Cambelt Too Tight

mrtimh · Post by **mrtimh** » 02 Apr 2004, 06:28

Hi i recentl had my cambelt changed at Peugeot, and a few days afterwards i could hear a whirring noise coming from the belt area in the engine bay.
arry_b said, they may have tightened the cambelt too much...Thankyou arry_b.
I took it back to peugeot (after 3 weeks) and they said probably the cambelt had been over tightened. Would this have damaged anything else, could i attribute any damage to them. No doubts they will phone up on Monday (when it is booked in) and say something is wrong and would have to be changed!!! Suprise suprise...
Any thoughts would be great, before they start to con me on monday morning... Cheers.

solara · Post by **solara** » 02 Apr 2004, 15:17

could be the tensioner pulley? was that changed? whats the mileage?

mrtimh · Post by **mrtimh** » 02 Apr 2004, 16:10

Hi, thanks for the response.
No the tensioner was not changed. It was its first cambelt change @ 38,000 miles. Cheers i will bear it in mind when they charge me.

arry_b · Post by **arry_b** » 03 Apr 2004, 06:52

Glad to be of help.
I'd ask, as they seem to have buggered the job up, for a written report of their findings relating to the cambelt tension and some warranty that if they have damaged the tensioner or water pump bearings, then they'll fix it FOC within a certain time period.
Or perhaps you could tell them that, as you no longer feel able to trust the car due to their incompetence, you will pay trade price (not retail) for a new water pump and tensioner and that they will fit them free of charge. The chances are that everything is still Ok so long as the belt gets sorted quickly.
Lay it on a bit thick and be a bit of a pain. Try something along the lines of you've given the chance to sort out their cock up, rather than go straight to the AA, trading standards, lawyers etc first so you expect them to do right by you.

mrtimh · Post by **mrtimh** » 05 Apr 2004, 20:08

Hi, took my car in this morning and they said they have adjusted the cam belt. They are dropping the car back in a bit.
However, I asked for a condition report on the tensioner and stuff. They replaced the water pump when i had the cam belt replaced (when they first cocked it up). They told me that because it would not have affected the car in any way they are not willing to put that in writing.
I dunno if there is anything else i can do. If they say no, it doesnt matter what I say, they are not going to put it in writing on the invoice.
Although, they have sorted it (or so they say) all i get is aggro.
I would never have know if arry_b had suggested it. Many thanks, its forums like this that really make a difference. Cheers Arry_b and everyone else.
Take it easy...

carl · Post by **carl** » 09 Apr 2004, 02:45

They should have replaced the cam belt if it had been over tightened. For peace of mind I would now get the belt changed at a reputable garage as soon as poss. sorry.

Homer · Post by **Homer** » 09 Apr 2004, 13:37

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by mrtimh

Although, they have sorted it (or so they say) all i get is aggro.
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">
Be sure to tell all your friends, relatives, people down the pub, etc. etc.[}:)]

mrtimh · Post by **mrtimh** » 15 Apr 2004, 04:04

Cheers for the thoughts guys.
Guess What???
I went to Devon over easter and thought id pop into peugeot to "see if they could diagnose the whirring noise i still have" without telling them anything about having it changed in Leicester. Suprise, suprise they reckon the cambelt is too tight so i have formalyy complained to the service manager in Leicester Peugeot and it is booked in for tomorrow. (I have now done 600+ miles since they first took the car in)
Originally they charged me £222 for the belts and water pump and will have had the car for three days after taking it in tomorrow all to change a cambelt & so they say, waterpump. I have no faith whatsoever in garages.
Should i insist they put a new belt on tomorrow, also could that have damaged any of the pulleys but putting extra strain on the bushes (Im not sure if they have bushes on the pulleys but you can get an idea what i mean) Surely this extra strain is not only gonna make the cam belt stretch and i have no guarentee that they will actually get this done.
If anyone was thinking of going into Peugeot in the morning, i would advise after 8.30am because when i drop my car off again there is gonna be trouble. Best keep the place clear till i have finished with them.... lol

P 2501 · Post by **P 2501** » 15 Apr 2004, 13:18

DEFINATELY ask for a new belt.I would also be a right pain and demand new pump,pulley and poss tensioner if i was feeling really demanding. Sorry to hear of your trouble

mrtimh · Post by **mrtimh** » 15 Apr 2004, 17:11

I spoke to the mechanic who had adjusted the belt. He said when he set the belt up again, it was fine. However they are gonna change the tensioner as it might have done some damage caused when the belt was too tight. They have the car now, so we will wait and see what excuse they have this time.
I will keep you posted... Lets see what they have to say today???

JohnD · Post by **JohnD** » 15 Apr 2004, 23:26

So much for Peugeot workshops! About fitting timing belts, Mr Haynes writes in the 406 manual, "Peugeot specify the use of a special electronic tool to correctly set the belt tension. If access to this equipment cannot be obtained, an approximate setting can be achieved, however the tension must be checked as soon as possible in a Peugeot workshop using the special electronic tool."

Post by **philhoward** » 16 Apr 2004, 00:19

LOL!!!

Homer · Post by **Homer** » 16 Apr 2004, 02:42

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by JohnD

So much for Peugeot workshops! About fitting timing belts, Mr Haynes writes in the 406 manual, "Peugeot specify the use of a special electronic tool to correctly set the belt tension. If access to this equipment cannot be obtained, an approximate setting can be achieved, however the tension must be checked as soon as possible in a Peugeot workshop using the special electronic tool."
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">
It says the same for the Citroen but there was a thread on here about it a while back.
Turns out very few Citroen dealers ever had one of these special tools and they were as much use as a chocolate fireguard anyway.

mrtimh · Post by **mrtimh** » 16 Apr 2004, 05:15

Cheers guys for your comments.
Ahh, finally they are listening to me. I went to pick the car up to find the horrible whirring noise had gone. Also they have given me a receipt of the adjustments saying 'replaced cambelt and tensioner as we had overtightened twice causing a whining noise' - I cant believe it those are the exact words used on the invoice.
It pays to kick up a fuss around other customers in the Peugeot Dealership early in the morning just as everyone is dropping their cars off. Its just a shame that it comes to this, everything caused was their fault but when you mention this to the their service level drops and you bang your head against a brick wall to get it sorted.
Thank you to everyone for your suggestions throughout this and the last thread.