a dealer garage sounds
    very reasonable. Perhaps it is a much simpler operation on the Punto.

    I am going to heed the warnings about the possibility of a non-franchised
    garage attempting to do the job without proper tools.
    I've contacted a mechanic who has a very good reputation but I'll need
    to know that he is confident about doing the procedure before I'll leave
    my car with him for that particular job.

    Thanks also for the info about the water pump. I assume it is the timing
    belt (as opposed to say the alternator belt) which you are saying is at
    risk if the water pump goes ?

    My Air conditioning compressor went about 2-3 months ago and the
    pulley to the A/C compressor was seized and it caused strain on the
    alternator belf which was about to snap (according to my dealer when
    I sent it in for service). He detached the fault A/C from the
    alternator belt (or something to that effect) and he replaced the worn
    alternator belt so it was an expensive enough service.

    Now I have to get the timing belt replacement addressed because of
    the mileage on the car and I definitely don't want to tempt fate.

    --ifc


  • Registered Users Posts: 6,031 ✭✭✭lomb


    ifconfig wrote:
    Yellow, 120 Euro for a timing belt change from a dealer garage sounds
    very reasonable. Perhaps it is a much simpler operation on the Punto.

    I am going to heed the warnings about the possibility of a non-franchised
    garage attempting to do the job without proper tools.
    I've contacted a mechanic who has a very good reputation but I'll need
    to know that he is confident about doing the procedure before I'll leave
    my car with him for that particular job.

    Thanks also for the info about the water pump. I assume it is the timing
    belt (as opposed to say the alternator belt) which you are saying is at
    risk if the water pump goes ?

    My Air conditioning compressor went about 2-3 months ago and the
    pulley to the A/C compressor was seized and it caused strain on the
    alternator belf which was about to snap (according to my dealer when
    I sent it in for service). He detached the fault A/C from the
    alternator belt (or something to that effect) and he replaced the worn
    alternator belt so it was an expensive enough service.

    Now I have to get the timing belt replacement addressed because of
    the mileage on the car and I definitely don't want to tempt fate.

    --ifc
    yes the timing belt is at serious risk if the pump siezes. when u think about it tensioners are changed with the timing belt as also if these sieze then the belt snaps. so it makes sense that the pump is changed also.

    i dont know about renault but no special tools are needed on the golf. the tension is set by the springs in the tensioners and the whole belt is auto tensioning.


  • Registered Users Posts: 6,031 ✭✭✭lomb


    one word of advice i would recommend letting renault do it with the water pump. u will be covered then for a year in case it snaps. i would do this particularly if the belt needs to be pretensioned with a special tool.

    i know of a guy who has a 5 year old focus had the belt and whatnot done at the main dealer and it snapped 6 months later. ford picked up the cost of a new engine for it. so paying a little extra is worth it. the parts alone for the golf are apout 180 euro from GSF motor parts so i would say 450 euro is reasonable altogether even if it sounds pricey. def get the pump done.


  • Registered Users Posts: 8,235 ✭✭✭BrianD3


    I have had water pumps go on Renaults. The earliest one went at 6 years old and 95k miles. The pump will usually give plenty of warning before it fails - what happens is that water gets past the inner seal at the impeller and gets into the bearings. This will cause pump seizure after a while but there is a "weep hole" in the body of the pump which is put there deliberately so that if coolant gets past the seal, coolant will leak out of the pump and drip onto the ground, the owner will see it and know the pump is on the way out.

    In theory :)

    Another possible cause of pump falure is an overtightened timing belt putting strain on the pump bearings. The pump is driven by the timing belt on a Megane, in some other cars it ois driven by a separate belt. Anyhow if the timing belt is tensioned properly there should not be a problem.

    If you get the pump done at the same time as the timing belt I'd say it'll add ~120 quid to the price (renault dealer price). The pump alone is 70-80, new coolant is 20, labour probably 1/2 hour. If you get it done separately then you'd probably be looking at 250-300 quid. The pump is a good bit cheaper if you get a non-genuine one, but renault dealers will only fit parts that they supply. You should check all these prices before you decide what to do.

    As for 120 euros for a timing belt change - on the megane the parts alone (belt, tensioner, pulley) come to >120 quid.

    BrianD3


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  • Registered Users Posts: 880 ✭✭✭ifconfig


    BrianD3 and Lom. Thanks for the explanations.

    BrianD3 (or others) I might be veering off-topic but considering I started this
    thread I was wondering ....

    I'm doing 130 miles or more round-trip per day at the moment putting up
    quite a lot of mileage on the 01/Megane/1.4 16valve engine.
    It is cross country driving with very little Dublin style car-park start/stops.
    With your wisdom what is the current best value for a car which can
    take this kind of abuse and still be lean on petrol.
    A taxi driver (who else) recommended I should look into getting
    a second-hand Carina diesel considering the mileage I do.

    I'm a bit peeved at the Renault because I've had a few electrics issues
    recently. Aircon went and I'm not going to replace it. Front wiper motor
    seized a month ago and set me back 370Euro for a replacement and
    was an unpleasant experience (it seized during a heavy rainshower in
    heavy oncoming traffic on the way into Dublin on a pitch dark winters
    evening). I appreciate the timing belt is something which needs
    attention on all cars so I am not going to moan too much about that.

    Anyway.. what do you recommend assuming my budget is
    modest and i don't have the deep pockets of a tribunal barrister
    so a Lexus/Merc isn't an option ;)

    --ifc


  • Registered Users Posts: 8,235 ✭✭✭BrianD3


    I wouldn't regard cross country driving as abuse TBH. With this sort of driving you'll generally be spending a lot of time driving with the engine/oil fully warmed up and will be cruising in 4th or 5th gear at 3000 rpm or less. Your clutch and brakes should also wear far less than they would in urban driving where you're constantly stopping and starting. However your suspension will probably wear less in city driving due to slower speeds and less potholes etc.

    The Megane 1.4 16v petrol is a very economcial engine. My brother gets 50 mpg average out of his and can get 55+ mpg on a run. These figures are not far off what you'd get from a diesel and are better than a lot of othee 1.4s on the market where you'd be lucky to get 45 mpg.

    If you are going to be doing 130 miles round trip every day for years to come then you'll be racking up huge mileage and yeah the taxi driver is right you should go for a japanese diesel like a corolla or avensis both for economy and longevity. But if you're not going to be doing this long term then the Megane should be fine.

    BrianD3


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,765 ✭✭✭ds20prefecture


    ifconfig wrote:
    I'm doing 130 miles or more round-trip per day at the moment putting up
    quite a lot of mileage on the 01/Megane/1.4 16valve engine.
    It is cross country driving with very little Dublin style car-park start/stops.
    With your wisdom what is the current best value for a car which can
    take this kind of abuse and still be lean on petrol.
    A taxi driver (who else) recommended I should look into getting
    a second-hand Carina diesel considering the mileage I do.

    You'd need a total lack of taste to buy a Carina.

    In my experience, your kind of mileage suits almost all cars much better than low mileage stop-start. Exceptions might be something with a truly tiny engine (< 1.0L). If you were storming Autobahns all day at >100mph you might need something >2.0L. If you like overtaking, something with a turbo is nice :)

    If you were in a VAG or PSA diesel you would be averaging between 45 and 50mpg on long country runs.


  • Registered Users Posts: 54 ✭✭dooley319


    Does anyone know how much it would cost to do the timing belt on a Daihatsu Terios?


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 264 ✭✭tc2010


    wouldnt mind hearing a quote for a 2000 a4 if anyone has one. the dealers say 550


  • Registered Users Posts: 132 ✭✭Sticky Fingers


    I used this guy during the week to do a service and timing belt change ( with water pump ) on my Golf TDi this cost STG 330 it also included a diagnostic scan. He is a VW, Audi and Skoda Specialist. Decent bloke too.

    www.walshmotors.co.uk


  • Registered Users Posts: 442 ✭✭bothyhead


    I got an '03 megane timing belt changed with a Renault main dealer a couple of weeks ago.

    Cost: 660 eur

    It consisted of

    Timing Belt Kit (which I believe is a belt, pulleys, and other required bits)
    New Water Pump
    Minor Service (Oil change and Oil Filter)

    Plus a couple of other misc bits (new bulb holder, wiper blade ...)

    p.s. this was outside of Dublin


  • Registered Users Posts: 41 alycat05


    Hi,

    I've had a timing belt, tensioner, and water pump replaced (twice....as 1st mechanic didnt do it properly) on my 01 VW Golf. Got it done in a regular garage, not a dealer.

    It cost me 500euro the 1st time and 400eouro the 2nd time.

    You could probably get it done cheaper because a lot of ppl told me i got ripped off but i hadn't got time to price around.


  • Registered Users Posts: 3,102 ✭✭✭Dr_Colossus


    dooley319 wrote: »
    Does anyone know how much it would cost to do the timing belt on a Daihatsu Terios?

    My father had the older narrower type of these (pre-2008 I think) and got it done in an independent country garage for less than 300. I think the Daihatsu is a relatively straight forward job with no special tools.


  • Registered Users Posts: 64,547 ✭✭✭✭unkel


    This thread is 5 years old - thanks dooley319, for wasting our time :rolleyes:


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  • Moderators, Category Moderators, Motoring & Transport Moderators Posts: 21,235 CMod ✭✭✭✭Eoin


    and thanks for reminding me to adblock that annoying rolleyes icon Unkel!

    @dooley319, please start a new thread and don't revive really old ones.


This discussion has been closed.
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