170K on o.e. Timing Belt, they think its no issue!

[panthermike]

Just need some help convincing my brother and his wife that this isn't good.

Car-'02 Lancer w/ 2.0 engine. from what I gather this engine is an "interference" engine, meaning if the T-belt goes, it's bad news. Car has 170,580 miles as of today.

Now my brother just started going back to school, and will be in school for the next 2 years. He knows he can't afford a new engine or a new car for a while. He seems to get it more than his wife. She says, "my dad's Dodge truck had 315K w/ no tbelt change". I'm pretty sure that's a timing chain though, she doesn't get it.

I'm right aren't I? They should get it changed? I figure it's either $450 for the T-belt, $3000 for a motor or $20,000 for a new car. I'll show them the responses I get here.

 

[Cause4Alarm]

Yeah it needs to be changed!.....but it seems all you can do is laugh and say told you so when that engine turns into a paperweight.....some people just need to learn the hard way

 

[Cause4Alarm]

Oh yeah....don't they have that thing that car owner never read....I think it's called an owners manual, and I think they put this chart like thing in called a maintenance schedule......could be wrong though

 

[bullwinkle]

Yup, sounds like some of my relatives-no good deed goes unpunished!

 

[J_Sap]

You gave your brother the information. He knows it could fail and it is not your car. I wouldn't worry about it anymore. It is not going to cost you anything if it breaks because it is not your car.

Move along with your life and let your brother handle the repercussions of his own actions and take care of your cars the way you want to.

 

[otis24]

Except for the fact that he will be bumming rides from you or wanting to borrow your car. Tell him to change the t-belt now!

 

[Drew99GT]

Show her the maintenance schedule in the owners manual. Tell them 1 more time it needs to be done. Seriously; it's at 170,000 miles on the factory belt?

And the little know it all wifey thinks it's fine? Depending on her personality and your relationship with here and your brother, I'd almost say let it be, and when it goes and pushes the valves through the pistons, tell them "told yea so!"

People that want advice but still think they know - let them be. Worry about your own situation.

 

[John_K]

I've known people with cars that were supposed to have the timing belt changed at 60k miles, they let it go and the belt broke at 75k miles!

And yes, I'll bet she is confusing CHAIN with BELT.

John

 

[maersk]

170k miles? Wow, the US sure is easy on cars. Only some diesel engines have Timing Kit intervals that long. Gassers usually go 50~60k between timing jobs. For a PSA 1.8 16v the kit itself costs under $200(including water pump).

 

[Chris Meutsch]

Uh, living on borrowed time. My buddy never changed his in his 1996 Ranger. It broke at 205k. I pulled it out of the engine and it could not have been used to tie a stack of papers together it was so fragile.

 

[simple_gifts]

A girl @ work roasted her galant @ 140K by not changing the T.B.

She was not knowledgeable that it was regular maintenance; I felt bad for her.

To be informed and just ignore it, well.....

 

[daves87rs]

170k! Nice!

And here I am stressing out about a serp belt that needs to be replaced soon (still looks pretty decent)


Goodyear gatorback on the way....

 

[Turk]

Uh, yea, tell them to change the Timing Belt. Tell them I said to change it, now!!!

 

[UNC017]

Originally Posted By: panthermike
He seems to get it more than his wife. She says, "my dad's Dodge truck had 315K w/ no tbelt change". I'm pretty sure that's a timing chain though, she doesn't get it.


The only Dodge trucks to ever have a timing belt were the ones with the 2.5 SOHC 4-cylinder (the pre-Jeep 2.5, the Jeep pushrod 2.5 used in later Dakotas has a chain).

They're definitely risking a big expenditure. Although its tempting to laugh and say "told ya so" when (not if) it happens, maybe you should politely explain the difference between a chain that's oiled internally and can last a half-million miles versus a belt that's exposed to air and is supposed to be replaced every 100k (generally speaking- some more often, some less).

 

[CATERHAM]

What the car worth?
$450 seems a bit high for the job; nevertheless, is that the only maintenance item that has been ignored? I doubt it.
If you added up the cost of all the over due maintenance and subtracted it from the cars value, I might be a better value to simply buy an AAA membership.

 

[Virtuoso]

Tell them to change it.

Then let them live and learn if they don't. Sucks watching it happen to family, but hey, what do ya do..

 

[ARB1977]

When in doubt change it out. I went 30K over on my Tacoma with no issues. 90K I pulled the cover off and still looked new.

 

[Bob Woods]

If the car is worth it change it, I just bought a 2000 Honda Accord with 154K on it with no proof of when the belt was changed, so I had it changed to the tune of 700 bucks, better that than a new engine @ 3500 or more. I've changed a few timing belts and I swore I would never buy another car with a belt, but this was such a good deal I just couldn't pass it up.

 

[panthermike]

Thanks for the input fellas, all very good points.

I agree w/ what most of you have said, I can only do so much. The rest is up to them, and "I told you so", may be in order. It's just hard when it's family.

My main goal of this thread was to prove to my brother that it's not something you should do, but something that you MUST do. Cause4alarm, I didn't even think about the owners manual. If they still have it, I'll have them look at it.

BTW, how do you all feel about aftermarket T-Belt kits? I saw a Gates kit including WP for $73 on Rockauto, which seems suspiciously low. Or there was a Goodyear kit for $152. They also had Dayco and ACDelco.

 

[Virtuoso]

Gates makes great belts and hoses.