Cam belt failure?

Sat Mar 20, 2010 1:42 pm

I take my car all over europe, and the one thing I dread is cam belt failure. I use dealer belts/tensioners etc and change them well within the recommended intervals.....but how common are failures?

Sat Mar 20, 2010 2:01 pm

N00b wrote:I take my car all over europe, and the one thing I dread is cam belt failure. I use dealer belts/tensioners etc and change them well within the recommended intervals.....but how common are failures?

Almost unheard of, as long as the belt and tensioners are changed at the recommended interval.
There was a faulty batch of M20 tensioners produced, that would fail and tip the belt towards the front cover, but these should be all gone by now.
I came across one of these a few years ago, and took off the belt covers to find a belt that was worn to under half its original width!

Sat Mar 20, 2010 2:20 pm

Brianmoooore wrote:Almost unheard of, as long as the belt and tensioners are changed at the recommended interval.

Very reassuring, Mr. moooore. Cam belt failure worries me, as its pretty much THE main failure that would make getting home a nightmare. I feel much better now.

Sat Mar 20, 2010 2:23 pm

Crank position sensor is the main spare part to take, along with a fuel pump if your car only runs on petrol.

Sat Mar 20, 2010 2:37 pm

Brianmoooore wrote:Crank position sensor is the main spare part to take, along with a fuel pump if your car only runs on petrol.

CPS easy to change if I'm carrying a spare?
What are the symptoms of it failing and does it die like a light bulb or does it act up before dying?

Sat Mar 20, 2010 2:57 pm

lol is that really all you need to take for an e30 on a long trip?

Sat Mar 20, 2010 3:02 pm

bpowell555 wrote:lol is that really all you need to take for an e30 on a long trip?

You'd be surprised and I'd be depressed if I listed all of the things that I've already changed, lol

My wallet hates me, or more to the point, it hates my touring

Sat Mar 20, 2010 8:00 pm

The CPS is the one sensor, that if it fails, the engine simply will not run, and they are a fairly common (in BMW terms) item to fail.
When they start to fail, they tend to work OK when cold cause a severe misfire as they warm up, cut out completely when hot, then allow the engine to start again when they cool.
A spare CPS lives in my car all of the time, (secured by a single bolt , so easy to change) but when I go on one of my annual multi thousand mile European trips, I usually take a complete set of hoses, a rotor arm, distributor cap and leads, an ECU, fuel pump, inner tube, a 12 volt test bulb, and a couple of lengths of wire fitted with croc. clips.

Sat Mar 20, 2010 8:14 pm

Brianmoooore wrote:when I go on one of my annual multi thousand mile European trips, I usually take a complete set of hoses, a rotor arm, distributor cap and leads, an ECU, fuel pump, inner tube, a 12 volt test bulb, and a couple of lengths of wire fitted with croc. clips.

What no gaffer tape?

I'm struggling to see the usefulness of an innertube, what's that carried for?

Sat Mar 20, 2010 8:17 pm

cable ties are a good one as well

Sat Mar 20, 2010 8:36 pm

Brianmoooore wrote:when I go on one of my annual multi thousand mile European trips, I usually take a complete set of hoses, a rotor arm, distributor cap and leads, an ECU, fuel pump, inner tube, a 12 volt test bulb, and a couple of lengths of wire fitted with croc. clips. Portable 2 post ramp, complete set of spare gearbox internals. Spare crank (plus backup spare crank) with rods and pistons, just in case. Enough wire to completely rewire the car twice (you just can't be too careful y'know) two sets of tyres and last of all, a spare bodyshell in case I have to reshell the car at the side of the road somewhere.

Slightly off topic, but were you ever a boy scout?

Sat Mar 20, 2010 8:36 pm

Touring Whore wrote:
Brianmoooore wrote:when I go on one of my annual multi thousand mile European trips, I usually take a complete set of hoses, a rotor arm, distributor cap and leads, an ECU, fuel pump, inner tube, a 12 volt test bulb, and a couple of lengths of wire fitted with croc. clips.
What no gaffer tape?

I'm struggling to see the usefulness of an innertube, what's that carried for?

Can you still get inner tubes?
I thought they'd ceased to become legal?

Sat Mar 20, 2010 8:46 pm

Are we talking about a car tyre innertube?

(I didn't even know they exist). I was thinking it was a bicycle innertube. I was also thinking of uses for it, and the best (lame) guess I have so far is to use it as a makeshift universal belt.

Sat Mar 20, 2010 8:52 pm

N00b wrote: Can you still get inner tubes?
I thought they'd ceased to become legal?

Haven't bought one for a year or two, but I discussed fitting one to a trailer tyre fairly recently with my tyre supplier. Turned out it wasn't needed, but he didn't suggest they weren't available.
Gaffer tape and cable ties are part of my normal tool kit - I don't count them separately.
I haven't actually fitted one in an emergency for forty years! I remember sitting on a grass bank by the road side, high up a Greek mountain, tubing a tyre with a couple of large screwdrivers.
As for re shelling the car; if you check my holiday thread from 30 months ago, you will see that I did actually rebuild a complete front corner, with the aid of a borrowed 'porta power' and a large sledge hammer.

Sat Mar 20, 2010 9:24 pm

are crankshaft position sensors much new?

sounds like something else worth replacing before the engine goes into use

Sat Mar 20, 2010 10:01 pm

Brianmoooore wrote:Haven't bought one for a year or two, but I discussed fitting one to a trailer tyre fairly recently with my tyre supplier. Turned out it wasn't needed, but he didn't suggest they weren't available.

As far as I know, these days it's a case of either repairing a puncture where possible or buying a new tyre. Hopefully Dezzy will be along to set the record straight.

I'm sooo not surprised at you rebuilding cars at the roadside, lol.