The Timing Belt

It is NOT the belt that you see once you open up the bonnet and look at the front of the engine. The Timing Belt in a motor vehicle is a mystery to many people. Most are unaware of where it is situated or what its function is.

What happens when the Timing Belt breaks?

There are two broad categories of engine designs - Interference and Non interference.

If the Timing Belt breaks in a non interference engine, the engine simply stops running.  This can be very dangerous depending on where you are at that time of the break. However no internal engine damage occurs.

An Interference engine could get really messed up if the timing belt breaks because the valves will fall down in the path of the piston. Things get really chewed up when this occurs and expensive repairs to the engine will be necessary.

What are the Warning Signs to indicate the necessity to replace the Timing Belt?

There are usually no tell tale warnings to indicate that a Timing Belt is about to break.

In some vehicles the technician may be able to see part of the belt for a visual inspection. The reality is even if the belt slips only one notch, it might as well be broken for all the damage that it could cause.

There is no middle ground. Simply replace your Timing Belt when your Owner’s Manual calls for it. If you have 60,000 or so kilometres on the clock, ask us at Total Care Auto for advice. Sometimes you can go for quite a while without failure but I have seen them break in a couple of oil changes that are being due. It’s just not worth the risk.

How expensive is it to replace the Timing Belt?

That really depends on what kind of car you have. It is usually not very easy to get to the Timing Belt; Very often it is necessary to remove some accessories to get to it. Consequently it is not a cheap procedure.  However it is a fraction of what it could cost to repair the damage caused by a failure,

At Total Care Auto, we are all about trying to avoid costly repairs and keeping you and your passengers safe.