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MG MGF Technical - Cam/Timing belts

After a few months of haggling with my dealer who promised a full service. Then finding out out cam belts weren't changed, dealer agreed free cam belt change.
Thing is, looking at the invoice it says Timing belt x1, i was under the impression the VVC actually has 2 cam belts. i may be wrong but can anyone advise?
do i have any recompense to get the other belt fitted if required?

Any help much appreciated.

darce
darce

The VVC certainly has 2!

They should have fitted the latest tensioner as well at the same time (good practice!)

If you need confirmation of the part numbers, let me know as I've still got the boxes in the bin in the garage :-)

Neil.
Neil


Hi Neil,
what do You mean by "latest tensioner" ? Not the "selfadjusting" one I hope ? I would stay well clear of those as they are clearly more prone to failure than the old types... And BTW , is it really possible to fit the new tensioner to the old block ?

BR, Carl.
Carl Blom

I must admit I didn't see the new tensioner before it was fitted, so I don't know if its automatic or manual.

I was just worried that there seem to be problems with the bearings in the tensioners giving up and causing problems, and replacing them when you do the cam belt is a "good thing". I know the worst publicitity came when Vauxhall/Opel had problems, but Mel certainly thinks its worth doing at cam belt change time on all engines.

Oh, and yes, the new tensioners WILL fit on older blocks (mine's a '97)

Neil.
Neil

Darce, are these guys leading you up the garden path mate? Yes, the VVC has TWO belts...

Wherein lies a problem. Can you actually trust these guys? Might it actually be worth taking the car to a more reputable dealer for the work? Because if the cam timing slips, then the damage repair bill is easily in excess of that for the 60k cam belt change...
Rob Bell

Just spoke to the garage who confirmed that if there were 2 belts then 2 would of been changed.
The cost of parts was £40 and he said cam belts are usually about £20 so 2 were used.
Is he right about the price?

Thx in advance

PS How not to sell things on ebay!! http://www.geocities.com/thalunaticpage/auctionem.jpg
darce

>>Just spoke to the garage who confirmed that if there were 2 belts then 2 would of been changed.<<

I'm obviously in a cynical mood today - sorry Darce - (it's something that seems to be triggered when I'm peer reviewing research papers!), but the fact that they say 'oh, well if there were two to be changed, then that's what we did,' does not instill one with a huge amount of confidence. :o(

I'd now be asking for evidence, in writing, and an undertaking that if the belts do snap in the next year, that the garage would undertake the repairs at no cost to you!
Rob Bell

yep...those were the same cynical thoughts i had.
The whole affair has been very slapdash and frustrating, my next MG will come from Guy's or somewhere similar.

If anybody can recommend a good mechanic/garage in West Kent it would be appc.
darce

This thread was discussed between 15/12/2002 and 16/12/2002

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