Squee (my 197) is starting to sound a little poorly, as she's squealing a little at idle in cold weather. I assumed auxiliary belt, as i was told by the garage that i bought it from that the cam-belt was done at 72,000 miles, however diving into my folder of receipts there seems to be no mention of it so now i'm worried. I'm hoping it is just the aux belt as that shouldn't be as much of an issue. I've had a look and could see no obvious wear on what little of the belts i can see from above, so I've booked it in to my local trusted mechanic for him to have a look, If it is the cam-belt and tensioners needing replaced, how many hours of labor is likely to be needed? Just trying to get an idea on price, cheers!
More issues with Squee (belts)
- Thread starter chongwong
- Start date
They obviously told you it was done to seal the deal, you should have double checked though. I would take it as not done without any proof (even then you never really know). Get yourself booked in for full cambelt change at a specialist.
It's being looked at on Monday by my mechanic, just to see if he can find exactly what the problem is.
I had a look myself after work today with an inspection lamp and from the looks of things the pulleys and tensioners are brand new and extra shiny, however the belts, whilst not split or anything seem to have a little surface cracking, Is that likely to happen in less than a year? (circa 8000 miles)
If my mechanic reckons it needs doing i'll be ordering the parts and getting him to do it. Whilst he isn't a renaultsport specialist he is a very competent mechanic who's worked on everything from Fiestas to Ferraris
I had a look myself after work today with an inspection lamp and from the looks of things the pulleys and tensioners are brand new and extra shiny, however the belts, whilst not split or anything seem to have a little surface cracking, Is that likely to happen in less than a year? (circa 8000 miles)
If my mechanic reckons it needs doing i'll be ordering the parts and getting him to do it. Whilst he isn't a renaultsport specialist he is a very competent mechanic who's worked on everything from Fiestas to Ferraris
Last edited:
Fair enough
My aux belt / tensioner looked old very soon after being replaced. It shouldn't be cracked though so needs changing.
Could be the water pump? - People often skimp on this to save money during a belt change, but it's false economy as it's run off the cam belt, so if it goes it's the same labour again to have it changed!
Agree with montana, if there is no invoice of the work being done then take it as given that it's not been done, regardless of what you were told when you bought the car.
I've just had job lot changed on mine. Cambelt kit, aux belt kit, water pump and de-phaser pulley. Even though it's ticked in the book as being done and wasn't due until another 3 years there was no invoice to prove what had exactly been done. At least I know it's going to be sound now for the next 5 years. Not worth the risk for what it costs. All the above I got changed for under £500, so not too bad. Some places will try charge £600-£700 but it really shouldn't cost that much. It's quite a labour intensive job, about 4-5 hours normally and it's a bit of a pig to do. Just make sure you take it to someone who knows these engines and has the correct timing tools to do the job if you decide to go for the full change.
Where are you based? ALS-Performance up in Cumbria did mine for £460 all in and they even supply the full kit here all genuine Renault parts and Renault timing tools used. Would highly recommend them if it's not too far.
Mines as quiet as a mouse now and nice and smooth, before the change there was defiantly some sort of bearing noise which I'm guessing was the water pump and it didn't sound too great, whined a bit if you get me on acceleration at the low revs.
Agree with montana, if there is no invoice of the work being done then take it as given that it's not been done, regardless of what you were told when you bought the car.
I've just had job lot changed on mine. Cambelt kit, aux belt kit, water pump and de-phaser pulley. Even though it's ticked in the book as being done and wasn't due until another 3 years there was no invoice to prove what had exactly been done. At least I know it's going to be sound now for the next 5 years. Not worth the risk for what it costs. All the above I got changed for under £500, so not too bad. Some places will try charge £600-£700 but it really shouldn't cost that much. It's quite a labour intensive job, about 4-5 hours normally and it's a bit of a pig to do. Just make sure you take it to someone who knows these engines and has the correct timing tools to do the job if you decide to go for the full change.
Where are you based? ALS-Performance up in Cumbria did mine for £460 all in and they even supply the full kit here all genuine Renault parts and Renault timing tools used. Would highly recommend them if it's not too far.
Mines as quiet as a mouse now and nice and smooth, before the change there was defiantly some sort of bearing noise which I'm guessing was the water pump and it didn't sound too great, whined a bit if you get me on acceleration at the low revs.
Glad it worked out OK [MENTION=53806]Mattb_197[/MENTION], will give ALS a call when mine are coming up for renewal.
Unfortunately i stay up in Aberdeen so there aren't really any specialists around. Wallace performance have a pretty good reputation though, so i'll take it to them if my mechanic thinks it'll be a pain in the arse. He's happy to recommend other garages if he thinks they'll do a better job of certain things, so i'm not worried about him trying to wing it to get the business.
One more thing to add to the list, hesitant to start this evening, might use my girlfriends car until the mechanic looks it over on Monday, as slow starting could be due to being slightly off time. Would rather not cause pistons and valves to meet.
Going in tomorrow instead, couldn't get up the hill away from my house this morning, so was stuck 
Getting up bright and early to grit the road so i can head out to the mechanic
Getting up bright and early to grit the road so i can head out to the mechanic
