What happens if you do not change the timing belt at the recommended time ?

[brian777999]

I have a 1998 Toyota Starlet Life. The recommendation is to change the timing belt at 100,000 km although some sources put it at 130,000 km. The car has done 119,000 km. It is running well now. Do I risk damaging anything by not changing the timing belt ? What is the worst case scenario ?

 

Note : It is quite an expensive business to change the timing belt (about 400 pounds) which I why I don't wish to do it unless I have to.

[Oldddudders]

Timing belts keep everything in synchronisation. If the belt fails, your valves may be going down just as a piston comes up. That costs a lot more than £400 to fix. You will probably find a new water pump is also part of the cambelt change. Dodgy waterpumps can cause all sorts of expensive problems, too.

 

Your wallet, your car, your choice.

[Horsetan]

I prefer timing chains - they seem less likely to slip.

[skipepsi]

In a nutshell you risk totally wrecking your engine if the valves hit the pistons. If on your engine the valves don't hit the pistons then an abrupt stop might be the worse case. Are you sure that the belt has never been changed? The price quoted for replacement seems excessive but that depends where you live.

[spamcan61]

As Ian says, you may risk valve damage - no idea if the Toyota Starlet is an interference engine or not, if so a belt snapping will almost certainly end in bent valves and a big bill.

 

Depends on the engine but it's almost certainly worth getting any tensioner and idler pulleys changed at the same time, and possibly the water pump as suggested.

[Guest]

Depends on the engine. If it's a 'non-interference' type that means the valves cannot come into contact with the pistons. If that's the case, then the belt breaking will probably won't damage anything.

If it's the other more common sort where the valves can hit the piston then the belt breaking will basically destroy the engine.

 

£400 is a lot. It's an older car. The belt will probably last beyond the recommended replacement time. Maybe run it 'till it breaks and get a new car. Your choice...

[spamcan61]

I prefer timing chains - they seem less likely to slip.

 

A toothed belt is unlikely to slip unless really worn or been damaged - OK it isn't totally unknown. Chains tend to stretch over time and can get noisy at 100,00 miles plus, i.e. at the age when I tend to but cars, and are more expensive to change. On a low mileage car I wouldn't be too bothered either way.

[Oldddudders]

£400 is a lot. It's an older car. The belt will probably last beyond the recommended replacement time. Maybe run it 'till it breaks and get a new car. Your choice...

Certainly an option. I believe this is known as "bangernomics" where you save the cost of servicing by running the car into the ground, but then have more in your pocket to buy another. Works better for city-dwellers, where public transport may be available when the car isn't, than for the rural types!

[brian777999]

In a nutshell you risk totally wrecking your engine if the valves hit the pistons. If on your engine the valves don't hit the pistons then an abrupt stop might be the worse case. Are you sure that the belt has never been changed? The price quoted for replacement seems excessive but that depends where you live.

 

I am fairly certain that it has never been done. Some places actually quoted 600 pounds !

 

It has been ten years since I have last owned a car ; I had forgotten how expensive it can be to have mechanical work done. Of course, it is a huge rip-off but what else can you do but pay the money ?

[spamcan61]

Certainly an option. I believe this is known as "bangernomics" where you save the cost of servicing by running the car into the ground, but then have more in your pocket to buy another. Works better for city-dwellers, where public transport may be available when the car isn't, than for the rural types!

 

Yeah, I'm very much a bangernomics type, despite living out in the sticks, although I do usually get cambelt / tensioner changes done at something close to the correct interval. My current car is a reasonably known quantity, unless I know a really big bill is looming I'll spend the value of the car per year keeping it going. I can only recall two occasions in the last 10 years where I've been let down by an old car, one where the fuel pump relay on my Vectra died at around 170K miles, and once when the headlamps went on an Omega at about 160K miles, which made it a bit entertaining driving across the New Forest in the dark.

Edited September 14, 2011 by spamcan61

[brian777999]

£400 is a lot. It's an older car. The belt will probably last beyond the recommended replacement time. Maybe run it 'till it breaks and get a new car. Your choice...

 

The car cost 3,000 pounds. Toyota Starlets are not cheap in regional areas of Australia. I live in Cairns and the public transport is woeful here. I used public transport for ten years and I will NEVER go back to using it.

[spamcan61]

 

I am fairly certain that it has never been done. Some places actually quoted 600 pounds !

 

It has been ten years since I have last owned a car ; I had forgotten how expensive it can be to have mechanical work done. Of course, it is a huge rip-off but what else can you do but pay the money ?

 

A quick look on Autotrader shows only 35 Starlets for sale nationally, having a rare car doesn't help when it comes to shopping around for servicing; folks are asking around 700-800 quid for '98 ones. If the car is in very good nick and you're basically happy with it I'd spend 400 quid on it, but it is a tricky call.

 

EDIT...

 

Although the use of Km makes me wonder where the OP is located...

Edited September 14, 2011 by spamcan61

[royaloak]

Its about £100 for the belt kit and takes a good couple of hours to change so £400 is at the top end for price but still reasonable, have you shopped around at smaller garages?

[Oldddudders]

Oz!

[brian777999]

 

A quick look on Autotrader shows only 35 Starlets for sale nationally, having a rare car doesn't help when it comes to shopping around for servicing; folks are asking around 700-800 quid for '98 ones. If the car is in very good nick and you're basically happy with it I'd spend 400 quid on it, but it is a tricky call.

 

EDIT...

 

Although the use of Km makes me wonder where the OP is located...

 

I live in Cairns, Australia. Toyota Starlets are not rare on the roads here. They are quite common but there are not many for sale because few people sell them. Most people hang on to them for years and years ; they just keep going.

[Guest]

 

The car cost 3,000 pounds. Toyota Starlets are not cheap in regional areas of Australia.

The few of that age on UK Autotrader are about £500

[brian777999]

Its about £100 for the belt kit and takes a good couple of hours to change so £400 is at the top end for price but still reasonable, have you shopped around at smaller garages?

 

No, not yet. I have only received quotes from the larger workshops. The Toyota kit is 260 pounds here and the after market kit is 150 poounds which is what I will be using. Everything is more expensive here in Australia. That is why all my model trains come from the UK !

Edited September 14, 2011 by brian777999

[royaloak]

If its a reliable car then surely it is worth spending a bit on it once in a while, better the devil you know etc!

 

Edit, I posted before reading the above posts.

 

As it is in Australia where the costs are higher then I would say spend the money and it will ensure the car will last another 4 years or more, so its only £100 a year, seems reasonable to me.

Edited September 14, 2011 by royaloak

[Webbo]

What you have to bear in mind is the cost of a new belt as opposed to wrecking the engine. Usually it is bent valves and some slight damage to the piston crowns, but I have seen cases where the pistons are damaged beyond repair, and in some cases it has cracked the cyl head. As a retired motor mechanic I can quite honestly say it's not worth the risk. I have known cases where the new belt and fitting were quite reasonable, between £100 and £300, but the owners didn't have them changed and were faced with bills of over £1000. One customer at the garage where I worked scrapped a 5 year old car because he couldn't afford the repairs. As has been said before it is your car and your money and your risk.

webbo

[Pannier Tank]

I've had two belts go on me, one was expensive the other not too expensive. Change it now.

[brian777999]

I will make a booking tomorrow to have it done . Thank you all for the advice.

[EddieB]

 

I live in Cairns, Australia. Toyota Starlets are not rare on the roads here. They are quite common but there are not many for sale because few people sell them. Most people hang on to them for years and years ; they just keep going.

 

Except when the timing belt breaks!

[great central]

My first Rover 214 that I paid £20 for as a non runner (only needed a tow start!) broke it's belt. I had no idea of it's history, it gave little indication apart from the engine stopping, no unusual noises. When my son and his friend dismantled it he said there were only two broken valves, and FOURTEEN bent ones

Got a replacement cylinder head from a scrapper and it ran for another couple of years until the gearbox gave out.

 

I'm now on my fourth one of this type although I now have a 418 diesel, cost £120 over 18 months ago, only problem all last winter was needing a stronger battery, I'm leaving home before 04.00 some days, and the power steering fluid freezing

[R A Watson]

At about that time (1998) I was selling Toyota bits in the local dealership and the 2E type engine (which I suspect is in your car) was in the Corola's, over here, and we were changing complete cylinder head assemblies together with selected pistons and conrods under warranty after belt snapping incidents.

 

I suggest that you change the belt, it will be cheaper in the long run.

[mcowgill]

As others have said, timing belt failures can be expensive. My wife broke the one on her Renault Scenic while accelerating up hill on a dual carriageway, probably doing about 50mph. The cost for doing the repairs at a main dealer were in excess of £2000.

 

I wouldn't have taken a car with 70k on the clock to a main dealer for such work when it was out of warranty, but before they started work on it I spent a long time on the phone to Renault, the car was bought new by us, always maintained at a main dealer - and most important, while out of warranty was not due for a cambelt replacement on age (due to high annual mileage) and the mileage interval for replacement was 72k, still a couple of thousand miles in the future,

 

I got Renault and the main dealers to swallow most of the cost (the full cost was eye-watering) and an admission from the Renault UK Customer Services Director that the replacement interval was increased from 36k to 72k due to complaints from customers about the cost, there was no change to the belt specification and they expected 'most' belts to survive the increased life.

 

Since then I've made sure I know the state and age of cam belts on all our vehicles, the last MG I bought was in excellent mechanical condition but had no service history, the belt was replaced almost immediately just in case - better safe than sorry.

 

Martin

Edited September 14, 2011 by mcowgill