Put it off long enough i’m getting twitchy as its sounding more and more like a diesel!
Any reccomendations for a place to buy the kit? Does the water pump need doing at the same time?
Have been quoted £200 by a mechanic at my brothers work to get it done. - he has done two or three 1*2’s before with the right timing tools ect.
If anyone knows of anyone else near the Worcester area let me know please!
I have replaced the dephaser, timing belt and water pump on a 172 and would just make the following observations: -
I had not done one before, but took well over the 6 hours that the specialists can do the job in. Its really not difficult, but access is really limited.
As for parts, personally, as these components are so important to the performance and life of your engine, would definitely only fit genuine parts (circa £250 with pump) and you must replace water-pump at same time, for following reasons. If you do this job you will realise that getting to the water pump is easy when you doing the belt, but if you had to replace the pump separately it would replicate a lot of the work (belt off etc). Secondly, if the pump fails which is slightly more likely with a new belt (and extra tension) it could cause the new belt to be damaged, jump and even damage your engine. If you look at the routing of the belt, the water-pump provides essential tension to the belt. Lastly, the days on the existing pump will most likely be ticking. If it starts to leak it could cause the engine to overheat.
Finally, if you understand how the dephaser works (via engine oil pressure) it is worth stating that regular servicing and as importantly use of the correct grade oil is vital to the longevity of the new dephaser. It will pay dividends with these fantastic engines if you service regularly with the correct grade oil.
I hope this helps you to make up your mind, but to me, £200 for labour appears good value, if the person knows what they are doing.
