The timing belt is made of a reinforced rubber and the rubber deteriorates with time. generally there is a 7 to 8 year life of the belt even if the car doesn&#;t accumulate a lot of miles so it should be changed.
SBT supply professional and honest service.
If the timing belt drives the water pump, it should be changed at the same time. They may also recommend replacing some oil seas while they are in there, but this should be done as a package deal and should not add more than $100 to the total bill. Well worth doing as doing them later will cost a LOT more.
It doesn&#;t have to be done by the dealer. You should get a quote from the dealer, but also any independent mechanics that you get recommendations for. Check with your friends, family and co-workers for recommendations.
Auto repair is a business transaction. You made a good business decision by coming here for a second opinion. Treat the rest of the repair as a business transaction and you will do good. Be sure that each quote you get includes the same things. I.e. a quote might be $10 less, but didn&#;t include the oil seals etc. Some mechanics will also recommend replacing the tensioner but I don&#;t think you will need that.
Heat over time and mileage for the most part wear out a belt although a well used belt appears almost like new in my experience with a VW. Some will say ozone in the air does too but may not be a major factor especially away from an urban area. Weather and road conditions have nothing to do with timing belt life. If you live in a northern climate such as Canada as compared to Mexico City and if your miles were mostly highway miles then the heat factor could be discounted some and you could run another year or more before changing the belt. Slow speed city miles will keep the belt hot for a longer time than 23k highway miles at a higher speed with consequently more deterioration.
There is no definitive answer to your question as timing belts can fail randomly. An auto mfr will recommend a belt change at a mileage and time before any normally anticipated failure plus some safety margin.
If you change the belt now, then motor on knowing that you did the best you know how assuming a competent mechanic did the work. By the time you need a second belt, the car might be gone. Changing the belt on time helps to ensure that you will not risk losing your engine or risk an engine stoppage away from home.
Timing belts seem to be going away as people are catching on to the expense of changing one if they can&#;t DIY.
Disclaimer: This info is for the site regulars and resident gear heads. I would NEVER tell &#;Non Familiars&#; to follow my lead, but&#;here goes&#;
Most of my experience seems at severe odds with the life span of a T-Belt. Ive seen cars with 50K on the clock sit unused for almost a decade&#;be started up and driven 100K over the next 10yrs with no T-Belt change ( I forced them to change it).
Almost everything I have ever seen goes against the claims of how long or how far the belt can go&#; Have I seen belts fail? Boy Howdy have I ever! Some throw teeth some fray but MOST die from some other driven device&#;like a water pump, Idler or tensioner going bad or not being adjusted&#;which is fine reason for me to refresh the belt and ancillaries. For me personally&#;I usually adhere to a schedule of about 80-100K to do the belt&#;no matter how much time has past to accrue the miles because it is ALWAYS longer than is supposedly safe to do so&#;Always. Never had a failure, not a one. Not even a hint of a failure.
Most of you know me to be very adamant about people changing their belts esp when they dont know the history of the vehicle&#;and I&#;m a big proponent of this. But on my own vehicles&#;I guess I like to play around&#;and the way I &#;play&#; is to change it on a mileage mark and ignore the time it takes to reach those miles. Its been working like clockwork thus far. I accept and can handle the risks. It would be irresponsible to tell someone else to do this however. I&#;m just relaying what I have been doing&#;I can handle the risk myself.
That being said&#;the T Belt is driving your valve train&#;a very expensive part of your engine and the risks involved outweigh the expense of replacement in my and most peoples estimation&#;its cheap insurance from catastrophic engine damage. No mechanic would tell a &#;Non Familiar&#; to be risky in any way with their vehicles T belt schedule for it surely wouldn&#;t pan out well&#;and would make you look like an Ass in due time.
If you are looking for more details, kindly visit Automotive Timing Belts.
How do you explain to someone you told that it was OK to drive and their T belt snapped&#;but it snapped because they were running 90% water in the cooling system&#;and the water pump failed&#;and took out the T belt. Few would be able to understand the distinction&#;because in the end the T belt died&#;but was it the T belts &#;fault&#;? No&#;but this is beside the point. Get me? Sometimes I suggest a T belt swap because of the ancillaries are making noise etc&#;
But I think the current thinking about the belts integrity&#;especially Time&#;are very under rated&#;and this is honestly the safe bet to place. Its all about liability. But those belts are pretty damn tough.
What is my point? I guess I am saying that I PERSONALLY only adhere to a mileage marker&#;not time. T belts do not seem to grenade on a Timer. Tho I will not argue with anyone who asks me to swap the belt due to time&#;I&#;m not stupid&#;that&#;s EZ money. I wont argue the logic of either argument. But for me, personally? Its miles&#;not time. Again&#;Liability.
Blackbird
&#;Maybe yes, maybe no.
Many car dealers are extremely price-competitive when it comes to timing belt jobs, and some (Honda dealers come to mind) can be cheaper than indy mechanics.&#;
I agree and also would point out that dealers tend to have more experience changing timing belts on a particular make/model&#;
AND
&#; the dealer service areas probably have any &#;Special Tools&#; that make the job easier and more likely to be done better and requiring less time for a technician (although paid by the job, not by actual time required). A happy mechanic does a better, more thorough job, generally job.
I put a timing belt on my DOHC 3.5L Chrysler V-6 engine. I ordered a couple of special tools and made another one prior to beginning the job. I don&#;t even think I could have done it properly without them or if I did it would have been difficult and I wouldn&#;t be as confident in the job.
Because this job could be a &#;cake walk&#; for a dealer technician (for reasons given above) the price for the job could be very competitive or even lower than at an independent shop as pointed out by @VDCdriver.
Get estimates at a dealer and at a good independent shop and compare, but be sure the same parts are being included in the timing belt swap (belt, water pump, pulleys, seals, etcetera).
CSA
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