Cam belt change?

[tommytucker]

Hi Folks
After a break from Seats back into a Cupra 300. Previously 225 bam (240) and a K1 ( 280 bhp). Car has 2 seat stamps and 2 garage stamps BUT no evidence of cam belt change. Mileage is 57K. How much longer would you leave it before having it done? Ball park figs from Indy garage £ ??. Based in the Midlands Looking forward to some meets

 

[SRGTD]

Pretty sure it has a timing chain rather than a cam belt which would explain why there’s no record of a cam belt change for your car.

Edit; this also confirms it’s a timing chain

Seat Leon III (Typ 5F) 3th generation (2012 – 2020) – Timing belt or chain?

Petrol engines ModelPower | Displacement | Cylinder | Engine family- | code Camshaft drive systembelt / chain Seat Leon 1.2 TSI63 kW / 84 hp / 86 PS | 1197 cc | 4 | VW EA211 | CJZB timing belt Seat Leon 1.0 TSI63 kW / 84 hp / 86 PS | 999 cc | […]

timingbeltorchain.net

 

[oldgitdave]

Hi, I'm no expert but isn't it a chain driven cam on those?

Well there we go, beat me to it @SRGTD

 

[H Rafiq]

It’s a chain. My 280 has a chain too. It needed replacing at just over 92k.

 

[tommytucker]

O ok that’s great info - thanks guys. Never had this before- how do you determine the interval for chain replacement then?

 

[H Rafiq]

I wouldn’t change it unless there’s an issue. It’s an expensive job. Most say they last between 80-120k miles. Some say they can even last 300k miles, depending on how they’ve been looked after

 

[Mr Pig]

I thought all timing chains were designed to last the life of the engine? If you've got a chain you really want to watch the oil changes and level as the chain is lubricated by the engine oil and if the oil changes are neglected it can dramatically increase chain wear.

 

[oldglosracer]

Regular oil changes help keep the chain working well.

 

[tommytucker]

Yea thanks- do check oil on a regular basis. It’s a shift from a cam belt being a serviceable item but at least it’s something we can affect by buying the right oil ( fully synthetic I guess??).

 

[Jazzjames]

Rattling at idle is a sign that the chain could have stretched and that catastrophic failure could just be around the corner.

Heard it on my mother in law’s Audi A3, she did nothing, then a few weeks later, the engine ate itself.

*However*
Whilst these issues do still occur with the EA888 engines, the newer cars are a lot less prone to this. My Leon is on 80k miles and the chain is absolutely fine. Official maintenance schedule is life of the engine (leave it alone) or 210k km if you live in a dusty country.

Regular oil changes as said, and only go hard on the engine when the oil is up to operating temperature. You can see the oil temp on the board computer. Not to be confused with the coolant temp!