timing belt 1.5 dci

[Phil and Liz]

my manual for an 08 says 6 years or 96k miles, my prev 1.5dci was 72k, i sold that at 70k and 4 year old before it cost me a fortune in more ways than a timing belt.
the 08 therefore is due a belt in march according to age but not mileage, my local dealer is quoting £400, i asked a non renault mechanic i know and he said there is a special tool required that costs £300 to lock the crankshaft, anyone else heard of this ?

anyone got an idea on average cost, i understand they include the water pump as a precaution

anyone tried pushing the time limit on low mileage cars, thing is based on last p/ex offer this a third of the value to keep it on the road after it's paid for, only needs to do another 18 months then the wife retires and we hopefully drop to one car, still have 3 motorbikes though as that is not need but greed !

[hardcore]

The special tool's he is referring to is this https://ccw-tools.com/French-Locking-Too ... 455-41338/ one pin locks the crankshaft at tdc and the other pin locks the camshaft at tdc ,as you can see it doesn't cost £300, timing belt kit and water pump around £80 maybe, it's just the labour cost is the worst part. I've my second belt to get done on my 1.5dci soon but i'll be doing it myself. Hope this helps

Adam.

[morganjake1544]

The consequences of a snapped belt is in £1000's not £100's. Yes they do snap even on low mileage cars. (The week mine was booked in for the job the accessories belt started to fray on the outside).

A good independent will already have the locking tool (and even if they didn't they shouldn't charge you for it!). It's not like Meganes are rare and no one's ever changed a belt before.

A target price with an independent garage is about £250 incl. timing belt kit, water pump and accessories belt. For £250 it's not worth the risk.

Also, when selling your car in the future the price you'll get will be substantially lower if the belts haven't been done. If I was looking for a 7 year old car I'd walk away from one that hadn't been done because I'd think "What else has been skimped on?"

As for p/x prices they are pretty low. When I sold my Megane in June I was offered £1700 by Renault Manchester but sold it for £3450 inside three days via Autotrader (full history including belts changed!) so take p/x prices with a big pinch of salt.

My advice would be to get the job done otherwise you'll be driving like a nun for the next 18 months worrying about stressing the engine.

[DanDCI]

I drive my 1.5dci like a nun anyway, I'm scared something will fall off it or break

[Phil and Liz]

my wife drives mine, luckily we don't have many speed camera's on her route or i'd be dreading the post with pictures of her car, i get the 12 plate tom tom that likes a drink, 110 dci. I have heard of a local non franchise so now i know how much he should be charging. As a further point, my wife asked ' aren't you changing these ?' this is because during the summer i changed the belts on my honda gold wing 1100 flat four

no chance, if i got it wrong on the wing, which i did at first try but was only turning it over with a spanner, then it's me that's at the side of the road with a wrecked engine and most of the bits from the wing would sell on ebay to offset the loss, as for a dead megane, who wants one that's still breathing let alone one that's dead.