Volvo 144 timing belt replacement, made easy

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Our expert insights into timing belt replacement

What does a timing belt do?

It is a vital engine component with a key role to play in keeping your motor running smoothly. It ensures the top and bottom halves of your engine rotate precisely in time with each other.

Symptoms of a malfunctioning timing belt

Like most car parts, your timing belt will wear out eventually due to cracking, snapping or tearing. If a grinding or squeaking noise is being emitted from your engine, it could be a malfunctioning timing belt.

What happens when we replace your timing belt?

Our efficient and fully qualified mechanics will replace your timing belt kit and water pump.

Daniel, from LondonDaniel, from London

Hey Fixter, how often should a timing belt need replacing?

It depends on your motor’s age and condition, but on average, you might need a new belt every 3 to 5 years, or after 40,000 or 60,000 miles, whichever comes first. Request an instant quote and we’ll check with your car’s manufacturer.

Collection and delivery - anywhere

How Fixter works

Simply book online and we'll handle the rest

How fixter works

How Fixter works

55 secs
First accordion item imageBook now, pay later

Upfront, fair pricing, with free collection & return and no hidden costs. Our in-house experts will then choose the ideal garage to work on your car.

Accordion item 2 imageWe drive your car to the best garage

A fully-insured Fixter driver will pick up your car, whenever and wherever works for you. (If you’d prefer to drive your car to the garage yourself, that’s not a problem!).

Accordion item 3 imageWe return your car the same day

Our in-house experts will keep you updated, and your card is only charged once all work has been satisfactorily completed and approved by our team. Your driver will then drop the car back when it’s convenient for you.

Our reviews

Takes a lot of stress away

I would definitely recommend this company: knowing someone was keeping an eye on everything to make sure I wasn't being overcharged for parts and labour takes a lot of stress out of having the work done. I felt really well looked after. Thank you Fixter.

Kathleen Hodge, West Yorkshire

Excellent service

Excellent service. On time to pick up my car & drop it back. Full service cost £179, main dealer quoted me £700-lots different!

Muhammad, Birmingham

Total game-changer!

Just had my MOT done through Fixter for the first time. It took about 5 minutes of my time in total to book, hand over the key, and get it back when the car was returned. So I was able to carry on looking after my 2 year old. Total game-changer!

Oliver Woodford, London

No need to drive to a garage

Can't get more convenient than someone turning up, taking the car from the house for its MOT and returning it a few hours later. No having to drive to a garage (often miles from anywhere or in the middle of an industrial estate) or hanging around waiting.

Darren, Pontefract

I literally cannot fault them

This is the 3rd time I have used Fixter and I recommend to everyone. It makes getting an MOT super easy for me. Everyone I speak to on the phone is incredibly helpful and polite, and they seem to be the most cost effective. I literally cannot fault them.

Julia M, Bristol

Want to learn more about Volvo 144 timing belt replacement?

What does a timing belt do?

The timing belt, or cambelt, is a vital engine component with a key role to play in keeping your motor running smoothly. It ensures the top and bottom halves of your engine rotate precisely in time with each other.

Essentially, this ribbed rubber belt with teeth synchronises the crankshaft and camshaft’s rotation. It controls the sequencing and timing of the opening and closing of the valves on the cylinders in your engine to provide the right combustion.

Camshafts, made up of the main journals, the lobes (or bulges) and the ends, control the valves in the cylinder head. A rocker head takes the spinning motion of an overhead camshaft and turns it into the movement that opens and closes the valves.

Timing chains essentially perform the same function as cambelts but may be slightly noisier. The chains generally last as long as the vehicle (and generally require less frequent replacing), although the plastic guides they run over may not.

Volvo

Volvo Cars is a Swedish luxury vehicle manufacturer, established in April 1927, over 90 years ago.

With around 645k cars on the roads in the UK today, Volvo is a considerable contributor to the UK motor industry.

With a steady rise in status from the boxy estate models popular in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, Volvo now produces a strong, executive range of luxury, performance vehicles.

Luxurious executive saloons, estate cars and SUVs

Sticking to the market they understand best, Volvo produces a small range of estate cars and a selection of bang-on-trend SUVs, complimented by 2 luxury saloon models. In other words, Volvo makes cars for ‘grown-up’ drivers where it knows its customers inside out.

Volvo: Exceptional aims for in-car safety

One of Volvo’s key visions is to provide a level of unrivalled safety inside their vehicles and has proven to be a dedicated leader in the field. Their current vision is that nobody should be seriously injured or killed in a new Volvo car by 2020.

Pursuing perfection through Volvo technology

The ethos behind Volvo reaches further than just selling units and making a profit. By putting their customers first, they have committed to creating vehicles where ownership gives quality time back to their drivers, are environmentally efficient and exceptionally safe.

Using modern technology and striving to develop the systems to lead the field, is something they take very seriously. After all, this is the company that brought drivers:

  • The 3-point safety seatbelt

  • The Lambda Sond emissions detector responsible for reducing harmful fumes by 90%

  • Side impact, whiplash, and roll-over protection

  • Blind spot systems

  • City safety scanning

  • Pedestrian detection

  • Auto-braking

How often should a timing belt need replacing?

There’s no ‘one size fits all’ approach for how often to replace yours—a lot depends on your motor’s age and condition.

There’s also huge variation between manufacturers and different engines. So you might need a new belt every 3 to 5 years, or after 40,000 or 60,000 miles, whichever comes first. Consult your car’s manual—most manufacturers’ recommendations are based on time passed or miles driven, depending on which elapses first.

However, we’d always suggest treating these recommendations as a maximum, and erring on the side of caution.

The law, vehicle regulations, and your MOT

The timing belt will not be examined at your car’s MOT, but the associated issues of running a car with a faulty timing belt can lead to severe engine damage, which can.

What happens when we replace your timing belt?

  • Our efficient and fully qualified mechanics will disassemble the parts of the engine to access the timing belt and proceed to examine the timing belt, the belt’s pulleys and tensioner.

  • Wherever required your timing belt will be replaced and you’ll be advised of any other connected or associated problems arising from its malfunction.

  • You will also be advised of any other parts that may need to be replaced for the best operation and health of your vehicle.

  • Once the timing belt has been replaced, our mechanics will test your car thoroughly to ensure the correct running of the new part and make any adjustments required for its premium operation.

What causes a timing belt to stop working correctly?

Like most car parts, your timing belt will wear out eventually due to cracking, snapping or tearing. Timing belts are also unpredictable, with few warning signs of damage. (Although starting issues and noise may offer clues.) Driving your car infrequently, oil leaks and temperature changes, among other factors, can all play their part.

Symptoms of a malfunctioning timing belt

You hear unusual noises coming from the engine

If a grinding or squeaking noise is being emitted from your engine, it could be a malfunctioning timing belt.

The car won’t start

If your timing belt has broken, this can cause problems with your engine that lead to the vehicle not starting.

Common questions about booking at Fixter

Common questions about booking at Fixter

Who is going to drive my car?

All of our drivers are fully insured and your vehicle is always protected.

We put our drivers through rigorous vetting and training before they are able to drive your vehicle. All of our drivers must have at least 3 years of driving experience, hold a clean driver's licence, be over the age of 21, capable of driving both manual and automatic vehicles and pass a criminal background check.

Your vehicle will be assigned to a driver who is responsible for collecting it from your home, delivering it to the garage and returning your vehicle once all work is completed.

Sometimes we might coordinate with a garage for them to send their own driver to collect your vehicle. In this instance, you are protected as you would be if it was a Fixter driver. 

What garage will my car go to?

One of our in-house mechanics will factor in the make and model of your car, as well as the work that needs doing. They will then allocate your booking to the most appropriate Fixter garage in your area, and we’ll email you to confirm.

Here’s why only 1 in 20 garages pass our selection criteria:

  • We only choose garages registered as a Limited Company, with a minimum of 3 years of trading.

  • We assess each garage's various established affiliations (e.g. Bosch / Unipart / Garage).

  • We perform an online audit: Fixter only selects garages with at least a 4 star customer rating.

  • We make sure to visit each garage in person. Our in-house mechanics evaluate the quality of equipment, staff qualifications, capacity, and technical capabilities of selected servicing centres. Fixter only works with garages which strictly use manufacturer-equivalent parts.

  • After all requirements are fulfilled, we negotiate preferential terms with each selected (including parts, labour, oil, and MOT test rates), so we can pass it along to our customers.

What parts will be used?

All parts used in repairs and services carried out by Fixter are either manufacturer parts or equivalent. This guarantees that only the best quality parts are used in your vehicle. We offer a 12-month warranty, meaning that should anything should go wrong with the parts or labour we’ll take care of it, free of charge. 

How and when do I pay?

We take your card details when you book online, but nothing is charged to your card until all the work has been approved by our in-house experts, and satisfactorily completed.

No extra work will be carried out without your consent. If additional work is required, one of our in-house experts will call you to walk through any diagnostic reports, recommendations or additional quotes from the mechanic working on your car. We check every quote to make sure the work is required and has been fairly priced.

Note: If you need to update your payment details to pay for your booking, the team will send you a secure link to add the new card details.

How does the money back guarantee work?

If your car fails its MOT at one of our garages, but you believe that your car should have passed, you'll have the option to take your car to another garage to do a new MOT test. If your vehicle passes the MOT at another garage, we’ll refund you for the original MOT test that you carried out with us. Collection and delivery fees are non-refundable.

How does the Fixter 12-month warranty work?

All Fixter bookings are covered by a 12-month warranty on parts and labour.

If there’s a problem (with either parts or labour) up to 12 months after your booking date, we’ll sort it out for you, completely free of charge.

Just email support@fixter.co.uk or call our team on 0330 808 9527 and we’ll take care of it.

Note: this doesn't apply to an air con regas as leaks can occur at any time.

Can I cancel my booking?

We understand that things change.

If you need to cancel or change your booking, please let us know asap. Our agents spend time finding you a top-rated garage, which is then booked to take care of your vehicle. In many cases, parts are ordered in advance. As a result, we operate a 72-hour cancellation policy. If you have a confirmed booking with us and need to cancel within 72 hours of the appointment, a cancellation fee of £20 may be applied.

We want to avoid that so our agents will work with you to try and find a new appointment instead. To discuss changing or cancelling a booking, please email or phone on 0330 808 9527.

Our team works Monday to Friday from 8:30 am to 5:30 pm.

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