timing belt replacement, age or miles?

cgneon · Post by **cgneon** » Wed Aug 28, 2013 5:15 pm

simple question, what would you recommend, belt looks fine,

76k on my 01 12yr old car, original belt, but low miles...

Midnight_Rider · Post by **Midnight_Rider** » Wed Aug 28, 2013 10:41 pm

I'm a big believer in preventative maintenance so, if you have the cash now, I'd go ahead and replace it.

cgneon · Post by **cgneon** » Thu Aug 29, 2013 6:16 am

FYI the car sees less than 3k mikes driving a year.

Danteneon · Post by **Danteneon** » Thu Aug 29, 2013 12:28 pm

Is the car garage kept? While the belt may look fine, it can still be subject to dry rot. I've seen the teeth rip off the belt while the belt itself was intact.

A timing belt/water pump job is cheaper than replacing your exhaust valves if it does fail on you.

nerox · Post by **nerox** » Thu Aug 29, 2013 12:40 pm

Midnight_Rider wrote:I'm a big believer in preventative maintenance so, if you have the cash now, I'd go ahead and replace it.

Agreed ... the rubber which makes up the belt is subject to degradation the same as any other rubber

(ever seen old tyres? they split across the surface pretty bad)

you never know really what condition the belt is really in, take it off and bend it backwards, chances are the splits will show themselves that way