smedley Posted February 1, 2009 Share Posted February 1, 2009 Hello, This has probably been asked before, but hey, Can the timing belt be changed by an average home user, and if so does anyone have a step by step run thru with photo's, or better still maybe a vid upload on you-tube,,(cant find one on you-tube for a fiesta)...every other car but a fiesta..duh... dont have a haynes, anyways if its not advisable to tackle this yourself, what in anyones view should be a reasonable or average price for getting it done at a garage.? i dont have a clue what the cost should be, and dont want to get ripped off either..i have read a few stories of people having the car back worse and running terrible from the timing belt changed, so i am a bit wary.. Have had a look at the belt itself, surely it cant be to hard a job, or is it.? Has anyone got any video's of doing it.? Thanks smether's.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stef123 Posted February 1, 2009 Share Posted February 1, 2009 Hello,This has probably been asked before, but hey, Can the timing belt be changed by an average home user, and if so does anyone have a step by step run thru with photo's, or better still maybe a vid upload on you-tube,,(cant find one on you-tube for a fiesta)...every other car but a fiesta..duh... dont have a haynes, anyways if its not advisable to tackle this yourself, what in anyones view should be a reasonable or average price for getting it done at a garage.? i dont have a clue what the cost should be, and dont want to get ripped off either..i have read a few stories of people having the car back worse and running terrible from the timing belt changed, so i am a bit wary.. Have had a look at the belt itself, surely it cant be to hard a job, or is it.? Has anyone got any video's of doing it.? Thanks smether's.. it can be tackled by the average person but only if you feel confident, if its the first major job you have done on a car i would let someone else with some experience do it. you will need a few tools to do the job, there is a special locking kit required. you will also need a torque wrench and various sockets. The haynes manual covers changing the belt on a 1.6 2001 focus quite well. Its not a hard job but you just need to take it nice and easy, dont rush it or it will start to go pear shaped. I would reckon to get the timing belt changed including the tensioner and alternator belt you would be looking at £200-£250. but that would depend on engine type/size and model of fiesta really. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smedley Posted February 1, 2009 Author Share Posted February 1, 2009 This fiesta of mine seems to have a single belt running around the alternator and pulleys etc, is that normal.? its a ghia zetec engine. p reg. The thing i dont understand, if its a fairly straightforward not to technical job, why is it so expensive to get it done.? it seems quite a lot for changing a belt and a pulley etc.. smethers... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bottlethroddy Posted February 1, 2009 Share Posted February 1, 2009 This fiesta of mine seems to have a single belt running around the alternator and pulleys etc, is that normal.? its a ghia zetec engine. p reg.The thing i dont understand, if its a fairly straightforward not to technical job, why is it so expensive to get it done.? it seems quite a lot for changing a belt and a pulley etc.. smethers... Someone who has never picked up a spanner may find it far too complicated, whereas someone who is a good amateur mechanic will find it easy. Horses for courses. Garages charge on time rather than complexity, and it is somethimes very time consuming getting to the bits to be changed, especially if bolts are corroded or rounded off. Ive spent an entire day changing a waterpump before purely because it was seized in place, whereas ive changed one on the same model in less than an hour because it just fell out lol. On some cars you have to strip half of the engine off to get at parts as well, and this all adds to the time it takes to do the job. Best advice for you is to get a haynes manual for your car and follow the procedure step by step, and ALWAYS turn the engine over by hand first before you start it up on the key :) Good luck :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mintalkin Posted February 1, 2009 Share Posted February 1, 2009 it sounds like your describing the alternator drive belt not the cam belt, the cam belt will be hidden under covers. if you are it is straightforward to replace. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smedley Posted February 1, 2009 Author Share Posted February 1, 2009 it certainly looks like the cam belt, it runs round the alternator and a load of other pulleys, and a tensioner pulley, surely this must the the cam belt..its a long toothed belt..i've noticed hairline cracks in it, thats why i wondering about replacing it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mintalkin Posted February 1, 2009 Share Posted February 1, 2009 i know this is not a fiesta engine but the following link shows the alternator belt with the timing belt in the background http://tubaneil.googlepages.com/SerpBeltRo...-full;init:.jpg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bottlethroddy Posted February 1, 2009 Share Posted February 1, 2009 it certainly looks like the cam belt, it runs round the alternator and a load of other pulleys, and a tensioner pulley, surely this must the the cam belt..its a long toothed belt..i've noticed hairline cracks in it, thats why i wondering about replacing it. If you can just open the bonnet and see it, its NOT the cam belt. Its the 'fan' belt, or now more commonly known as alternator belt. Its still worth changing though, as on some cars it drives the waterpump which will cause your car to overheat if it snaps, BUT you will get a warning its gone by the battery light on the dash lighting up, so its not as 'critical' as the cam belt. The cam belt is hidden under a cover. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stef123 Posted February 1, 2009 Share Posted February 1, 2009 If you can just open the bonnet and see it, its NOT the cam belt. Its the 'fan' belt, or now more commonly known as alternator belt. Its still worth changing though, as on some cars it drives the waterpump which will cause your car to overheat if it snaps, BUT you will get a warning its gone by the battery light on the dash lighting up, so its not as 'critical' as the cam belt.The cam belt is hidden under a cover. i will second that! the cam belt is under covers for a reason, to stop cr4p getting into it and damaging your engine. The alternator belt is very easy to change unlike the cambelt on the other hand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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