155k service - what should be done?

[850 2.5 10v]

I have just ticked over to 155k the service light came on today.

Other than:

Plugs
Oil and filter
Air filter

Ok items:

Dizzy and arm are fresh
Leads are fine
Fuel filter has been done


What about belts?

Should I have the timing belt done? I think it was last done 4 yrs ago or so ago.

What else should I do?

Cheers All.

[nobananas]

If you don't remember exactly when and what mileage the cambelt was done then it's time to do it !

[850 2.5 10v]

I could checkpaperwork ... but the car hasn't done more than 50k in my ownership which is something like 8 years this September iirc and the belt was done inside this time.

Anything else I should have checking / doing?

[jez.w]

Think cam belt may be ok as its good for 8 years or 80k. Check your history

[nobananas]

Think cam belt may be ok as its good for 8 years or 80k. Check your history

Wouldn't dare leave a cambelt that long LOL, don't care what the manufacturers say. Changed mine about 30k-40k ago and am starting to feel a little nervous and planning to change it again soon !

[callyuk]

its an expensive mistake if it snaps

[nobananas]

I remember a few years ago we recovered an Astra with a snapped cambelt. It had 65k on it and the handbook said 'change cambelt at 80k or 6 years'. The vehicle had full service history so we contacted Vauxhall in an attempt to get the vehicle repaired under warrenty. The reply we got was "The service interval for the cambelt change on that model has been changed to 60k, the service schedule in the handbook is out of date, the vehicle does not qualify for repair under warrenty"............nice of them to tell people !

[t5 pete]

i always do the belts at 30k if you can do it your self it doesnt cost alot and its just the peace of mind

[cameron]

My T5 has 134400 on the clock and i have no history of the cambelt being done :grumpy:

Its getting done on Wednesday.

I'll feel better then :B_thumb:

Its also had Dizzy, arm, plugs, oil, and air and fuel filters done.

[850 2.5 10v]

Well that's decided I will add a belt to the list...

[nobananas]

I found a faded'cambelt done' sticker on my T5 last year. It said that the cambelt was changed at 85,000 miles in, get this......1998 !!!!!!!. Now given that my T5 is a 96' and I bought it about 5 maybe 6 years ago with 120,000 on it I think the person who I bought the car off might have been telling porky pies about it's mileage, what do you think !

[rocket ronny]

I found a faded'cambelt done' sticker on my T5 last year. It said that the cambelt was changed at 85,000 miles in, get this......1998 !!!!!!!. Now given that my T5 is a 96' and I bought it about 5 maybe 6 years ago with 120,000 on it I think the person who I bought the car off might have been telling porky pies about it's mileage, what do you think !


maybe not ,plenty of cars do mega mileage in the first three years with the original owner the cars then sold and the average mileage can drop hugely, have you any service history old mot,s etc

[nobananas]

Not a right lot if I remember correctly. Had a few previous MOT's but when I bought it the odometer wasn't working :doh:but the previous MOT showed a lower mileage so I believed the vendor that it had failed recently. To be honest I hate buying cars, being a mechanic by trade I tend to have the attitude that if something breaks on it I'll fix it and don't tend to dig about enough, bad I know, I'm more thorough however if I'm looking at a car for someone else and tend to be more picky then I perhaps need be !

[callyuk]

know the feeling nb im always half arsed when it comes to checking out cars im buying as i know i can fix things but too strict when its for someone else

[nobananas]

know the feeling nb im always half arsed when it comes to checking out cars im buying as i know i can fix things but too strict when its for someone else

Thats because you and I know that if you miss something on someone else's car it will bite you on the ar$e !

[callyuk]

lol very true or we would have the job of fixing it on the cheap lol

[rocket ronny]

If its got a manual box id change the oil

[ageinghipster]

One thing I would do is the washer bottle filter. My 850 started to show washer bottle low on the dash lights at about then, with the bottle full. It turns out that the filter had crystalised up with washer fluid. The bottle is a sod to get to, and from memory I had to take the wing liner out to get to it.:( Still at least the washers started working again which was useful in the winter. I think, (again from memory) that theres one for the rear screen as well, always useful to be able to see.:)

[850 2.5 10v]

One thing I would do is the washer bottle filter. My 850 started to show washer bottle low on the dash lights at about then, with the bottle full. It turns out that the filter had crystalised up with washer fluid. The bottle is a sod to get to, and from memory I had to take the wing liner out to get to it.:( Still at least the washers started working again which was useful in the winter. I think, (again from memory) that theres one for the rear screen as well, always useful to be able to see.:)

I think I will wait for failure!! I always put plenty of screen wash fluid in and use them often so hope that stops bunging up...


I found a faded'cambelt done' sticker on my T5 last year. It said that the cambelt was changed at 85,000 miles in, get this......1998 !!!!!!!. Now given that my T5 is a 96' and I bought it about 5 maybe 6 years ago with 120,000 on it I think the person who I bought the car off might have been telling porky pies about it's mileage, what do you think !

Mine did most of its miles with the first company owner and was serviced religously in that time. Its not unusal for barges like ours to have mileage patterns like this - they were built for doing the miles!! I have done around
50+k in 7 and something odd years.

Its a 1996 N...

It did 105k odd in the first half of its life.

And 50k odd in its second half of its life.

[james]

check the pcv system

check the delta link rear steer bushes

hope this helps

[850 2.5 10v]

I get a little bit of blowback on the filler stick when out.

However (and I know there's a how to) but this is a job beyond me in terms of time certainly and skill probably.

Delta link rear steer bushes - never heard of them tbh but will add to list.

btw I got my front droplinks x 2 and an oil and filter change with Mobil 1 for £50 all in the other week - bargain!

[RollingThunder]

I'd def do the timing belt, together with the tensioner, idler pulley and water pump - get all genuine parts.

I'd also do the PCV hoses - its not difficult, just a PITA to do. It took me a morning to do, well OK about 4 hours or so, but I was taking it steady. Rufe does a kit of hoses and the intake manifold gasket for around £70 for a T5 - not sure how much yours would be. Don't forget to clean the PCV valve itself, and the oil trap drain holes as these frequently get clogged up. Change the oil and filter after you've changed the hoses.

In fact I'd be tempted to do a full stage 0 service checking & replacing whatever you haven't changed as part of your maintenance:

spark plugs
HT leads
distributor cap
rotor arm
air filter
fuel filter
oil filter
engine oil
coolant
radiator & heater hoses
brake fluid
vacuum hoses

If you haven't had your injectors cleaned, and can be without the car for a few days, then it might be worthwhile getting Jim to clean them so that you can do the PCV renewal while the injectors are out? This is what I did and while my injectors weren't that bad, the idle has been smoother since.

Hope this helps :)

[850 2.5 10v]

I'd def do the timing belt, together with the tensioner, idler pulley and water pump - get all genuine parts.

I'd also do the PCV hoses - its not difficult, just a PITA to do. It took me a morning to do, well OK about 4 hours or so, but I was taking it steady. Rufe does a kit of hoses and the intake manifold gasket for around £70 for a T5 - not sure how much yours would be. Don't forget to clean the PCV valve itself, and the oil trap drain holes as these frequently get clogged up. Change the oil and filter after you've changed the hoses.

In fact I'd be tempted to do a full stage 0 service checking & replacing whatever you haven't changed as part of your maintenance:

spark plugs
HT leads
distributor cap
rotor arm
air filter
fuel filter
oil filter
engine oil
coolant
radiator & heater hoses
brake fluid
vacuum hoses

If you haven't had your injectors cleaned, and can be without the car for a few days, then it might be worthwhile getting Jim to clean them so that you can do the PCV renewal while the injectors are out? This is what I did and while my injectors weren't that bad, the idle has been smoother since.

Hope this helps :)

spark plugs - to do but never done myself as I worry about pressure and threads...
HT leads - they are fine
distributor cap - I can do easily
rotor arm - I can do easily
air filter - I can do easily
fuel filter - been done recently
oil filter - just been done
engine oil - just been done
coolant - had a new rad last year I think it was last year..
radiator & heater hoses - could do these if needed
brake fluid - I think it was last year
vacuum hoses - could do these if needed

pcv - tbh I'd rather pay someone to do it!

Timing belt, together with the tensioner, idler pulley and water pump - get all genuine parts - good idea I will price up.

Thanks.

[850 2.5 10v]

Checked back through the thick file of invoices and it appears that I did the timing belt November 2004.

So given that it now 6 years on (in effect 5) and I have only done around 50k in my ownership from 2003 I think I should be ok on this front.

I also had the car serviced back in Sept 2009!! d'oh!

So basically I was just getting a bit over zealous about getting servicing done.

Feeling a bit of a t*t.

[Tomcat]

Feeling a bit of a t*t.

Lol....

[RollingThunder]

Checked back through the thick file of invoices and it appears that I did the timing belt November 2004.

So given that it now 6 years on (in effect 5) and I have only done around 50k in my ownership from 2003 I think I should be ok on this front.

TBH I'd get it done anyway - while the change interval is supposed to be 80k (IIRC) I'd always recommend a 50k or 5 year change to be safe. Mine was changed at 78k 5 years ago, but I'm still changing mine even tho the car has only just clocked up 112k. Just got to find the time to get it done...got the parts, just waiting for decent weather!

[850 2.5 10v]

Its not a job I would attempt myself though...I would want a pro on something like that.

I think what sparked me off was the service light coming on out of sync with my servicing intervals.

Need TC's service reset light tool when it eventually and hopefully reappears...

Cheers