A coworker recently had the timing belt break while driving her Kia on a 4 lane highway during rush hour. Fortunately, she did not hit any cars and was able to coast off the highway. That alone would have me changing a timing belt.
170K on o.e. Timing Belt, they think its no issue!
- Thread starter panthermike
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I recently changed the belt/pulleys/WP on my 94 Accord (interference engine). Original stuff @ 150k. I replaced it with Gated belts and pulleys and an Aisin WP. The old belts looked great actually, they probably could have gone much longer. One of the pulleys was a little "grainy" when spun by hand -- for me, that would be reason enough to do the whole job! Would not want one of those pulleys to seize...
Originally Posted By: MONKEYMAN
A coworker recently had the timing belt break while driving her Kia on a 4 lane highway during rush hour. Fortunately, she did not hit any cars and was able to coast off the highway. That alone would have me changing a timing belt.
That's why I do preventative maintenance.
Interference engine or not is irrelevant IMO. Change IT!
A coworker recently had the timing belt break while driving her Kia on a 4 lane highway during rush hour. Fortunately, she did not hit any cars and was able to coast off the highway. That alone would have me changing a timing belt.
That's why I do preventative maintenance.
Interference engine or not is irrelevant IMO. Change IT!
Originally Posted By: 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.
That's my gut reaction too. The car is likely severely overdo on many maintenance items. If the car still has its original coolant and transmission fluid, it might be on the verge of needing a new head gasket or transmission. If that's the case, the best strategy might be to simply keep fluids topped off and then just drive it until something major goes.
I'm too risk adverse to go with that strategy but I know many people who buy a $2,000 car every few years and put no money into them. When an "expensive" repair is needed, they simply dump the car and buy another one.
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.
That's my gut reaction too. The car is likely severely overdo on many maintenance items. If the car still has its original coolant and transmission fluid, it might be on the verge of needing a new head gasket or transmission. If that's the case, the best strategy might be to simply keep fluids topped off and then just drive it until something major goes.
I'm too risk adverse to go with that strategy but I know many people who buy a $2,000 car every few years and put no money into them. When an "expensive" repair is needed, they simply dump the car and buy another one.
Thanks for the input everyone. I believe I've at least convinced them that it's an important thing to do. I also told them(to cover myself), that I'd use an OEM belt and tensioner and get an Aisin water pump from Rockauto.
The car really does run well, and I believe has the potential to run for a long time. It's been a good car to them.
kb01, the coolant was done at 90K, when the radiator needed replacing. As for ATF, it's only been done once, when it had around 35K. When I changed the oil on Saturday, I was quite surprised to learn that the ATF is still a red color and doesn't smell burnt at all.
The car really does run well, and I believe has the potential to run for a long time. It's been a good car to them.
kb01, the coolant was done at 90K, when the radiator needed replacing. As for ATF, it's only been done once, when it had around 35K. When I changed the oil on Saturday, I was quite surprised to learn that the ATF is still a red color and doesn't smell burnt at all.
Small update on this:
They still haven't done this, it's at 173,500 or so miles. Oh well, I've got it off my chest now. If something happens, at least they were informed.
They still haven't done this, it's at 173,500 or so miles. Oh well, I've got it off my chest now. If something happens, at least they were informed.
It's interesting how some engines can run forever on oe belts, and some will snap within 1000 miles of the replacement interval.
I hypothesize that the people whose belt run forever drive easy and their engines may have lost some compression, or they didn't have a lot of compression to start with.
Either way, I'd never leave something like that up to chance! If it were my brother I'd chant "change the belt! change the belt!..." whenever he came within earshot.
I hypothesize that the people whose belt run forever drive easy and their engines may have lost some compression, or they didn't have a lot of compression to start with.
Either way, I'd never leave something like that up to chance! If it were my brother I'd chant "change the belt! change the belt!..." whenever he came within earshot.
Some people need to learn the hard way, just save your breath.
Folks like that deserve to suffer.
let us know when it breaks, and how they react!!
Probably because it was GA. lol
If it was me in this situation I'd cease doing anything on the car including oil changes. That last thing you need is them blaming you for something because you were the last person to touch it.
Let it go, all of it. Let them get their own oil changes and when something breaks tell them where to purchase a bus pass.
I agree with the post above, people like this need to suffer that hardship caused by their laziness and ignorance.
Let it go, all of it. Let them get their own oil changes and when something breaks tell them where to purchase a bus pass.
I agree with the post above, people like this need to suffer that hardship caused by their laziness and ignorance.
Okay, I can see not touching their car, but if they really did ruin their engine by not getting the timing belt replaced then it does break. Wouldn't they expect to hear the "I told you so" routine...and does that ever help people nowadays?
Come on. It's one thing to be firm for doing certain things right, like pm work, but to come across as heartless is really lame. They are going to learn their lesson either way, without you being a jerk in the end on top of it. Why are you helping them in the first place? Because you care about the car or the people that own the thing?
Come on. It's one thing to be firm for doing certain things right, like pm work, but to come across as heartless is really lame. They are going to learn their lesson either way, without you being a jerk in the end on top of it. Why are you helping them in the first place? Because you care about the car or the people that own the thing?
Originally Posted By: AdRock
If it was me in this situation I'd cease doing anything on the car including oil changes. That last thing you need is them blaming you for something because you were the last person to touch it.
Let it go, all of it. Let them get their own oil changes and when something breaks tell them where to purchase a bus pass.
I agree with the post above, people like this need to suffer that hardship caused by their laziness and ignorance.
I definitely agree with all that..I would not even think of touching that car..YOU can only do so much..If they do not listen that falls under the category as 2 bad.
If it was me in this situation I'd cease doing anything on the car including oil changes. That last thing you need is them blaming you for something because you were the last person to touch it.
Let it go, all of it. Let them get their own oil changes and when something breaks tell them where to purchase a bus pass.
I agree with the post above, people like this need to suffer that hardship caused by their laziness and ignorance.
I definitely agree with all that..I would not even think of touching that car..YOU can only do so much..If they do not listen that falls under the category as 2 bad.
FWIW, I found from some recent research that Gates makes some OEM belts, including those for Hyundai. I purchased the Gates kit for rockauto for dirt cheap (~ $75) and had my local mechanic install it along with a water pump that he provided (NAPA, I believe).
We can use their car as a Test Bed.
When the belt Busts find out the mileage.
Always look for the Silver Lining.
When the belt Busts find out the mileage.
Always look for the Silver Lining.
It's been almost a year and a half since I updated this thread, thought I would give another one.
The car now has 187K and still has the OE timing belt. What amazes me most is that this car runs well, especially considering its horrible service record.
He brought the car to me at 170,500 miles and it was over 2 qts low and had been over 10K on that OCI. He brought it to me today, again with over 2 qts low. On top of that, the last change was over 17K miles ago on that conventional oil change! The motor just purrs.
Those 2.0 Mitsubishi engines must be pretty stout.
The car now has 187K and still has the OE timing belt. What amazes me most is that this car runs well, especially considering its horrible service record.
He brought the car to me at 170,500 miles and it was over 2 qts low and had been over 10K on that OCI. He brought it to me today, again with over 2 qts low. On top of that, the last change was over 17K miles ago on that conventional oil change! The motor just purrs.
Those 2.0 Mitsubishi engines must be pretty stout.
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