the manufacturer says it should be changed at 80,000 miles. would you wait until it's torn or change it as soon as possible?
it's a nissan.
How critical is changing your timing belt?
Change it at the required intervals. If it breaks on you will driving it will severely damage the
motor and the repairs will cost a lot more than having the belt replaced at 80,000 miles.
How critical is changing your timing belt?
a timing belt can also deteriorate with age as well.If it tears/breaks, then there could be major engine damage?Change it before the due mileage, or at least when its due to be safe.Hope this helps
%26gt;%26quot;would you wait until it's torn%26quot;
You can't see if a timing belt is %26quot;torn%26quot;!
I don't think you understand what a timing belt is! If it gets stretched or %26quot;torn%26quot; (as you put it), your engine will not function properly or not at all. You'll end up creating a lot more problems.
There was a reason the manufacturer recommended this!
%26gt;%26quot;would you wait until it's torn%26quot;
You can't see if a timing belt is %26quot;torn%26quot;!
I don't think you understand what a timing belt is! If it gets stretched or %26quot;torn%26quot; (as you put it), your engine will not function properly or not at all. You'll end up creating a lot more problems.
There was a reason the manufacturer recommended this!
Timing belts can tear, and they usually do severe damage when they do. Some engines don't use a belt at all and instead use a chain, which is even more dangerous when it snaps.
If you wait until a timing chain breaks you can be in very serious trouble. They are under tension and do not snap cleanly, and will cause engine damage when they break. It is not unheard of for a timing chain to go through the bonnet (but admittedly rare).
The belt should be replaced at 80,000 miles. Since the timing chain governs how frequently your engine valves open, and thus determines whether your engine will work or not, they are critical.
It should be changed at the recommended interval. You don't mention the model or year, but almost all of Nissan's engines are an %26quot;interference%26quot; design. in which the valves have to be out of the way when the piston comes up or the valves get whacked. The timing belt is critical for that coordination. An interference engine suffers severe - sometimes fatal - damage if the timing belt fails. To tell if yours is one of those, look up the model, year, and engine (if there is more than one available) in the first source. If there is an asterisk after the entry the engine is an interference design. The saddest words in the english language are %26quot;if only....%26quot;
Even if the engine is %26quot;non-interference%26quot; it is less expensive to change the belt before it fails. That way the car doesn't have to be towed back for repair. Also, if it fails on the road you are going to be mighty late for wherever you are going at the time and will be without the car for at least a day (usually longer because the repair wasn't scheduled). The time it happened to me (I learned after that!) our family was headed out on vacation and we were hundreds of miles from home. No fun, but at least it was a non-interference engine. Better to be lucky than good, I guess.
By the way, many timing belt failures are not the type where it breaks in two, but where the teeth (it is a toothed belt) shear off. A visual inspection is not good enough to determine the condition of a timing belt. Some develop small cracks but many look just fine until their teeth fall off.
I don't wait that long. There is a very good chance that it will break before then. The car makers don't care because it will be out of warranty at 80000 miles and if it breaks they hope that a dealers shop gets the job. Well in fact they hope that it will be sold for scrap!
Lets face it you can't sell as many new cars if there are too many old ones on the road. So many car makers are recommending not changing the time belts till after the belt should have broken. They are also making it harder to do normal maintenance. Because they want the car off the road in seven years or less.
Michael hit it perfectly. Don't wait around on this repair, you can destroy the engine if it breaks.
Call around some shops and get some price quotes. We just had one done on a V6 Mitsubishi for $500 and that includes parts for belt and water pump replacement, which you should also find on your recommended list. I'd take that deal every time.
