Skip to main content

Launching in Surrey

Engine repair quotes

Engine jobs range from a planned cambelt change to tracing an oil leak, a misfire or a turbo fault. Choose the job from the list if you know it. If you only know the symptom, a diagnostic job asks a garage to find the cause first.
Post your engine job

Post the job free with your registration and postcode. Garages on Matchanic can see it and choose whether to quote, and you only go ahead if you accept one. Matchanic is new and launching in Surrey, so there may be few or no garages on Matchanic near the car yet.

Signs your car may need this

  • The cambelt is due, by date or mileage, in the handbook or service book.
  • Oil spots under the car, or a smell of burning oil.
  • A misfire: the engine shakes, runs unevenly or hesitates, often with the engine management light on.
  • Loss of power, or a new whistling noise from a turbocharged engine.
  • Blue or white smoke from the exhaust, or coolant going down with no sign of a leak.
  • A knocking or rattling from the engine.
  • More vibration than usual at idle, which can be a worn engine mount.

Jobs you can ask garages to quote for

The jobs you can choose for this when you post. Pick the one that fits, or the closest, and add the detail under ‘Anything else’.

  • Cambelt (timing belt) replacement
  • Cambelt and water pump replacement
  • Timing chain replacement
  • Head gasket replacement
  • Engine mount replacement
  • Rocker cover gasket replacement
  • Sump gasket replacement
  • Oil leak repair
  • Crankshaft sensor replacement
  • Camshaft sensor replacement
  • Injector replacement
  • Injector seals replacement
  • Ignition coil replacement
  • Throttle body cleaning or replacement
  • EGR valve cleaning
  • EGR valve replacement
  • Inlet manifold replacement
  • Swirl flap repair
  • Turbo replacement
  • Turbo actuator repair
  • Intercooler replacement
  • Intercooler pipe or boost hose replacement
  • MAP sensor replacement
  • MAF sensor replacement
  • Auxiliary (drive) belt replacement
  • Belt tensioner replacement
  • Crankshaft pulley replacement
  • Breather or PCV valve replacement
  • Carbon cleaning
  • Compression test
  • Misfire repair
  • Engine rebuild
  • Engine replacement

What affects the price

Each garage sets its own price. These are the things that usually make the difference.

  • The engine’s layout. On some cars a part is easy to reach; on others much of the engine has to come apart.
  • Related parts done at the same time, such as the water pump with the cambelt, or gaskets and seals the work disturbs.
  • Parts from the car’s maker, from other brands, or reconditioned for bigger items such as turbos.
  • Labour time, which varies a great deal between engines.
  • What the garage finds once it’s inside. Agree any extra work before it’s done.
  • Whether the car can be driven to the garage.

What to tell the garage

For a cambelt, give the mileage and, if you know them, the date and mileage of the last change, and say if you want the water pump done at the same time.

For a leak, say where the drips are and what colour they are. For a misfire, a noise or smoke, say when it happens and whether a warning light is on. Include any fault codes or findings from a garage that has already looked.

Questions about engine repairs

  • When should the cambelt be changed?

    Your handbook or service schedule says, usually by mileage and by age. The interval differs a lot between engines. Some engines have a timing chain instead of a belt; the handbook says whether it has a replacement interval. If you don’t know when the cambelt was last done, say so when you post.

  • What happens if a cambelt breaks?

    The engine stops. On some engines the valves and pistons can then hit each other and cause serious damage, which is why the change interval matters. A garage can tell you whether that applies to your engine.

  • Why is the water pump often changed with the cambelt?

    On many engines the cambelt drives the water pump, so both are reached with the same labour. That’s why ‘Cambelt and water pump replacement’ is a job of its own. A garage can say whether it applies to your car. The pump on its own is under Cooling system.

  • My engine management light is on. Which job do I choose?

    If you don’t know the cause, choose ‘Engine management light’ under Diagnostics. Once you know what’s wrong, you can post the repair itself from this list.

Related jobs

Start with your registration

Posting a job is free, and you don’t have to accept a quote.

Post your engine job

Matchanic is launching in Surrey. How Matchanic works · Matchanic in Surrey