suppose a car owner only puts 5000 miles a year on his car. his car requires him to change his timing belt every 60k. does he run the risk of breaking his timing belt if he were to change it once every 12 years?
2007-11-28 01:23:22 · 7 answers · asked by Anonymous in Cars & Transportation ➔ Maintenance & Repairs
yes. rubber breaks down over time. just like a regular serpentine belt would need to be changed.
6 years 60k is a good rule of thumb if you have an older car. some of the newer cars have a longer life timing belt.
2007-11-28 01:27:48 · answer #1 · answered by frigginmike 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Timing belt life varies wildly, partly due to the quality of the belt used, and partly due to luck. I've seen belts last over 120,000 miles, and I've seen them fail at 60K.
Generally when one sees a recommended change at 60K it is because the engine design is what is called an interference engine. Essentially this means that the engine has been designed in such a way that if the belt breaks valves can descend low enough and pistons can rise high enough that, when their movement is not coordinated by the belt, they can collide. Hence the manufacturer recommends frequent belt changes to avoid such a catastrophe.
On the other hand, if it is a non-interference engine, even if the belt breaks, the valves and pistons do not have enough range of motion to strike one another, and so the downside of a belt failure is simply that the engine comes shuddering inconveniently to a halt, hopefully not in the fast lane on an interstate, and then drifting the car to the edge and calling for a tow. Consequently, manufacturers of engines with this design are likely to have higher recommendations for the service lives of their timing belts.
As I recall, most Toyotas, Hondas and VWs have non-interference engines. Most Nissans have interference engines.
Some cars use chains, which tend to last longer, but are also noisier. A rare few, Porsches as I recall, use gears, which are noisier still, but very realiable.
Still, this may be more than you cared to know. To answer your question specifically, mileage is not the only factor that determines belt life. The compounds in the belt also age with time owing to oxidation--contact with air, being subject to heating and cooling, wear from the belt motion, etc.
2007-11-28 02:10:56 · answer #2 · answered by anonymourati 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Absolutely. Rubber will decompose just as fast if not faster when the car is not driven much. A good deal of humidity builds up in the timing cover case, garaged or not after 6 years or so you're basically playing a game of craps with the belt...it may run on for the remainder of the time you own the vehicle or it may snap and cause catastrophic damage to your engine 3 months from now.
It's best practice to replace it every XX amount of miles (recommended by your manufacturer) or every 6-8 years. This information is probably in the vehicle handbook, look for the maintenance schedule.
It's not an outrageously priced repair. On most vehicles the rate is usually around $250 - $300...even less on some smaller vehicles with easy access to the timing belt. If you're asking the question on Yahoo! you should go ahead and secure your peace of mind and get it replaced.
Hope this helps!
2007-11-28 01:35:20 · answer #3 · answered by mrharris32 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The manufacture sets different intervals to change belts, fluids and etc. on the vehicles they make for various reasons, most of which are obvious. Rubber belts wear from use and from dry rot, much like tires. So, whether you put a lot of miles or none at all. Breakdown can occur. Can you get by without changing it? ,,,Yes. People do it all the time. Is it a good idea? Remember that it could break at anytime.
2007-11-28 01:36:59 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
It is a component that is subject to stress as well as deterioration of the materials it is made from.
Manufacturers specify that they should be changed on a mileage or time basis for that reason.
2007-11-28 01:38:33 · answer #5 · answered by fwh 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
First of all there are two types of timing belts their are rubber and the other type is a chain, if they both break most of the time you are screwed,they both have covers over them and you can remove the cover to look at the condition of them both.
most of the time they are both good for 100,000 miles
I hope that helped to answer your question???
2007-11-28 01:40:04 · answer #6 · answered by slickerfrancis 1 · 0⤊ 3⤋
If the car is normaly garage kept and NOT constantly exposed to the elements you will be fine
2007-11-28 01:27:57 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋