![]() You will be driving along, when suddenly the car dies.īecause of severity of a belt breaking, every vehicle equipped with a timing belt will have a manufacturers recommendation on when to change the timing belt. Over years and constant heat cycling, the rubber begins to degrade, to the point where the belt finally fails. In most cases, a faulty timing belt will provide no warning of an impending break. ![]() In many cases, repairing a timing belt breakage is so expensive it is more than the value of the vehicle.Īs stated before, timing belts are composed of rubber, no different than a regular drive serpentine belt. At this point, the cylinder head must be removed, valves replaced, or new remanufactured heads installed. This takes that timing belt job from $400 -1,000 and just raised it to $3,000 -5,000. Remember, if your timing belt breaks, the damage is much, much worse. If any resistance is encountered, stop! Recheck the alignment. ![]() Remember that once the new belt is in place and properly tensioned, always rotate the engine slowly by hand, checking and double-checking the belt alignment and make sure everything looks proper. Many other tricks are shown online on how to keep the camshafts properly in place when installing the new belt, and many more do not require any tools for this at all. While these tools are readily available, many of them are vehicle specific, so there can be a multitude of them. Many timing belt jobs require the camshafts to be held in place by a special tool – do not let this scare you. If you decide to do the job yourself, make sure you follow each step of removal and reassembly perfectly, and research as much as possible on the job. While the cost is cheaper, the chances of further failure increase significantly. If the water pump is being done at the same time, the labor should be minimal, and less than 1 hour, as the work to expose the water pump and remove the timing belt is being done anyway. Remember, do not opt for a “just the belt” replacement. Labor on most timing belts is between 3-5 hours, putting your total cost between $400 -1,000. In most cases, a timing belt kit will run between $100 -350. When the job is done, all these components will be changed out. In most cases, a timing belt kit will consist of the belt itself, 2-3 idler pulleys, and a tensioner. There is nothing worse than paying for a timing belt service, declining the water pump replacement for an additional $100, only to find out 6 months later that the water pump is leaking, and now everything must be replaced again. In these cases, it makes complete sense to change the water pump with a new unit at the same time, since the labor to expose the pump is being completed anyway. Likewise, many vehicles have a water pump that is driven by the timing belt. A timing belt is tensioned and held in the proper track by a series of tensioners and idler pulleys, all of which have bearings and the ability to fail. While traditionally, everyone thinks of this change as “just the belt,” it is not. ![]() How Much Does It Cost to Replace a Timing BeltĪ timing belt service is more than just the belt itself. Because most engines are made with zero clearance between the piston top and the valves, this then causes in many cases the piston to collide with one or more valves in the cylinder head, causing bent valves and major damage. If a timing belt is not set up properly, “jumps time”, or worse yet – breaks, that functioning will cause the valves to be open at the wrong time. This belt is under precise tension, and as the engine’s crank turns, it then turns the camshafts (and many times, the water pump) to keep everything in perfect timing. The belt is made with high-quality rubber and reinforced with nylon chords. The timing belt (or chain) is located toward the front of the motor beneath the timing cover. Today’s engines are composed of multiple valves per cylinder, sometimes as many as 5 – and doing this properly requires exact precision between the moving pistons and the opening of the valves. Their job is to keep the mechanical timing of the engine – the intake and exhaust valves opening and closing at the exact precise time needed. If you have heard of the term “ Timing Chain” before, both a timing belt and chain perform the same duty.
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