Timing Belt.

[bluestu]

I started my car this morning and the engine sounds like new. No more squeaking and squealing, and it seems to run much better at startup.

[bluestu]

Well, I had the timing belt, water pump, and serpentine belts replaced. I also had a radiator flush and transmission flush which the mechanic said is an absolute must with that type of transmission. He said a lot of fluid gets trapped in the torque converter and cannot be drained out. He said old school guys come in the shop all the time and argue with him about the necessity of a flush.

My total cost was $700.00. A bit pricey, but I'm 100% sure that the job was done right. Well worth the money. I appreciate everyone's input on this topic, as well as many others.

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[mckellyb]

Y'know, having never had a timing belt valvetrain, only chain-driven valvetrains, when the '95 Intrepid we have approached 90K miles, I started to dread replacing the belt. We, no, I decided to take it on one last trip before tearing it down. The car had about 83K on it, so I had plenty of room for excess wear...or so I thought.

Between Colorado Springs and Pueblo, at about 85 MPH, the engine quietly stopped running. I slapped it into neutral and tried to restart the motor to no avail.

After coasting to the shoulder, and noticing the starting sound was now 'lopey', not sounding remotely like it should, I pulled a spark plug wire and had my wife key the motor...sure enough, no spark. I figured the belt had let go, although I couldn't be certain until I dug further. I had -0- tools, no cellular service, and no repair manual with me.

As luck would have it, there was a ranch about a 1/2 mile down the freeway, and after calling a cab to take us to get a rental car to drive back home, get the other car/tools/manual/tow rope, we pulled it to the rest area about two miles away.

Sure, it took me 7 hours, but I replaced said belt in the rest area, being entertainment to folks passing through. Lesson learned, in the case of timing belts, don't push it far, if at all.

Looking at the timing belt cavity showed the water pump had been seeping for a while, though it never dripped coolant on the ground, only on the belt, which is likely why it failed early. Knowing this car has a non-interference engine, I wasn't ever concerned about internal damage, just with walking home. With the RX, I'll be all over that thing at 90K. If the belt looks just fine, it'll have an emergency spare. I never plan to replace this car in our personal fleet, so it is my best interest to keep it as healthy as possible. I've told my wife this is her vehicle for the next 40 years, so she'd better like it. :D

[lenore]

brave talk, does your wife read this stuff.

[RX in NC]

Hey lenore,

The kitchen tile job is basically done and it looks great. Renting that $900 wet saw from Home Depot made all the difference in the world since you can cut as precisely as you can measure. They only charged me for one day since I picked it up last Wednesday morning and couldn't return it until Friday morning since Thursday was Thanksgiving Day. I wound up cutting and tiling for about ten hours on Wednesday and then finished up on Thanksgiving morning before we headed out for our luncheon. I allowed two days for the adhesive to cure and then grouted on Saturday.

I'll seal the grout lines this evening and then I can check off another completed home renovation project. I hope that does it for awhile - I need a break....

[Lexusfreak]

When timing belts first started being used instead of timing chains no one could be sure of the lifetime. After 15 years, and with continuous product improvements to boot, it has become pretty obvious that they are likely longer lasting than timing chains.

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I disagree! If that's the case, why are many of the new models (take the Toyota Avalon for example) now being built with timing chains instead of belts? B)

A family member of mine is still driving my 1991 Olds Delta 88......3.8L cast iron block V6 with yes.........a timing chain......480,000 miles....772,000 kms!! No joke.....If I remember, I will take a pic of the odo at Christmas......never had the timing chain replaced! (reason why it's still going is I rust-profed the car 'bigtime' when I worked for a GM dealer...only now is it starting to rust). My Dad had a 1990 Buick Park Ave.....same drivetrain......had to get rid of the car at 280,000 miles.......body was rotting out, but the dealer plucked the engine & tranny out! Original timing chain! :whistles:

If I had the choice, I'll take a timing chain over a belt any day. ;)

[lenore]

Yeh, your done. The hard part is finished. I hope you H&G channel is broke though