Timing Belt Change Intervals

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Cars have a mileage and a time interval for changing timing belts on our older cars. 90k or 10 years, 80k or 7 years, etc.

With, what I am understanding, this new fangled rubber compounding has there been any change in these intervals?

"Originally Posted by Boomer
Looks like it is made from hydrogenated nitrile butadiene rubber....very oxygen and oil resistant material."



My understanding is more timing belts break due to time versus mileage. If that is the case,
how long do you go before changing your timing belts? Time wise.
 
The manual often will have something. If not, I posted this hear a while back and was directed to the OE for the belt itself. Gates had big text on the manual that i downloaded, saying 6 years was it for every belt. But my mechanic & Honda also IIRC said 7 years.

To see what others say about the composition of belts, I'll definitely follow this thread.
 
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Please note that my understanding is they are now making belts with a much "tougher" rubber. IDK????
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Not being a smarty pants, but to stave off potential sniper attacks, I do have all my manuals and they all have mileage and time change intervals.
I am wondering if things have changed since 1998.

Thanks Paulri, I'll search your posts.
 
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extending timing belt + related parts can cost thousands, diy prolly 3 to 5 hundred, "do you feel lucky punk" many owners are penny wise but dollar foolish IMO!!!
 
Originally Posted by benjy
extending timing belt + related parts can cost thousands, diy prolly 3 to 5 hundred, "do you feel lucky punk" many owners are penny wise but dollar foolish IMO!!!


That's not what I am trying to do. I assure you.
grin.gif


I'm a 3-5k OCI guy. Just wondering....
 
Originally Posted by Gebo
how long do you go before changing your timing belts? Time wise.

I go by the book. Nothing I own is that old; nothing I own sits that much that it'd time out. Well, pre-pandemic that is.

I know the materials have gotten better but the change interval seems stuck. I'm not sure why. I don't know if it's
-belts actually haven't gotten any more "durable" in the last 20 years
-the items around them, like rollers, tensioners, etc are actually the failing points
-the items have gotten better but the loading (from more camshafts with more aggressive lift, or similar problems) has also gone up, leading to a sum zero game
-the OEM's have tracked this and have found that as a system, random failures happen just too often, and with too much expense on the line, that it's just better to be conservative on an item that is probably only ever going to be done once (on the majority of vehicles)
 
On my Toyota 4Runner with a non interference 3.4L engine, the interval is 100,000 kms. However, last time I did it, the belt still looked mint. No cracks, no major wear, it looked amazing. I really have no problems delaying it to 200,000 km. I would use OEM parts and replace all surrounding components such as the water pump, seals, idlers, etc... However since this is already an old truck I don't see myself keeping it long enough for the next change.
 
I've had a belt break on my wife's old Kia Sportage. It was not the belts fault, it was ours. The owners manual said to change it at 60k miles. When it broke, our car has about 104k on it. We probably forgot about changing it, I'm sure were not the only ones. Luckily, our's was NOT a interference motor. We replaced the belt ( $40), and fired it up before we put it all back together, and it ran fine. We were going down the highway at about 65 mph when it just stopped running. I'm sure the mfgrs know how long these belts will last, but figure they will not always be changed on time, so some fudge time is built in. And they don't want a rep for building time bombs if not changed on time.,,,
 
On an interference engine it probably isnt worth squeezing an extra year out of it unless the car is at the point of diminishing returns.
 
Do you remember how old the car/belt was, at 104K?

Originally Posted by BigCahuna
I've had a belt break on my wife's old Kia Sportage. It was not the belts fault, it was ours. The owners manual said to change it at 60k miles. When it broke, our car has about 104k on it. We probably forgot about changing it, I'm sure were not the only ones. Luckily, our's was NOT a interference motor. We replaced the belt ( $40), and fired it up before we put it all back together, and it ran fine. We were going down the highway at about 65 mph when it just stopped running. I'm sure the mfgrs know how long these belts will last, but figure they will not always be changed on time, so some fudge time is built in. And they don't want a rep for building time bombs if not changed on time.,,,
 
Originally Posted by nobb
On my Toyota 4Runner with a non interference 3.4L engine, the interval is 100,000 kms. However, last time I did it, the belt still looked mint. No cracks, no major wear, it looked amazing. I really have no problems delaying it to 200,000 km. I would use OEM parts and replace all surrounding components such as the water pump, seals, idlers, etc... However since this is already an old truck I don't see myself keeping it long enough for the next change.

My 2001 Impreza was the same way. I believe the manual said the change interval was something like 7 years or 105k miles, and mine was done around 12 years and 90k miles. I had visions of the original belt being cracked and shredded and worn, and I was hoping to Xenu that it wasn't going to grenade the next time I was on the highway in the middle of nowhere. Well, come replacement time the OEM Mitsuboshi-made belt looked great. I know timing belts wear out more on the 'inside' but I would have felt fine going another 2-3 years on it had I no already bought the timing kit.
 
The interval has really increased over the years. I remember when 100,000 miles was considered a long interval. Now...

2015 VW Passat Tdi 130,000 mile interval
2017 Colorado 2.8l Durmax 150,000 interval
 
Subaru is 105,000 miles or 105 months on the EJ25s, which works out to 8.75 years. Which is part of the reason almost every used Subaru is sold just short of 105k mile intervals, i.e. 95-100k, or 195-200k. 100k for the change interval is a nice, safe, easily remembered interval.
 
Originally Posted by Gebo
Cars have a mileage and a time interval for changing timing belts on our older cars. 90k or 10 years, 80k or 7 years, etc.

With, what I am understanding, this new fangled rubber compounding has there been any change in these intervals?

"Originally Posted by Boomer
Looks like it is made from hydrogenated nitrile butadiene rubber....very oxygen and oil resistant material."



My understanding is more timing belts break due to time versus mileage. If that is the case,
how long do you go before changing your timing belts? Time wise.





It's not new. It's been around for quite some time. 🙄
 
What do you mean"quite some time"?

I'm thinking more than 10 years. Is that what you are saying?
 
If it's a non-interference engine, run it until it breaks or nearly so.
In so far as what I would do if I owned a car with an interference engine, I don't know, since I would never buy one that used a timing belt.
 
They do not normally break the day the go over the interval.

They begin to age the day they are made. They age faster exposed to heat.

So a new old stock belt would have a little shorter life than a fresh belt.

The suggested interval will take that into account.

A free engine that is easy to inspect, I would go at least 150%.

Interference, well, as stated, do you feel lucky? I would go for a fresh belt if at all possible.

Friend had a Toyota where the harmonic balancer was left loose by the last mechanic, tore out the keyway in the crankshaft. We lined it up, centered it as best we could, and welded it to the crank.

It ran until it rusted to pieces.

Rod
 
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My Lexus was changed at 92k I plan on replacing it at 200k..I'm up here in the cold (still have snow banks in yard today) running 0/40 easy cold starting oil.
 
Belts run on the fibers. The rubber only seals and cushions the fabric.

The fabric was already pretty awesome by the 1980s, which is why the shift to timing belts happened. It hasn't gotten that much better since then.
 
Flipped a 2000 Chrysler Sebring convertible with a Mitsubishi 2.5 in it a few months ago. One owner car.

Interference motor, and I couldn't belive it when the owner said the belt was never changed. Original factory belt, 19 years old, with 91k on it. A bit stretched, but the rubber still looked good!

The replacement Continental belt we used was thinner.
 
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