Timing belt change-how to find in 1990 bmw?

Question

Hello all,
I have a 1990 BMW 525 which i bought from a second hand car dealer and he told that he had changed the timing belt.This year I am going to do a service on my car..like changing the distributor rotor,sparkplug change,oil change etc.My dealer told that he had changed the timing belt,but how do i confirm that that he had changed.Any way to find out that....

thanks in advance,

Answer 1

The only way to tell is to look out for telltale signs of recent activity in the timing belt area (cleaner bolts and screws compared to the others in the engine...etc). Another way is to visiually inspect the belt itself for cracks, but if you could get to that stage, you might as well just replace the belt anyway since there's already a lot of labor involved.

Haynes repair manuals recommend 40,000 miles while Bentley repair manuals recommend 60,000 miles.

Instructions on how to change out the timing belt...

http://www.bmwe30.net/cgi-bin/datacgi/database.cgi?file=articles&report=view&ID=00119&Section=08

http://www.bmwe34.net/E34main/Maintenance/Engine/M20Timing.asp

Either way, you should never delay changing it out because you have an interference motor, which could cause bent valves, cams and rocker arms when the belt becomes loose or if it snaps.

Answer 2

Cannot. Even tearing out the timing belt cover (which takes about 2 - 3 hours of labor) and belt is visible, there is no way to tell unless your belt is ready to snap. However, if the BMW dealer said the car was serviced, you can trust because all BMW dealer work is required to be logged into a database.

Answer 3

Any dealer will do a free inspection, if your dealer has already said he has swapped it out, you can take his word for it or not,

Keep in mind for your car BMW recommends the belt swapped out at 60,000-70,000 so if you have 85,999 miles on your car you can be assured that you have another 30,000 miles left to go.

As evidence, your belt would have broken already from being dry-rotted or your belt would have some serious cracks in it.

Answer 4

While timing belts have a recommended life other things can lead to failure. Over heat, oil leaks, coolant leaks can shorten the life. To check the belt you need to look at it. Does it show wear? Cracks or discoloration? Did the dealer tell at what millage the belt was changed, and did they replace the cam and crank seals & water pump?

Answer 5

OK FIrst off you own a BMW (A german engineered car) that is expensive to fix and maintain - $220 is cheap for about anything on this car. What's his labor rate $95.00 is probably right about average there in S Cal. I am assuming you haven't done much to the car since you got it, if your questioning a minor repair.

Answer 6

As with all belts, you can check them visually or you can take it to an Auto parts store that offers free inspections of your belts for a better opinion