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Cambelt & water pump change

lfc84

Active Member
Jul 23, 2018
20
12
I have got the following vehicle (details below) ....

MakeSEAT
ModelLEON
Model VariantSE DYN TEC TSI
Cubic Capacity (cc)1197
FuelPETROL
Date of First Registration29/06/2018


...do I need the cambelt and water pump changing ?

If so, should I expect someone to inform me? Or is it entirely up to me to spot such a requirement discussed online....😀

The next service is due 2 July but I can't spare any time to book it in until 25 August.

Based on answers to the above, how long would the work take ?

I've owned the car from new, well it had 28 miles on the clock.

Currently got approx 19,000 on the clock and has always been on "service according to time or mileage (fixed)".

I've got a service plan with Bristol Street Motors
 
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ThatGuyJames77

Active Member
Dec 15, 2020
10
5
Scotland
If I’m not mistaken I believe the timing change interval is in the handbook, it’s something like 6 years or 60,000 miles so you’re a bit off as yet.
 

MattN

Active Member
Jan 1, 2021
26
15
Leeds
Hi. Does this extract from the Seat website help you? The way I read it being that you are covered for 5yrs from new and another 5yrs upon being replaced by Seat. Subject to T's & C's of course.

The water pump is on the opposite side to the cambelt on the EA211.

Your car, your choice, your attitude to risk, and your belief in VW's 'lifetime' belt claims. I won't tell you either way other than inform you that I, being risk averse, got mine done on my 1.2TSi at 5yrs old.

Enhanced Cambelt Kit Warranty (SEAT UK)

Customers now benefit from an extended warranty applying to the cambelt kit parts fitted on new SEAT vehicles during production or subsequently by SEAT Authorised Repairers at the recommended replacement interval during in-service operation. Warranty remains in accordance with the SEAT UK Warranty Guide documentation, except where stated in addition below.

Factory-new vehicles:

  • Five year cover against manufacturing faults on cambelt kit components up to the maximum mileage interval recommended for cambelt replacement.
SEAT Authorised Repairers in-service replacement of cambelt kit:

  • Five1 year cover against manufacturing defects for SEAT Original Parts cambelt kit components* up to the maximum mileage interval recommended for cambelt replacement from the invoice date of purchase of cambelt replacement fitted by a SEAT Authorised Repairer.
  • Applies to subsequent scheduled cambelt replacements on vehicles up to a maximum age of 10 years from date of first registration or twice the maximum mileage interval recommended for cambelt replacement. Reception date for cambelt replacement by SEAT Authorised Repairers must not be greater than 1 month or 1,000 miles past the maximum age or mileage.
 
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SteveGSXR600K1

Active Member
May 6, 2017
588
193
If the 25th Aug date is because you'll be relying on your car, you can ask them for a courtesy car. I paid £12 for the day from a SEAT dealer.

Not sure when it's recommended to change the waterpump on a petrol. On the diesel engines, it's recommended to change the cambelt and waterpump together as if done seperately, you have to take the cambelt off to get to the waterpump.
 

lfc84

Active Member
Jul 23, 2018
20
12
Hi. Does this extract from the Seat website help you? The way I read it being that you are covered for 5yrs from new and another 5yrs upon being replaced by Seat. Subject to T's & C's of course.

The water pump is on the opposite side to the cambelt on the EA211.

Your car, your choice, your attitude to risk, and your belief in VW's 'lifetime' belt claims. I won't tell you either way other than inform you that I, being risk averse, got mine done on my 1.2TSi at 5yrs old.

Thanks for the info about the water pump being on the opposite side. The dealer I spoke to kindly informed me of the same and said no need to get it done at the same time - unless there's an issue wth it. The cambelt has been added to my service booking. They've quoted just over £800 inc VAT for the cambelt.
 
Last edited:

RUM4MO

Active Member
Jun 4, 2008
7,964
1,058
South Scotland
I'm not sure that I like the description of what the "content" is from SEAT's 5 year cambelt warranty, where the real cost and destruction will come from if the cambelt or the newly fitted components fail, is elsewhere in the engine, just removing from the customer any need to pay for a new cambelt kit, is not worth the paper it is written on.

As said already, VW Group claim that these newer cam drive systems are more robust than the rather fragile - due to not very durable cambelt driven waterpumps and maybe an idler pulley, also the belts themselves, which in reality did not tend to be, in earlier engines, the root cause of cambelt failures, are manufactured from better materials.

Also, probably as said already or elsewhere, as the water pump is now driven from a cam shaft via its own small belt, failure of that waterpump drive or just the water pump, will only be just that, as/if the engine temperature gets too high, you should be given a warning and so could stop before permanent engine damage occurs, plus, the axial loading on that later design of waterpump will be a lot lower, in the earlier versions of VW Group belt driven cam engines, the main or heavy load/duty components were the cam belt and so the frontend mounted waterpump was also being treated to being a high load bearing pulley for the belt drive system - and that was not good for the cheap waterpumps fitted - so they could happily fail and bring disaster to the engine.

Edit:- I also will not try to influence you as to when you replace the cambelt, I always got the belt changed at 4 or for later engines 5 years, but mainly that was driven by the knowledge that the small relay pulley/idler that was not included in the VW Group cambelt kit, was typically the first part to fail, followed by the waterpump which again was not included in the VW Group cambelt kit for earlier engines. So, in reality, I ended up getting the cambelt replaced probably as that area of the engine was being opened up to attend to other fragile areas that few people/garages ever discussed that could cause issues.

Keeping the 5 year change period for cambelts has allowed dealerships to prosper quite nicely - note, in the official workshop manuals that VW Group makes available to "outside of the official VW Group service circle", it is stated that there is no stated period for replacing this cambelt now, just periodic inspection after a certain time/distance.

Another Edit:- it seems that some engines, maybe PDI ones, were left on their original cambelt drive "bits" for so long that the belt did indeed start to harden and fall apart - before getting the cambelt replaced - now that is proper "do you feel lucky" territory, not for me.
 
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lfc84

Active Member
Jul 23, 2018
20
12
Dealer has just told me the that there was an update by vwag 3 weeks ago to say cambelts on the TSI engine are now life long 100,000 miles - rather than 5 years.

So it isn't getting done. Ever. 😁
 

SteveGSXR600K1

Active Member
May 6, 2017
588
193
Dealer has just told me the that there was an update by vwag 3 weeks ago to say cambelts on the TSI engine are now life long 100,000 miles - rather than 5 years.

So it isn't getting done. Ever. ?😁
I don't get what's miraculously changed. Have they been mugging us off with the fear factor of it must be changed every 5 years, all this time? I'd never do 100,000 miles in 10 years, when it should really have had two cambelt changes.
 

RUM4MO

Active Member
Jun 4, 2008
7,964
1,058
South Scotland
I don't get what's miraculously changed. Have they been mugging us off with the fear factor of it must be changed every 5 years, all this time? I'd never do 100,000 miles in 10 years, when it should really have had two cambelt changes.
I think that some of this "every 5 years" recommendation is just legacy due to originally weaker cambelts and highly stressed cambelts in the case of PDI and scrappy cambelt t=drive trains, so maybe it was reasonable advise when applied to some engines, but as usual, VW Group UK, the sole official importers of all these VW Group marques into UK, tend to do what they say is make life simpler for owners by applying the advice across the board - and that suits the workshops of their approved dealership chains.
Outside of that, there is not much in the way of positive/helpful/honest content to that advice.
 

Walone

Active Member
Feb 10, 2016
1,624
454
Near Heathrow
I did see a post on Fakebook, someone with a 1.4 Mk3 Leon said the cambelt broke, i think while engine was idling, luckily, or not, it had been changed by a Seat dealer and was still under the Seat 5 year warranty!
 

SuperV8

Active Member
May 30, 2019
1,544
685
I did see a post on Fakebook, someone with a 1.4 Mk3 Leon said the cambelt broke, i think while engine was idling, luckily, or not, it had been changed by a Seat dealer and was still under the Seat 5 year warranty!
Maybe it broke 'because of' an incorrectly torqued bolt by the dealer? maybe it would have been fine for years if they hadn't touched it? Not enough details really to form judgement.
 
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