OHC timing belt replacement

[Gordon Maney]

My mother has a Chrysler Sebring that is eight years old and has less than 30,000 miles on it. She gets postcards from the dealer wanting to sell her maintenance packages. She got a 30,000 mile maintenance package that includes the timing belt replacement.

The manual says the timing belt should be replaced at 60,000 miles, and not at 30,000. She points that out to them and the guy says, gee, it is eight years old, it is getting dry and brittle, it could break. You do what you want, but....

My thought here is that this belt is not sun exposed and is more affected by rolling across pulleys. Furthermore, their 60K interval is no doubt somewhat conservative, so it does not break.

What is your thought here? Does anyone have reason to believe age is a real issue on a belt like that?

[Frank Irons]

Age could be an issue but inspection of the belt should show any signs of deterioration.

I have become more lazy in my old age and have had more service done at a dealership than ever before. I used to do everything myself but do not find it enjoyable getting on a creeper and crawling under vehicles anymore. The result of this is sweet and sour, the sweet is not getting dirty and crawling under the vehicle, the sour is the bill for having it done by someone else. The most irritating thing about taking the vehicle in to a shop is that they seem to find anything that may or may not need fixing. To the minsinformed (my wife) it creates all kinds of havoc. She needed new brakes, $450 for front and rear on a car with 35000 miles on it. I bought new pads for $80 and in 1.5 hours had them installed (rotors were fine).

With your abilities Gordon I believe you could make a wise assesment of your mother's belt and advise her. I'm willing to bet the belt will go 100K.

Frank

[Gordon Maney]

I have not looked at her engine yet, but I think there may be some considerale labor just to be able to see it. I need to explore that.

[gmharris]

I have not looked at her engine yet, but I think there may be some considerale labor just to be able to see it. I need to explore that.

I would determine if the engine is an interference engine, or a non-interference engine, if you don't know already. You can go to the Gates web site and they will have a listing for the engine.

I know you don't want your mother to end up stranded in any case, but I would be even more cautious if the engine is an interference engine.

That said, my 2001 Tundra has 50,000 miles and I have no intention of changing the belt before it's rated mileage. At least. not for several more years or until I am mucking about the engine for some other reason.

I have seen recommendations for changing timing belts ranging from four to seven years. I would find out if Chrysler actually has an age-related maintenance interval for the belt rather than just a service manager's recommendation.

I have had belts changed at independent mechanics who seem to specialize in changing timing belts. They can change the belts for a reasonable price and, it seems, in about a third the time that I can. This lets me save my creative mechanical efforts for Power Wagons. The peace of mind would be worth something

[gmharris]

I would determine if the engine is an interference engine, or a non-interference engine, if you don't know already. You can go to the Gates web site and they will have a listing for the engine.

I know you don't want your mother to end up stranded in any case, but I would be even more cautious if the engine is an interference engine.

That said, my 2001 Tundra has 50,000 miles and I have no intention of changing the belt before it's rated mileage. At least. not for several more years or until I am mucking about the engine for some other reason.

I have seen recommendations for changing timing belts ranging from four to seven years. I would find out if Chrysler actually has an age-related maintenance interval for the belt rather than just a service manager's recommendation.

I have had belts changed at independent mechanics who seem to specialize in changing timing belts. They can change the belts for a reasonable price and, it seems, in about a third the time that I can. This lets me save my creative mechanical efforts for Power Wagons. The peace of mind would be worth something

I did a little more thinking after doing some research on the web. I guess most car manufacturers never expected age to be a problem with timing belts since most cars average 15,000 plus miles a year. This would mean they might expect a belt to be changed every four years or sooner. For manufacturers who do make an age-related recommendation, the ones I saw said four to seven years. So, your mom's car is due for a belt change.

Since it's dear old mom, I would just replace the belt.