Month of Myths - #8

Myth 8: The service schedule is just a way for service people to make money.

Your vehicle's service schedule was designed by automotive engineers not service technicians and is the minimum required service interval. Maintaining your car helps keep your driving trouble-free while it preserves your investment. 

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Timing Belts and Timing Chains

Some vehicles use timing belts and others use timing chains to keep the engine synchronized. The timing belt is a reinforced rubber belt with evenly spaced notches, which rotate on matching pulleys. This makes the connection that keeps the upper rotating components synchronized with the lower rotating components. Over time the rubber and reinforcing fibers break down and the belt needs to be replaced.

Each vehicle's specific maintenance schedule will specify when the timing ...belt needs replacing. This interval is the maximum distance or time the belt should be used. The reason we replace it before it breaks is so that the internal engine components that need to move “in time” to each other do not make contact. Once the belt breaks or jumps a tooth, a lot of internal damaged can happen due to the destructive forces of parts hitting each other. When this happens the costs will skyrocket and may lead to complete engine replacement.

The cost to replace the timing belt varies greatly between vehicle manufactures and even the same manufactures different models of vehicles. When it is time for servicing, not only does the belt need replacement but any of the other components driven by the timing belt should be inspected to be sure they will be good until the next service interval.

At Crestview Auto Service our goal is for you to have a safe reliable vehicle, to save you time and money for as long as you own it. Proper maintenance does cost money but it costs a lot less than neglecting the maintenance and having to pay for preventable repairs. Maintenance can be planned for weeks or months in advance, unlike a break down, which usually tends to ruin the day. We look forward to helping you with your vehicle maintenance.

At Crestview Auto Service “We’ll Keep Your Car Young a Long Time”

Jaguar timing chain tensioner failures

Timing chain tensioners are probably the biggest vulnerabilities 1997-2004 Jaguar V8 engines.  The tensioners get old, and the plastic face that touches the chain gets brittle and breaks.  When that happens the chain flops around excessively, until it fails.

There is no warning of this impending failure from outside.  The only way to know if your guides and tensioners are good, is to remove the cam covers and inspect them.  Inspection – if they are good – is a three-hour job.  Replacement of the upper tensioners – if needed – is a day’s work.  Replacement of the lower chain guides is a much bigger job, most often two days of work.

All those costs pale when compared to the bill for repair, if the chain breaks.  That will often run $8-10,000.

The lesson to be drawn from this:  Check your tensioners, and deal with them before they fail.  New tensioners are a few hundred dollars, plus the labor to put them in.  It's a small price to pay for security.

Robison Service takes Jaguar service from all over the northeast.  We've been catering to British car lovers for over 20 years.  Visit us online at www.robisonservice.com

John