International Lancia Forums

Can somebody tell me after how many kms (miles) should I replace the engine belt?
When I asked a service guy he said after 80-90k km, however, I'm still not sure. It sounds too much to me.
And what about timing (toothed) belt (for camshafts)? After how many kms?

Radan

Hello Radan

I can tell you for sure than the replacement for a 20VT is every 80.000 km.
The non turbo 20V is every 100.000 km - I am 99% sure of this but someone else please confirm.
Perhaps it depends if the Kappa is from before or after the 98-update?

I agree that 100.000 km sounds a bit too close to a engine torn appart. The 20V and 20VT engine is tough but I doubt it could survive at broken timing belt...
Surely I will recommend that you do NOT wait until your car reaches 100.000 km (if this km is correct?). Perhaps just change the timing belt at the service interval before LANCIA/FIAT's recommendation.

Karsten (before I wrote KM)

Hi Karsten, KM. Something i had wondered myself. Mine (20vt) has around 40000km since the last change, but I would not take it anywhere near 80000. I will change it at around 50000km. Not worth the risk of a broken engine.

Lindsay

Hello Lindsay

We bought the car 2nd hand 3 years ago at 73.000 km.
The car dealer made the "80.000 km big time service" (including timing belt) for free when we bought it. Next year we will surely have the timing belt changed at servicing (one service interval before recommended).

If I understood correctly, although servicers say to replace the engine belts after 80.000 to 100.000 km, it is recommended to do it after 50.000 km.
That figure sounds more realistic.
Thanks

I am generally amazed at these figures, because the other brands tend to have recognised the problem and are designing their engines to allow for much longer time-belt interval changes (120.000 km), even going back to the good old chain instead of belts. And Fiat apparently goes the other way; knowing a Kappa (2,4 LS) belt change costs at least 700 euros, that (read this somewhere) the Coupe Fiat needs the engine removed(!) to change the belts, this is ridiculous. I was at a local Fiat/Lancia dealer the other day to see that they even have posters recommending a belt change every 80.000 km (but preferably sooner...) or 3 years maximum on the brand new Grande Punto! It almost sounds as the usual commercial principle that your sell at zero profit but make your income on the after-sales service and maintenance.

I bought a Beta HPE last year, though with only 72.000 km on the clock it still had the original 1986 belt in place. I currently drive a kappa 2,4 whose last belt change dates back at least 75.000 km (if not 185.000 km). Knock on wood, but I feel the intervals recommended by Fiat are commercially motivated.

3 years maximum on a brand new Grande Punto sounds completely ridiculous!

Saddly it is correct that the 20V and 20VT Coupe Fiat needs to have the engine removed because they had to use something like a shoehorn to squeeze it in. As far as I have been told the same thing goes for the Fiat Marea 20V.

I believe that the reason why Fiat, Lancia and others have these quite early service intervals for the timing belt is because they won't promise that the belt can last longer.
An example is Opel who (here in Denmark at least) has had alot of problems with their timing belts during the last couple of years. Service intervals were 120.000 or 100.000 I don't remember, but the timing belt got ripped to pieces before that... suddently Opel and their customers where in the middle of what seemed like total warfare on who had to pay for all these new engines. The cars were of course past the factory guarantee and that hasn't made things easier.
Fiat doesn't wanna go there and because of this they have probably lowered the expectations for the timing belts.

I have no experience of the 20v engine, but many a Thema 16v has met an early end because of the cambelt breaking. One mistake is people don't change the bearings at the same time. So a nice new belt can snap anyway because the bearing siezes.

Certainly wouldn't take the risk of running one more than 50k, although I have to agree with Radan that there is a commercial motivation in all this.

A lot of modern engines are built to survive belt breakage, with hydraulic tappets etc.
Maybe Fiat have taken these steps in the Kappa / Fiat Coupe20v(t), I'm not sure - anyone??
Incidentally, I snapped a belt on my 8V Thema Turbo, and it survived with no bent valves or any other damage, even after trying desperately to restart it before I realised the belt had gone!
Lucky or designed in, I wonder.
Justin

Well I certainly have no plans of testing this with our Lancia