mbavers
Senior Member
Amen on the used vehicles being offered-and you didn't mention worn out bearings and leaking seals. I'll being changing the belt; it's just a matter of when.
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Timing Belt
- Thread starter mbavers
- Start date
Truck Shop
Senior Member
That's a given.
sfrs4
Senior Member
Audi's ever strong 1.9tdi pd engine had a recommended change of 4 years 60k miles or 5 years 80k miles depending on which dealership you spoke to. i bought a very rough bodywork A4 with a little under 110k miles on it was assured the belt had been done at 80k. yeah that belt last until about 112k and stripped 4or 5 teeth off, i was so lucky, nothing impacted anything and it just lost a load of power.
OzDozer
Senior Member
At 10 years, despite the low kms, it's the age that matters. And Kevlar and synthetic belt materials don't last a huge amount longer than natural rubber products.
They all crack and perish, and the teeth peel out of the average belt - IF they don't have the cords woven to follow the tooth contour.
Many belts today simply have the tooth profile cut out of a layer of synthetic rubber, and the cords only run in a straight line, following exactly the outer layers of the belt. Good timing belts have the cords following the tooth profile.
I have found Gates (and surprisingly, Mitsubishi) belts are the longest-lasting belts.
The annoying part of many timing belt designs is the ones where the belts are buried in the front of the engine, and which require a lot of dismantling to get at - and the ones that drive multiple ancillaries, not just the camshaft.
Just think - you're getting off lightly - you could have one of those dreadful European machines such as a sh***y Audi with a V-type engine, where the timing chains are located at the rear - and they need to be replaced every 100K kms, as well - and you need to pull the engine out to replace them!!
They all crack and perish, and the teeth peel out of the average belt - IF they don't have the cords woven to follow the tooth contour.
Many belts today simply have the tooth profile cut out of a layer of synthetic rubber, and the cords only run in a straight line, following exactly the outer layers of the belt. Good timing belts have the cords following the tooth profile.
I have found Gates (and surprisingly, Mitsubishi) belts are the longest-lasting belts.
The annoying part of many timing belt designs is the ones where the belts are buried in the front of the engine, and which require a lot of dismantling to get at - and the ones that drive multiple ancillaries, not just the camshaft.
Just think - you're getting off lightly - you could have one of those dreadful European machines such as a sh***y Audi with a V-type engine, where the timing chains are located at the rear - and they need to be replaced every 100K kms, as well - and you need to pull the engine out to replace them!!
Nige
Senior Member
This thread prompted me to check when the timing belt on my car was last changed. I was amazed to discover that it was as recent as 2 years ago, so it'll go for a while yet.....
The interesting thing is, many auto makers ditched the timing belt in favor of a timing chain, because of the bad press about needed to service them.
All one needs to do is search the stories about timing chains, there are many of them that are very lucky to last 100k miles. The job to deal with a timing chain as well as parts costs is many times more than the old timing belts. What has fueled the problem is the influx of over head cam.
I've seen some auto engines with a mass of many timing chains using an in the oil (wet) belt for the oil pump, yeah good idea.
All one needs to do is search the stories about timing chains, there are many of them that are very lucky to last 100k miles. The job to deal with a timing chain as well as parts costs is many times more than the old timing belts. What has fueled the problem is the influx of over head cam.
I've seen some auto engines with a mass of many timing chains using an in the oil (wet) belt for the oil pump, yeah good idea.
Birken Vogt
Charter Member
As long as it makes it past warranty and even better to the 2nd owner, that's all they care about. 2nd owner no warranty belt/chain breaks and lunches the engine, oh well it was just a used car.
mbavers
Senior Member
Thanks everyone for input. Some scary stuff here.
Acoals
Senior Member
Timing belts are only scary when:
1) You let them go for 10 years,
2) You replace them with cheap junk,
3) You don't replace the idlers/tensioner/water pump with the belt.
1) You let them go for 10 years,
2) You replace them with cheap junk,
3) You don't replace the idlers/tensioner/water pump with the belt.
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The best thing a person can do is take care of what you have and try not to think about it. I bought a wrecked 2006 Jeep liberty that had alot of money spent on its transmission . I have been driving it about a year and it takes longer than i like to go into gear then some times it down shifts hard . I would like it to last till the end of this year then i will junk it . I dont have much into it so what ever happens it will be ok.