If you don't use it, you don't wear it is my belief. I don't have timing belt. But I ran my serpentine belt until it squealed at 15 years old. Then I replaced it with cheap "fly pig" belt directly from china. If your car runs fine with no extra noises, I think you are OK for a couple more years.
timing belt, what would you do?
- Thread starter diy_fun_uk
- Start date
Sponsored Links
That's a bit young to be driving a car on the road anyway. Ask your Dad.
Last edited:
Sadly, timing belts tend not to make any noises (apart from when they go and you hear the gentle "tinkle tinkle" of your valves mashing themselves into your pistons)!
If he had "tinkle tinkle", I am sure he would have mentioned it. No use no wear still applies.
Sponsored Links
Yeah... it's usually a bit late by the time you hear it! It's not just wear with a cam belt, they also go a bit brittle with time and exposure to oil mist. I do know plenty of people who play "timing belt roulette" though, and more than half seem to get away with it for a good while longer than the specified interval. It's a pity though, that we contribute to the "throw away society" by scrapping otherwise perfectly serviceable cars for the want of a cam belt, but I can understand why people want to take the risk.
No risk no gain. I do low mileage and 10 year oil interval, lifetime (my lifetime) coolant interval. Nothing blows. Biggest danger is exterior rust, and rain and sun washing off paint.
Whatever makes you happy! I do all my own work, so for me, it's a no-brainer because it would be a shame to scrap a perfectly good car for the want of a £25 cam belt. My car will be 33 years old this year (and the paint hasn't washed off yet...)
It's not always the cam belt that breaks. Tensioners, pulleys and water pumps (if timing belt driven) are just as likely to fail.
I do bare necessity own work and I refuse to let anyone else to do work. If it ain't broke, I don't fix it. Mine will be going for 2 accumulated recalls. First they threatened the passenger, next they threatened the driver, and insisted the DVLA is watching me. Fair chance it will be destroyed - they need it back too badly. £25 saved is £25 in the wallet.
Last edited:
I'm lucky. Mine is "old tech". The water pump is still driven by a separate V belt. True, the cam belt has to come off to change the water pump, but the last water pump lasted for 130,000 miles, so I don't lose a lot of sleep over it. Steel impeller and conventional sealing arrangement, so when they fail, they just weep a bit and make a bit of a noise for ages without anything catastrophic happening. I certainly don't change it as a matter of course, when doing a belt!
Tensioner is also very robust. Two, triple-sealed bearings that could pass for wheel bearings on a smaller car! Scrapped my last one at 248,000 miles and the tensioner bearings were still fine. The pulley is steel too. I inspect each time I do the belt, but have never actually needed to change one. Interestingly, it is a DE-tensioner (strictly speaking). It's hydraulic (fed from the engine's oil pump) and as the oil pressure increases, the belt tension DECREASES! Completely counter-intuitive, but it goes back to that thing where the biggest load on it is when the engine first fires up. Belt-driven valvetrains were a bit "cutting edge" when that engine was designed, and they were paranoid about putting too much tension into the belt when the engine warmed up and expanded!
What???!!! Recalls are free! (Assuming they're statutory vehicle safety recalls). What possible justification could you have for not going for a free safety recall?! Crikey, back in the '80s when I was a student, my mate had an absolutely rotten Alfasud that really wasn't going to get through its next MOT. There was a recall for front spring pans and just for a laugh, we took it to the posh Alfa dealership to have the work done. It was so rotten, they couldn't lift it on the jacking points with their 2-poster ramp, but they still had to do the work for us for now't!
Ah, but that's not the calculation! If you save £25 but then have to scrap the car and replace it, there will be a lot more than £25 coming back out of your wallet! The OP's dilemma is that he knows the car and its history. It is otherwise in good condition, so he needs to weigh up the extra money in his wallet (which, to be fair, will be a lot more than £25 if he has to pay someone to do it), against the cost of replacing the car if the belt fails. Clearly, if you're in this dilemma in the first place, you're unlikely to be replacing it with a new car, so you then have the second gamble, on whether what you're buying is actually going to be any better than what you had. The longer you leave it, the higher the stakes.
I don't care for free lunch. I am more concerned with extras being thrown in. I am happy with what I've got, I don't need more, I don't need less.
I am somewhat in tune with machines. So, I would know if the interval is correct after the first change, by assessing the material condition. If the car works fine, and it doesn't get used, then it will stay fine. Also, the manufacturers recommendations will be conservative. With a good condition car, doubling the recommended interval should be fine. If you are able to assess materiel condition, then you can go as long as you want.
Yeah unfortunately (cost wise) I wouldn't be doing the work myself, so it's not a cheap job, especially when combined with service and mot. I say to people 'even if the car costs me £500-£1000 per year to keep on the road, it's still relatively cheap motoring compared to buying a new(er) car. And I stand by that logic. However, and I know this sounds contradictory to what I've just typed, the reason I'm reluctant on doing the belt is because it was only done 4 years back and the car has hardly moved in the interim! No one has a crystal ball, however it's a biggish job to do if it's not really required.
It's always a mixed opinion thing, some say stick with the documented service intervals (which would mean getting it done this year) some say the belt will likely be good for 7-10 years.
Of course, given I don't need a new(er) car, it would be a valid argument to say 'get it done' to further ensure (as far as one can) the car keeps on going for another x years without that specific worry.
VAG group vehicles reckon a 115000 mile change for a timing belt. Leaving it for 230000 mile? I don't think so.
The huge issue for timing belts is the starting procedure, particularly from cold - and they aren't affected by oil as they used to be, and a tortuous belt run is also relevant.
You can get a reasonable indication of the belt condition by looking at it with the belt covers off - particularly where it bends back on itself. Any visible splitting will be obvious there, and also you can see the tooth profile on the outside of the belt when it is well aged. Also, the twist test can give you some clue - if you can twist it more than 90 degrees then it's getting floppy.
My first belt? Escort Mk 3, CVH, 1981. Worst one? A sporty FIAT coupe, can't remember the name!
John
The huge issue for timing belts is the starting procedure, particularly from cold - and they aren't affected by oil as they used to be, and a tortuous belt run is also relevant.
You can get a reasonable indication of the belt condition by looking at it with the belt covers off - particularly where it bends back on itself. Any visible splitting will be obvious there, and also you can see the tooth profile on the outside of the belt when it is well aged. Also, the twist test can give you some clue - if you can twist it more than 90 degrees then it's getting floppy.
My first belt? Escort Mk 3, CVH, 1981. Worst one? A sporty FIAT coupe, can't remember the name!
John
Is VAG group a car maker? I can't imagine any car maker recommending that. They would suggest years. If the maker says xx miles or xx years whichever comes first, then I would say xx miles is fine contrary to the recommendation. If the miles are not reached in 10 years, it wouldn't be terrible to change it for inspection. Then you have a better idea if you can go beyond 10 years. Inspection saves money, dogma doesn't.
Last edited:
Sponsored Links
