timing belt change when? not many kilometers, but some years before

[patrickdrd]

hello,

sorry, English is not my mother language,

I'm not sure how this part is called,

timing belt maybe?

anyway, I've changed it at 105,000 kilometers,

7 years have passed and I've done only 35,000 kilometers since then,

should I change or wait more?

thanks in advance

[Guest]

Unfortunatly its a hard question - Your cars's service/user manual is the best bet to start.

Without knowing the specifics of your engine, how its been driven,maintained, etc, its nearly impossible to tell you if you should change it. My GUESS is that its likely fine, but there is no way we can be certain for you.

Timing belts have both a distance and age value associated with them. Approx 100,000km is a common change interval for them, so only 35,000km should be fine - and depending on the quality of the belt they often last for a lot longer than 7 years (assuming ordinary driving). But again - your service manual will be able to tell you if these figures are OK - it will state its age/lifespan,.

Most timing belts have very ways to easy see an inspect them for tension and condition(even change them), again -  your service manual should tell you how :)

I will say that if, for whatever reason, the belt has started to degrade, then you should consider changing it, as it will at the very least stop the car dead if it fails. If its an interference engine(like most are) then it will actually destroy your engine if it fails.

[patrickdrd]

thanks! so, I think this statement:

47 minutes ago, Supra_knight said:

the belt has started to degrade

is the key, do you think that it's possible to tell if it has started to degrade?

other than that:

1) the manual notes only the kilometers I think (around 80,000) and not the timespan,
I'll check again

2) the car/engine is maintained fine, all the services are done on time,

however, there is a "whistle"-ish noise sometimes, mostly on days with high humidity and on start of the engine,

but I don't know if it's connected

[Guest]

If you can get a look at the belt, check for signs of wear on the belt itself, is there any fraying, cracking, chipping, etc.
Also look at the teeth to see how much they have been worn down.
There will also be writing on the belt which will gradually wear off with use. The lower KM driven on the belt, the newer it should look.
If the writing is bright and clear, and the rest seems fine, its a good sign the belt is probably OK, really was done at 105k km's, and it will likely be fine for another 75k km's.
Belts are generally very well protected from the environment, and are built to be pretty damn tough, so its unlikely it will have rotted/degraded at all.
Obviously this isn't a fixed rule, there are some engines which have exposed cam-belts, and they can suffer as a result, you have to look at each car for a variety of factors.

Ultimately, and Unfortunately, there isn't a 100% way of knowing, - but remember this - there are many cars out there running original cam-belts a lot older without issue.
One thing to note is If the cam-belt has/is slipping very slightly, the engine will usually run horribly, and the dash will usually light up like a Christmas tree with warnings.

If you were to change the belt, you also might as well change the tensioner and idle pulley, they are just as important to making sure the cambelt does it job and they wear out over time also.
Generally speaking, they are also changed whenever a cam-belt is changed, so i suspect they are fine and allready replaced, but there is no way i can say for sure sorry. Overall, my guess is your cambelt is fine, but that is just a Guess as I cant see, inspect, hear, the car, nor do i know much about your engine.

For the whistling - there is a heap of things that could cause whistling in an engine, many of them are normal, but sometimes it can be a sign of wear. There's other belts, pumps, electric motors, pipes and more that could whistle from a bonnet. You really need to pinpoint the whistle source 100% - see if its loudest at the cambelt, or somewhere else in the car. It could be all sorts.

lastly. If you engine has a cam CHAIN instead of a belt.... then I've done a lot of typing for nothing lol :)