Cam / Timing Belt Replacement / Service

The Cam belt is also known as the timing belt . The belt is located at the front of the engine and is used to drive the camshaft in time with the crankshaft. It can also drive the water pump and oil pump on many engines. The belt is made from a very special reinforced rubber and has teeth on it so that the timing is always kept correct.

Being made of rubber and nylon, the belt gets old and weakened by both use and time and may break if it is not changed. In addition to the belt there are tensioners and other components that the belt runs over. If these are not changed at the same time, the bearing in them can collapse and cause them to stop turning. If this happens a brand new belt can fail in just a few kilometres. Be very cautious of a anyone who claims they can change your cam belt for a very low price – they will more than likely do exactly that and change the belt only.                                                                  
                                                                 
In the case of engines that have the water pump driven by the Cam belt (most of them) the water pump is located behind the Cam belt. If it were to fail or start to leak, the amount of technician time to replace it is identical to that used to replace the cam belt. As the technician fee is around the $350 mark it usually makes good sense to change it at the same.

The cost of changing a Cam belt correctly is between $450 and $1400 with most coming in between $600 and $800. The technician fee is normally fairly constant -  it is the cost of the parts that can vary dramatically. The only way to get an accurate idea is for us to prepare an estimate for you.