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*Important Info* RSC Accessory and Timing Belts


ClioF1

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Due to a number of destroyed engines, emu suggested putting this important information in a FAQ thread.

 

The accessory belt MUST be replaced at 50 000 km or 3 years. This was changed in 2005 from the previous interval of 60 000 km.

 

The timing belt AND accessory belt MUST both be replaced at 100 000 km or 4 years.

 

If the accessory belt is not changed with the timing belt at 100 000 km it is likely to shred and lodge itself under the timing belt, causing engine failure.

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Great idea emu.

 

Please note: 4 (FOUR) YEARS, regardless of kms, is the replacement age for both belts.

 

Its 4 years for the timing belt, 3 years for the accessory belt. If getting the timing belt done at 4 years I would suggest doing both even if you did the accessory belt a year earlier.

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Thats the problem i had, my accessory belt was done only a yr earlier, so when it came to changing my timing belt i was told to use the existing acc belt and just to the timing belt etc. I hope nothing goes wrong, but the owner of Alpine affaire believe the acc belts r normally fine and dont need to be changed with a timing belt unless it is really worn out.

 

Cheers Hash

 

Hash sits and worries that his rcs doesnt go BOOM anytime soon :?

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HASH, it needs to be changed every 50k. If you didn't get it done at 100k with the timing belt I would definitely get it changed. If its on time, it should be ok if was changed a year ago but Renault do recommend doing both at the same time as I've posted above.

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So does the accessories belt require removal for the timing belt to be fitted? I gathered that the problem our member from QLD (sorry to have forgetten your name) experienced was because his old accessories belt was refitted when the timing belt was changed, instead of being replaced.

 

Reason I mention this is that wouldn't Hash's accessories belt have been removed and put back on if it wasn't replaced when the timing belt was done? And if so wouldn't it have been stretched unnecessarily so and therefore be of questionable condition?

 

:?

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I had my timing belt done at 80k due to the 4 yr period coming along. While my acc belt was done at 60k which was only the yr before so i assumed that it had only done 20k and had much more life in it. If anythin was to happen id defenitly be paying Alpine Affaire a visit, but he believes the ACC belt is a good way for Renault aust in making money, as he has replaced a fair few and non showed any signs of tear & wear. I am clueless but, im just repeating what i have been told.

 

Cheers Hash

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My understanding is that once removed the Accessory belt should not be put back. (Bio confirmed in another thread that they are not re-usable).

 

Both my belts were pristine when replaced at 4 years = 30K. But suspect it is not worth taking a risk on, given the cost of catastrophic damage.

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Reason I mention this is that wouldn't Hash's accessories belt have been removed and put back on if it wasn't replaced when the timing belt was done? And if so wouldn't it have been stretched unnecessarily so and therefore be of questionable condition?

 

:?

 

That might be why Renault recommend changing both at the same time because the acc belt has to come off to do the timing belt. Its pretty cheap anyway and would have been a simple parts cost of around $70 from memory seeing as the labour is unavoidable to do the timing belt.

 

HASH, Alpine Affaire may say thats its all for profit but there have been heaps of cases now where the accessory belt has shredded and stuffed the engine! Better to be safe than sorry.

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Also, if the job has been done it is worth checking down the track that the Alternator retaining bolt is done up tight. I had a slightly louder idle about 6 months, 5K, after the job. Had almost concluded it was due to A/C bearings then noticed the bolt sticking out by about 20mm. Had this have let, go even though the alternator appears to be a tight fit, suspect it would have "thrown" the belt.

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Another important point: It is not always the belt that goes.

 

My engine was destroyed, and the belt itslef was still intact. The Belt comes in a kit complete with pulley wheels, this was the part that failed on my car, basically expoled, causing belt to slip.

 

So just because the belt looks ok, remember ther are other components in the maintenence kit that are prone to failiure.

 

Here endeth the lesson.. :news:

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Knoche could u please take a pik of bolt that i have to check, because my car has been idle'n very high for about 3 months

 

Sorry Hash running out of time cos flying interstate in a day (and haven't yet mastered posting pics) but if you look at back of alternator there is only one large bolt head - (think its 15mm the one that I don't have in my socket set so had to use the equivalent inch) Mine was sticking out, should be virtually flush. Hope that helps, idle speed was normal, just a bit louder prob would not have noticed with the sound system on.

 

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In reply to the question of reusing the accessory belt. Its my understanding that once tensioned these belts should not

be replaced once removed. I've been browsing through the Renault tech bulletins that are part of Dialogys and this

point is repeatedly made. It may be overkill in many peoples minds, and you may get away with it for years, but

its a relatively small cost compared to rebuilding an engine.

 

And YES, you do need to remove the accessory belt to replace the timing belt on both the F4R and F7R motors.

 

When changing the timing belt you also need to change the belt tensioner bearings. These are included

in the complete kit that is available for both engines.

 

cheers, :D

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Ok, so that's the belt and bearings included as per the basic kit - $229 and accessory belt - $32 (plus 7 hours labour - $110/hr) ( all Brissy prices)

but what about the other bits

Tensioner - $536

Idler Pully - $137

Grand total $1799.10

Are these extras "MUST CHANGE" Items or are the Brissy dealers trying to fleece us?

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well this is what the Springwood and Goldoast service centres told me - " The basic kit has the belt and a couple of bearings but you need to also replace the other bits that are extra to the kit" as priced above

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well this is what the Springwood and Goldoast service centres told me - " The basic kit has the belt and a couple of bearings but you need to also replace the other bits that are extra to the kit" as priced above

 

Call Renault customer service 03 9797 4303 or1800 009 008 but ask for a Technical Advisor (insist). Ask about what comes with the Timing Belt Kit. If there are extras required then there are a lot of peeps running without them and some-one will need to accept liability for that.

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had a conversation with a machanic on the weekend in regards to timing belt services. Is it necessary to replace water pump in the timing belt service?

 

No, unless of course its knackered. But its not a requirement of the timing belt service.

 

:D

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had a conversation with a machanic on the weekend in regards to timing belt services. Is it necessary to replace water pump in the timing belt service?

 

No, unless of course its knackered. But its not a requirement of the timing belt service.

 

:D

 

thx bio

 

do you think it is worthwhile of doing it?

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Maybe you should replace the whole engine it would only be an extra 1700 on top of the timing belt cost while ur at it. I love how ppl always say its only an extra $100 or $200 it ends up being like 30% increase on the cost of something so small, if u get what i mean . :?

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I can see Portal's point, with the timing belt off its dead easy to get to the water pump and replace it, the

extra cost would really only be the cost of the part and maybe 30 mins extra work, whereas replacing

a pump by itself would probably entail a few hours labour at a minimum.

 

From my position though its only worthwhile replacing when they need to be replaced. Pumps normally

give some sign that they are on the way out, noise, water leaks etc so if your aware you'll normally

catch it before it sh*tes itself and overheats the engine and even then as long as you switch off straight

away as soon as you see the temp heading towards the sky theres no real harm done.

 

When the timing belt is off get the mechanic to check the pump out. If its marginal or at all iffy replace it.

 

Cheers, :D

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Maybe you should replace the whole engine it would only be an extra 1700 on top of the timing belt cost while ur at it. I love how ppl always say its only an extra $100 or $200 it ends up being like 30% increase on the cost of something so small, if u get what i mean . :?

 

Way to exaggerate something, maybe do your math again...

 

Like I said, you don't need to do it. It's just an option, as the water pumps are a prick to get to on the RSC.

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I had similar experience but other way round so it was an easy choice. Water pump was going (on Ford Laser) and we changed the timing belt at the same time - car has 250,000 kms.

 

However, in your case, It is a little harder ... just need to use your head and do some research and think whether you will sell your car before it 'may' need changing. Not saying it needs changing but yes, it is a lot of guess work unfortunately.

 

I have not heard of many water pumps failing on these cars as it is a relatively new car. Maybe the French built something good ! It is a small price to add to the service if you intend to keep the car for another 150,000 kms but not worthwhile if it does not need changing.

 

Get the mech to look at it, hopefully he will say, "no probs, that is a piece of cake to check" and "no need to change mate."

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I'm getting the 100k service done on my car and was quoted:

$550 in parts, plus

$70 for auxiliary belt

$430 Labour

Thats a grand total of $1050

Does this seem right..?

plus i'm getting my manifold match ported and install and tune of a unichip, which is the exciting part, that i'm thinking about! :)

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We just had some warranty work completed on our 172, and the water pump was found to be "leaking" and was replaced under warranty... also changed/replaced was the power steering pump (again, "leaking") , the alternator, and the LH front strut. Also listed was "alternator noisy/drive belt" and "replaced serp belt"... what's a "serp" belt??

 

Thank god for the extended warranty is all I can say!

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We just had some warranty work completed on our 172, and the water pump was found to be "leaking" and was replaced under warranty... also changed/replaced was the power steering pump (again, "leaking") , the alternator, and the LH front strut. Also listed was "alternator noisy/drive belt" and "replaced serp belt"... what's a "serp" belt??

 

Serp belt is serpentine belt, just another name for the auxiliary/accessory/ "fan" belt. Check to see if the tensioner for the accessory belt has been replaced too, this has been a problem on some Meganes, indicated by a slight squeal on startup.

 

Depending on the age of the car too, I'd want them also to replace the RHF strut if they are replacing the LH side, if it has over 40K km, the wear would be significantly different between them and it would ride/feel odd. I recall on the old school Renault's (1970's) there was a tech note indicating to replace both front shocks if one has gone under warranty and the car has travelled more than 10K km.

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Thanks SiFi - never heard it referred to as that before! I had considered asking them to change the RHS too, but didn't wanna stretch the friendship so to speak... considering I'd gone in there for a totally different reason and then to be told that they'd be replacing all those items on top of that, I was not going to complain! It's running quite well now and can't say that it feels odd at all... if anything it feels better than ever. Mind you, I'm yet to drive it really hard since getting it back a week ago. BTW, it's just racked up about 80K km, and has had its 90K service.

 

Will check on the tensioner :wink:

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We just had some warranty work completed on our 172, and the water pump was found to be "leaking" and was replaced under warranty... also changed/replaced was the power steering pump (again, "leaking") , the alternator, and the LH front strut. Also listed was "alternator noisy/drive belt" and "replaced serp belt"... what's a "serp" belt??

 

Thank god for the extended warranty is all I can say!

 

which dealer did u go for all the warranty fix Dish? Oakleigh or Mentone?

 

my extended warranty will be expire in Oct this year.

 

I wanted to fix everything before it runs out.

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I rang Renault Australia to get some clarity on the whole pricing issue and didn't get much. They seemed to be as confused as everyone on here and pretty much said that "whatever GC and Springwood Renault says is right" and that all the sub $1k price jobs were sub standard because they didn't replace all the necessary components. I said that these prices were from Renault dealers and they should get their act together.

 

is it that dificult?

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  • 1 month later...

i just had my timing belt and accessory belt done today (timing belt kit + accessory belt)

 

came to $796 from Euroserve in Brisbane

 

only thing they didn't do was replace the tensioner on the drive/accessory belt... is this imperitive to be changed? (I asked them to do it, but when i got there, they said that they spoke to Renault who told them that it didn't need doing if it looked fine, so they didn't)

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  • 2 weeks later...
Why the timing belt also? is you car and 03 build?

 

at least you know you dont have to worry about it for another 4 years now

 

 

dec 03 build and I've had the car on the track so it's had a hard life.

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