Broken timing belt - Warranty?

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I had the timing belt on my Subaru Forester replaced with a Dayco Timing belt Component kit about 5,000 miles ago. One of the pulleys seized up over the weekend and the belt broke. Dayco offers a "60,000 miles, or the life of the automotive manufacturer's original recommended replacement interval" warranty on these component kits. So, will they replace it with a new kit? Or do you think there is any chance of having the untold amount of engine damage taken care of too? What are your thoughts?
 
You can only try.Though it is not the belts fault the pulley messed up.
 
Did you put it on or did a mechanic? From the warranty page, the warranty does not apply:
(b) if installation or maintenance of the relevant product, part, timing belt or timing belt kit has been carried out by a person other than a Qualified Mechanic;

http://www.dayco.com.au/warranty.aspx

Was the pulley that siezed up part of the Dayco kit?
 
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I don't know how they can enforce the mechanic qualification, unless there was obvious installation error like a bolt coming loose.

However they'd easily say they aren't responsible for the rest of the mechanical condition of your motor.

If they disclaim consequential damages, they might give you a new belt, like you'd do anything with it, and call it good. There was a story on here a while back of someone blowing a motor on mobil 1-- they shipped him 5 more quarts of M1 and that was it!
 
They can do anything they want. Its their warranty so they can ask for a receipt from an actual shop to prove it.
 
Yes the kit was installed by a qualified mechanic, and yes the part that seized was part of the kit - the kit included the belt and all other moving parts. I saw the page you referenced, but the Australia part threw me. I'll read it more thoroughly.

I have the receipt for the part and the installation.
 
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A component kit should come with new idler rollers and tensioner, so they would be on the hook for fixing their end of it. Now they might not cover related damage, you would have to red their warranty front to back and see if it says anything about excluding it.
 
Very unlikely that they will cover engine damage, but very likely just get you a new kit and call it a day.

You can do a failure analysis on the belt to point finger all you want, but if they have a disclaimer on the warranty that limits the liability, and instruction ask you to "check" the belt before running, they pretty much would walk free.

The only exception I can think of is if it is a widespread issue and there's a class action lawsuit that force them to settle.
 
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Originally Posted By: bvance554
Yes the kit was installed by a qualified mechanic, and yes the part that seized was part of the kit - the kit included the belt and all other moving parts. I saw the page you referenced, but the Australia part threw me. I'll read it more thoroughly.

I have the receipt for the part and the installation.


D'oh! I missed the .au on the URL when I found that!

Have you called the mechanic yet? When I had my timing belt put on, I asked about warranty coverage. He told me the aftermarket belt manufacturer had a warranty, but he'd cover me for the service interval on original belt - 5 years or 60k miles. Any dealings from the belt's maker he would handle on his end.
 
Another avenue you could try is the the mfr of the bearing. You could fine the company name on the seal of failed bearing: GMB, Koyo, Nsk etc. In any event, it would be interesting to know who made the bearing.
 
If this were a Subaru dealer the entire repair is covered 1yr/12k. Good indepedents do this same warranty on their supplied parts.

If you supplied the part best of luck.....
 
Thats the problem with most of these aftermarket kits, they don't use the OE style double ball bearing in these dam pulleys. People trying to save a buck go for them.
AFAIK the only ones for sure that do contain the right stuff are OE, Aisin (OEM), and SKF kits but they cost a bit more.

I think its going to be a tough slog getting anything out of them, the garage that did the original install and doing the repair now may have a better chance.
I might look for a good used low miler engine, i think this one could have some real serious damage.

http://allwheeldriveauto.com/subaru-repair-seattle-timing-belt-idlers-explained/
 
Originally Posted By: Smcatub

Have you called the mechanic yet? When I had my timing belt put on, I asked about warranty coverage. He told me the aftermarket belt manufacturer had a warranty, but he'd cover me for the service interval on original belt - 5 years or 60k miles. Any dealings from the belt's maker he would handle on his end.


I'd hope an aftermarket belt could handle the OE interval. Otherwise it isn't really a direct replacement.
 
Did they provide the kit or did you provide the kit?

failing that fast

it was either defective part with chinese "oem quality" bearing or possibly bad installation practice.. how did it fail exactly?

most likely though it was a sub-par part.
 
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Originally Posted By: Trav
Thats the problem with most of these aftermarket kits, they don't use the OE style double ball bearing in these dam pulleys. People trying to save a buck go for them.
AFAIK the only ones for sure that do contain the right stuff are OE, Aisin (OEM), and SKF kits but they cost a bit more.

I think its going to be a tough slog getting anything out of them, the garage that did the original install and doing the repair now may have a better chance.
I might look for a good used low miler engine, i think this one could have some real serious damage.

http://allwheeldriveauto.com/subaru-repair-seattle-timing-belt-idlers-explained/


I have been very happy with Aisin kits. Very high quality components at reasonable prices (shop around online). Not much more $$ than the bargain brands. I recommend them to anyone who asks.
 
Originally Posted By: Trav


http://allwheeldriveauto.com/subaru-repair-seattle-timing-belt-idlers-explained/

You can keep that thing...
smile.gif


OP, did it hurt the engine when it let go?
 
Originally Posted By: Trav
Thats the problem with most of these aftermarket kits, they don't use the OE style double ball bearing in these dam pulleys. People trying to save a buck go for them.
AFAIK the only ones for sure that do contain the right stuff are OE, Aisin (OEM), and SKF kits but they cost a bit more.

I think its going to be a tough slog getting anything out of them, the garage that did the original install and doing the repair now may have a better chance.
I might look for a good used low miler engine, i think this one could have some real serious damage.

http://allwheeldriveauto.com/subaru-repair-seattle-timing-belt-idlers-explained/



Gates is a OEM maker. Many cars come with gates kits from the factory. I agree if you go with a white box timing bet kit you have no one to blame but yourself but gates supplies many car makers and others re-box gates kits as their own.
 
I also had a problem recently with a gates timing kit. The bolt that holds the idler broke. When I got a new gates kit the new one had a updated bolt. Higher rating of strength and also the threads did not go as far up the shaft. I took pictures of the old and new before I did my work to show the difference. The first kit lasted about 3 years before the bolt broke. So seems it was either a known issue and/or updated after the first kit was made.

I am a mechanic so I will be filling a claim form with gates. I hope the pictures will help but my customer is not happy.
 
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