Cam Belt Change Astra 2001

Any tips or pointers with regards to changing the cam belt on a 2001\ 1.6
Ecotec Astra?

Cheers
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«.·°·. DEMON .·°·.»
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do the tensioners water pump & rollers too>
if its done more than 40k since last one.
do it now.

mike

 

Thanks for the reply , is there a kit available or is it a trip down to the
dealer for a ripping off?

 

I am biased being a main dealer but I would always use a genuine cambelt
regardless of the make of the car.

Vauxhall do a kit for your car. It isn't cheap (around £110 incl VAT?) but
it is cheaper than buying the belt, rollers and tensioner separately.

--

Alan


New & used Vauxhall cars & vans, servicing, repairs & parts
www.steeles.co.uk

 

Most motor factors can supply a kit of parts, The one I purchased for my
Omega 2.0 16V was manufactured by Gates. Who I beilieve are a Vauxhall OEM
suppler as the original belt I took off was marked up with gm logo, part
number and Gates logo.

This cost me £70.00 from my local factors and included belt, tensioner and
two rollers

 

Or he could try autovaux.co.uk, I was recently quoted £55 for a water pump
for my Astra Diesel estate from a Vauxhall main dealer.
I paid £19 for one from autovaux, yet their pump looks identical and appears
to be as well made as the original one.
I also paid £45 for a RH engine mount from my main dealer, which I later saw
advertised on autovaux's web site for £16. In your honest opinion Alan are
these products grossly inferior to the original Vauxhall parts?

 

no they do the kits at the dealers (as another msg just said..hehe same
subject)

all in id expect to pay 175-225 (maybe cheaper if you supply parts)

mike

 

From our experience, the problem with non-genuine parts is the
unpredictability of the quality.

I am not saying always buy genuine, only that it is worth checking the
genuine price, quality & availability rather than just buying non-gen
automatically.

There are a lot of good quality non-gen parts out there and there are also
people supplying parts from the same people who supply the manufacturer.
Furthermore, there are also people selling off surplus/obsolete genuine
parts.

Unfortunately though, for every proper supplier there are plenty of cowboys
& crooks as well.

Does anyone remember front wishbones breaking on Cavaliers/Astras? It turned
out to be non-genuine parts being passed off as genuine. ie fakes. They were
cheaper though!

Most people here prefer using Bosch quality wiper blades to something picked
up off a market stall. That one is easy to tell and it is not a major
problem if the part differs slightly in size/fit to the original one.

The question is though, how do you tell with (say) a set of pads and discs?
Will they last as long? Will they stop the car as well in an emergency? Will
they fade after excessive use?

I know I am biased but I value my life and the life of my family and I
cannot afford to replace the engine on my car when the cambelt snaps early!

--

Alan


New & used Vauxhall cars & vans, servicing, repairs & parts
www.steeles.co.uk

 

Point taken I will always buy genuine manufacturers cambelts and oil
filters, like you say it's not worth the risk for the sake of a few pounds.

Having said that is not totally unknown (if some of these news groups are to
be believed) of manufacturers having serious problems with things such as
rollers and tensioners disintegrating well before the specified mileage or
time for a belt change has elapsed, the remedy usually appears to amount to
downgrading the period at which the belt and associated components should be
replaced!

I also have mixed feelings about alternative replacement parts, especially
having been in the domestic electronics service industry for many years, it
was not unusual to find instances such as original video heads wearing out
in some VCRs after only two or three years, with a OM replacement cost of
around 50 quid trade, yet a pattern replacement costing around a tenner
would in many cases outlast the life of the machine!, although other
components such as clutches and idlers IMO never appeared to be as good as
the originals. I suppose it's a question of getting to know which parts one
can use and maintain (and in some circumstances maybe even improve on)
reliability.