Anybody out there still doing preventive hose/belt replacement?

[Winston]

I don't want to be associated with Cutehumor and NJC anymore. Things usually happen in threes...

OTOH, I have 65k and 5 years on my current timing belt. However, I am in Califonia so my manual says I am good up to 100k. Hmmm.... I will make sure not to cross over into Nevada next time I go to Tahoe. I would imagine the belt would snap as I cross the state line since the Belt change interval in Nevada is 60k.

 

[NJC]

I'm part way into performing the post-mortem.

Indeed the belt hasn't broken but has many cracks on outside edge and teeth missing. But it was still on the cam sprocket.

I think you're OK for that trip to Nevada..

 

[Whimsey]

Ford sent me a e-mail in response to my question saying that I NEVER have to change the timing belt, it's a "life time" belt

. But they added they can break and once you are past the warranty period they are not responsible for damage caused by the broken belt

. I have about 63,000 miles on an almost 10 year Contour. I guess I better start saving for the big $$$$ job. But that's still cheaper than destroying an engine on an otherwise car that runs great. It only has 63,000 miles and has been paid for at least 5 years

. I've owned the car since new so I KNOW how it's been cared for

.

Whimsey

 

[kenw]

words to live by....

 

[Winston]

I think it is clear that whenever a manufacturer says lifetime, they mean warranty lifetime.

 

[burntkat]

quote:

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Originally posted by Jim Spahr:
There are several ways to look at the value of a vehicle. One is the 'retail value' or book value. Another is the cost of replacing that vehicle with a new or used vehicle. As someone once said, don't crush them, restore them.

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WeLL said.

It may take $1000 to do a timing belt job in some cases.

how much car can you buy for $1000? Not much. If you do find one, it probably needs more than $1000 in repairs. Yes, sometimes you get lucky, but not often. Plus, there's a lot to be said for not having a car payment. This is why I spent $1500 on a 1989 S10 4X4 Blazer 7 years ago and in the next year put $2500 of new engine and transmission into it. I effectively have a new car where it counts, pretty darn cheap. The wife is just starting to understand this. Sure, it could use paint-- but that's my next project

The gent with the unfortunate 5 day later tbelt failure may have gambled and lost onthis one, for want of a $30 belt and a little time at home over the hood.

[ October 19, 2005, 01:22 PM: Message edited by: burntkat ]

 

[jsharp]

quote:

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Originally posted by Winston:
Belt and hose materials are better than they used to be.

Timing belt change intervals are **. EVERYONE says change every 60k miles. Regardless of number of cams etc. I change my SOHC V6 mitsu every 90k. Since I have to remove the radiator to do the timing belt I do the rad hoses as well as all the accessory belts. I like to change things before they fail. Although I admit it is difficult determining a reasonable interval. BTW there is no way to inspect a radiator hose. They fail from the inside.

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It depends on the vehicle. I wouldn't try going over the 60K mileage with an older Nissan VG30. I had one jump a tooth at 65K, and the same engine later shredded a belt that had less than 30K miles on it after the tensioner froze. The tensioner had less than 90K miles of use.

The engine now has 12 bent valves...

My Toyota OTOH calls for 90K mile service intervals but many people have run them over 100K miles with no problems.

Other belts and hoses I don't worry too much about. They get replaced when they break, or look like they're about ready to break. Or if I'm already "in there" doing other things and the parts are old, I replace them.

 

[johnd]

I think it all depends on your comfort level. My dad was handicapped and could not risk being stranded in the heat so he changed belts and hoses every two years. This gave him pretty much 100% certainty of no failure. Depending on conditions a relatively safe interval might be longer. In any case, I think a yearly inspection for cracks and bulges is prudent on any time scale.

 

[johnd]

I have a buddy with a 90's Mercury that has been really reliable. Several years ago he changed the serpentine belt and had a lot of trouble with squeaks and such until he finally discovered that the number of grooves on the belt did not match the number of grooves on the pully. Once he got the right belt, things smoothed right out.

 

[PandaBear]

quote:

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with today's radiators, the radiator blows to protect the hose......

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Or the plastic inline coolant tank Ford put into their cars.

 

[PandaBear]

quote:

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However, I gotta ask. Often the belts break because a pulley bearing failed or the tensioner broke, etc. Usually the belt itself does not break on its own. I would love to hear what you find when you inspect the belt and associated components.

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When I replace the T belt on my corolla with only 60k on the belt, it came out ok, but I can see some rounded edges on the tooth. So, it may last but it probably could skip a tooth or 2 and not worth the wait.

 

[NJC]

quote:

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Originally posted by burntkat:

The gent with the unfortunate 5 day later tbelt failure may have gambled and lost onthis one, for want of a $30 belt and a little time at home over the hood.

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That was me. The car in question is a very rusty (3/4 floorboards are permeated through) Honda Accord w/ 200,000 miles.

A few factors were in place:

1. I was planning on acquiring a different car the same month.

2. Time is valuable and with young kids not much is available.

3. I didn't think the car was really worth it. IE a t-belt job would run me ~$300CDN and I think the car is only worth $500.

In retrospect, if it's still useable it's worth fixing and I wouldn't gamble like that again.

I did get it running too btw. It's the 12V engine and supposed to be interference. How it didn't incur damage breaking at ~20mph I don't know.

And it certainly wasn't a little time either - I estimate 8-10hrs! Lots of fiddling trying to jam the engine when removing crank bolt.

 

[burntkat]

next time you have to do this, put a breaker bar on the crank bolt and engage starter.

You've already spun the motor when the belt broke, so any damage that would have been done, already was.

 

[boxcartommie22]

i have been using vinylx by lexol on my rubber hoses and haven't replaced them yet..seems to have helped preserve the rubber..there is 122,000 on my car

 

[burntkat]

quote:

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Originally posted by boxcartommie22:
i have been using vinylx by lexol on my rubber hoses and haven't replaced them yet..seems to have helped preserve the rubber..there is 122,000 on my car

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You DO realize that hoses fail from the inside out, right? They may look shiny on the outside, but that doesn't mean a thing about their condition.

 

[NJC]

quote:

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Originally posted by burntkat:
next time you have to do this, put a breaker bar on the crank bolt and engage starter.

You've already spun the motor when the belt broke, so any damage that would have been done, already was.

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I tried jamming a screwdriver in ring gear (as per manual) but I couldn't reach it. Took starter out but ring gear was too far in I couldn't access it very well and didn't want to drop a bolt into bell housing.

Eventually used the "rope trick". I've considered using the starter/breaker bar method but a few folks have cautioned against due to shearing parts off (the warning was for Volvo).

 

[burntkat]

what's the rope trick?

 

[NJC]

The rope trick is feeding a ~1' coil of rope into cylinder when it's near BDC and jamming piston so crank bolt can be removed. I was a little hesitant because I was concerned about getting the rope wedged between a valve seat and valve.

Worked well. It has to be stiff rope and about 3/8" diameter.

 

[boxcartommie22]

yes i realize that and one should use the best quality anitfreeze and an additive usually by b.g. i add and also i change it once a year

 

[MN Driver]

quote:

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Originally posted by slugsgomoo:
fwiw, when I had my toyota, it had a non-interference engine, so I didn't worry about the timing belt. I finally changed it because i was doing a water pump & such, but the belt had 118,000 miles on it, and you're "supposed" to change at 60k.

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Which Toyota engines are non-interference? Are the 1.6 liter or 1.8 liter non-interference? Just curious...