[dhanushs]

They have assumed that timing belt failure has lead to valve/head damage. However its worth checking, weather if its really damaged and needs replacement.

Who knows, you might be lucky!


Also, from my experience, a tip for new used car owners:
Change ALL the consumables, irrespective of the kilometers, or the odometer or anything. Just change all the fluids, belts, pads etc. I will even suggest changing the wiper blades. and run a thorough check up on the mechanicals, and ONLY THEN use the vehicle for daily purpose, let alone long drives.

After all one has got a heafty discount when compared to a new car, so it only makes sense to replace these, if the vehicle is intended for personal use.

[nishad.hameed]

Originally Posted by coolclouds

Did you check that the ODO on your car is genuine?
(I replaced TB on my lancer at 100K service)

Most probably. I have cross checked the reading an year ago at the dealership. A 5 year vRS can't be driven more than this on a usual scenario.

Originally Posted by octane1002

.

Also I do not see other essentials to be changed considering the high mileage of your RS, i.e., alternator belt/water pump etc., or is that all included under the TB repair kit itself?

no, they haven't considered anything else.

Originally Posted by dhanushs

They have assumed that timing belt failure has lead to valve/head damage. However its worth checking, weather if its really damaged and needs replacement.

Who knows, you might be lucky!

.

Yes, it was prepared with the probabilities. They have learned from the last similar case and assumed.

I still believe I'm lucky. I missed a drunken man on the NH5 inside Orissa. thanks to the opposite driving till AP border. Thank God, it was a just miss.

[ritedhawan]

Hard luck , mate. No one would like to be in your position, timing belt broken , and that to on the highway. I fully commiserate with you.

I had a similar experience at the end of last month in my Opel astra--threat linked to it:-http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/techni...ming-belt.html

Fortunately for me, as i later came to know, the problematic timing belt had its teeth missing and that it had not broken. The engine block and head has been inspected , no damage on that front. I have recently been told by my prefered mechanic that the problematic part which caused the eating of teeth of timing belt is : crank-shaft pulley!!. I have been told that a new water pump, oil pump, timing belt,crank-shaft pulley .. etc needs to be procured, estimate being Rs. 20,000 in total. My problem is procurement of parts.

In your case, i would advise --since the bill is running above 1 lakh -- to procure parts from outside, and more importantly get a reliable and skilled mechanic to get these parts installed and from him get the adjustment of camshaft and crank shaft once the timing belt is straped on done to your satisfaction. It will cost less.

The authorized service center(ASC) people are usually good only for car service not for complex jobs--baring a few exceptions. These people have neither time nor skill to invest in problems that are cumbersome and when they are brought to bear upon problems , they usually do a shoddy job of it! Not to mention, that they 'll bill you for that shoddy job , exhorbitantly!! . Moreover, the horror tales of the 'notoriety of skoda' are in abundance , which should make you a bit cautious in your approach.

Coming back to my car problem of parts procurement. Well, on that front my prefered mechanic has re-assured me that he'll get all parts---whether new or salvage--- in one week and get the car running , as early as possible and i have complete trust him, not to mention the job will be done satisfactorily and without the risk of being a whole lot expensive.

[octane1002]

Originally Posted by nishad.hameed

I have cross checked the reading an year ago at the dealership. A 5 year vRS can't be driven more than this on a usual scenario.

From what i can make out from your opening post its a 05 Octy RS that you speak of.Thats easily over 6 years and counting at the very best.Even if city usage in a big metro like Kolkata is assumed to be a normal 1500km/month it would still easily have clocked upwards of a lakh of kms.
Im glad that you checked the odo reading over a year ago..but what sort of running the car underwent after the last recorded reading and more importantly after the change in ownership..you never can tell.

While they are at it, do get the the water pump replaced as the plastic impellers are known to give way at some point of time.It'll save you the hassle and the expenses later on, as that part is not easily accessible and would require a certain level of dis-assembling re-assembling.

[Sutripta]

Hi,
I feel belts like tyres (and other elastomers/ polymers) also have a timed life, not just Kms run.

In the early days it was a notorious point of unreliability. (On the Fiat 125, one could calibrate the odometer with belt failure). Now with the advancement of silent chain technology, there is a move back to chains.

Regards
Sutripta

[oxyzen]

In my Palio I replaced my timing belt few days back. Then after a couple of days, the Idler pulley (bearing) choked to death. The belt was sliding over the pulley as it had no rolling motion. And there was a screeching noise. Drove not more than 20Km (that too with utmost caution - no revving) before I got the bearing replaced. Now the question is do I need to replace the belt again? The belt was only 100km old. and the last 20km were scary. The belt looked & felt alright.

Originally Posted by goandude

Only on interference engines not on free wheeling ones link Interference engine - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Absolutely!
But how do I know If my engine is interferance type of free wheeling?
One thing I can think of is the compression ratio. If it is too high then most probably it is it is interference type. Any other ides anybody?

The best thing that is possible here is the Chain drive. Kudos to Maruti K-series for providing these. No wonder Japanese are more reliable.

[Cesc]

Skoda recommends a timing belt change at 60k miles or 4 years whichever is earlier. These norms were released by Skoda in 2009. Go to Briskoda - a forum for Skoda owners - and you will find multiple threads mentioning this interval. Skoda officially communicated this to a few owners when they enquired about the change interval.

[MileCruncher]

Originally Posted by oxyzen

In my Palio I replaced my timing belt few days back. Then after a couple of days, the Idler pulley (bearing) choked to death. The belt was sliding over the pulley as it had no rolling motion. And there was a screeching noise. Drove not more than 20Km (that too with utmost caution - no revving) before I got the bearing replaced. Now the question is do I need to replace the belt again? The belt was only 100km old. and the last 20km were scary. The belt looked & felt alright.

Change the belt. No questions asked. The timing belt priced at less than 1k is a very little money to pay for the upkeep of the engine.

Originally Posted by oxyzen

The best thing that is possible here is the Chain drive. Kudos to Maruti K-series for providing these. No wonder Japanese are more reliable.

Please don't think that Chain drive engines are better. Chains get extended and loose timing. And if a chain breaks, god save you ! Only plus point is chains last for 100k Kms in place of 60k for belts.

Originally Posted by Cesc

Skoda recommends a timing belt change at 60k miles or 4 years whichever is earlier. These norms were released by Skoda in 2009. Go to Briskoda - a forum for Skoda owners - and you will find multiple threads mentioning this interval. Skoda officially communicated this to a few owners when they enquired about the change interval.

60K Miles means 100k Kms. And the belt snapped before the 100K interval.

[nishad.hameed]

Originally Posted by Cesc

Skoda recommends a timing belt change at 60k miles or 4 years whichever is earlier. These norms were released by Skoda in 2009. Go to Briskoda - a forum for Skoda owners - and you will find multiple threads mentioning this interval. Skoda officially communicated this to a few owners when they enquired about the change interval.

Yes, it failed before the skoda recommended interval. can we then say that skoda has a role on my fate?

[goandude]

Originally Posted by oxyzen

But how do I know If my engine is interferance type of free wheeling?
One thing I can think of is the compression ratio. If it is too high then most probably it is it is interference type. Any other ides anybody?

You are right, all diesel engines are interference. As for petrol, some are and some are not, so you need to search for it.

Originally Posted by MileCruncher

Only plus point is chains last for 100k Kms in place of 60k for belts.

In my reading, the chain lasts the life of the engine, only the guides, tensioner and (while you are at it) the water pump need to be changed.

[Ardy]

Nishad: Quite sorry to hear about the incident. Go ahead and get the work done at Mahavir, Vizag. They are quite decent in their service.

Originally Posted by Sutripta

Hi,
I feel belts like tyres (and other elastomers/ polymers) also have a timed life, not just Kms run.

Sutripta

+1 Sutripta.

In fact, the given the heat in India, the prescribed life of the part such as timing belts should be taken with a pinch of salt.

Cheers,
Ardy

[octane1002]

Originally Posted by nishad.hameed

Yes, it failed before the skoda recommended interval. can we then say that skoda has a role on my fate?

Recommended interval is 60k or 4 years whichever is earlier.

Also adding to the point cesc made, the recommended interval in UK might after all be different to the recommended interval in a country like India where all the heat and dust play quite a role in the durability of parts.

[Sheel]

One of my good friend owns a vRS and a Fabia (besides a host of other automobiles) in Calcutta and as per him Jiah Auto is no good. They have literally destroyed his Fabia and are about to ruin his vRS.
I myself was supposed to go for the Fabia, but the dealer's bad name (they operate in Siliguri as well, by the same name) did for me.

The Yeti can wait till Skoda doesn't sort this dealership out or get a new one.

[ACM]

Replaced my Laura TB at 60k kms as recommended. Along with this they also check for a replace some other bearings / pretentioners the total cost if I remember correctly was around 13K.

In the Safari I kept replacing the best every 40k kms yet had a failure around 135k kms with the associated bent valve head and the associated cost - thankfull was in the city then.

Yep rubber parts should be replaced as recommended by the manufacturer. But we need to note there is also a time limit the stuff not just kms.

If one happens to do work on one or the other engine part and if this requires removal of belts this procedure can tend to reduce the life of the belt / rubber pipe so in this case would recommend changing those as well at the time if they are beyound half life and if not then at 75% of the life. - Just lessons learnt from mistakes with cars. There is no rule of thumb but prevention is definately better than cure after disease.

[Cesc]

Originally Posted by MileCruncher

60K Miles means 100k Kms. And the belt snapped before the 100K interval.

The recommended interal is 60k miles or 4 years whichever is earlier. The car is more than 5 years old so the change was long due.

Originally Posted by nishad.hameed

Yes, it failed before the skoda recommended interval. can we then say that skoda has a role on my fate?

It did not fail before the interval recommended by Skoda. The time interval was long past. Moreover the odo could easily have been clocked back.

The first thing one should check while buying such an old Skoda is wether the timing belt has been changed or not. Even if there is slightest of doubts one should get it changed immediately on purchase.