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Is there easy way to check timing belt condition?

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#2 ·
krakozavr said:
The timing belt on my Odyssey 2007 was replaced on 100K and now the car has 216K miles.
It costs about thousands of dollars to replace it. I would like to check whether the belt is in good condition.
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"about thousands of dollars"?

I had it done for about $600 by an indy mechanic (former Honda tech) and the job included more than just the belt. Anyone charging you "about thousands of dollars", even one thousand dollars, is ripping you off.

You might want to check out this site to get a rough estimate of what you might pay for your specific vehicle in your specific zip code.

https://repairpal.com/estimator/results

As for your specific question, the timing belt should be replaced not only based on mileage, but also based on time. As the timing belt ages, it may still look OK, but be weaker due to many factors, not just driving, but temperature changes, etc. At 116K on the current belt, you are beyond the mileage recommendation, but maybe within the age spec. Are you?

In any case, since you have over the recommended 105K miles, it is now time for the standard question: Do you feel lucky?

A busted engine is going to cost you a whole lot more than a timing belt change.
 
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#3 ·
Yeah, like he said, most timing belts still look new even at the end of their life. So a visual inspection is meaningless, except for oil contamination or similar exceptional circumstance.

Change it according to time or mileage.

Dave
 
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#4 ·
In addition, sometimes the belt itself does not fail, but one of the other timing parts (rollers, tensioners, ....) that get replaced as part of a timing belt job.
 
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#5 ·
I agree with everyone else. It may last another 50K, maybe even another 100K. What if it doesn't? Now you have to replace the timing belt AND replace a good portion of all the valves which requires pulling the cylinder heads. You just took a job that would cost $1200 max at the dealership (not "thousands") and turned it into a job that WILL cost "thousands."

The last one I did was a 2009 Pilot for a friend. It had 157K. When I took it off I could tell by comparing the new and the old belts that the old belt was worn and stretched. The teeth were slightly smaller on the old one which means the belt doesn't fit as tight on the sprockets. Also, the hydraulic tensioner was leaking. Everything else under the cover was fine but we replaced it ALL anyway. Kinda silly to go back in 30K later and replace an idler pulley or something silly like that.
 
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Discussion starter · #6 ·
sorry for the typo in my first message.
"thousand" or course, not "thousands".

An official dealer in my area normally charges whole process for 1.1K. However I just called them - $850 till the end of the months. There are another guys, not dealers, who charges 800K by default without any discounts. I would prefer dealer of course.

Anyway, it looks expensive.

I believe that there is no real need to replace timing belt every 100K miles. I believe the manufacturers just like overdefend themselves saying you should replace it in case it breaks they say "we recommended you, remember?".
So, from my understanding we all change the timing belts just to keep the manufacturers protected, not ourselves.
However I am not a car expert, so I may be mistaken.
 
#7 ·
krakozavr said:
...I believe that there is no real need to replace timing belt every 100K miles. I believe the manufacturers just like overdefend themselves saying you should replace it in case it breaks they say "we recommended you, remember?".
So, from my understanding we all change the timing belts just to keep the manufacturers protected, not ourselves.
However I am not a car expert, so I may be mistaken.
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Nobody is forcing you to change your belt. Change it whenever you want to. Its rubber. Extreme temperatures effect the life of rubber so while one person's belt will last 200K, another's may only last 100K. If you live in extreme cold or hot temps the interval is 60K.

to sum up...I'll just requote here:

DerbyDad03 said:
...Do you feel lucky?
Click to expand...
 
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#8 ·
krakozavr said:
...I am not a car expert, so I may be mistaken.
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My only other question is after making the above statement how can you make this statement?

krakozavr said:
...I believe that there is no real need to replace timing belt every 100K miles. I believe the manufacturers just like overdefend themselves saying you should replace it in case it breaks..."
Click to expand...
It's your car. Do what you want with it.
 
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#10 ·
DerbyDad03 said:
Free Tip: Even car experts can be mistaken.
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Best tip all day! I've made many many mistakes working on cars.

One side note to that...One mistake people who don't work on cars make is assuming that the dealers do the best work just because they are the dealer. It doesn't work that way. You can have good techs at a dealer and bad techs at a dealer. I've heard of dealers screwing up timing belt jobs and bending valves. I've heard of independent shops doing it too. No matter where you go you just need someone doing the job who knows what they're doing.
 
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#11 ·
DerbyDad03 said:
Free Tip: Even car experts can be mistaken.
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The only experts on cars are generally the engineers who designed them, and a handful of master mechanics who understanding engineering as well being able to interpret parts wear patterns and why parts are failing. Why did the engineer tell you to replace a component at a specific time? Because he understood what the median life of a component is and when the likelihood of a failure will significantly increase.

When you ask a mechanic "when should I change my [insert car thing here]". If his answer isn't "Whatever it tells you in the book", he's operating beyond the range of his expertise. That doesn't make him wrong, but he's just expressing an opinion, like everybody else.
 
#13 ·
Sure, which is why I said an engineering decision about replacing parts is made by understanding expected failure rates and making a statistical decision on when to replace it.

No one short of the almighty can tell you when a specific part will fail. But I do trust statistical models that the service intervals are based on.
 
#14 ·
Here's an interesting bit. I had just under 150K when my engine went. The replacement (62K) was put in. The shop did a timing belt replacement (I also asked for water pump also).

Now the maintenance minder is going to light up when I have 200K miles so what do I do? Follow it or go until 250K?
 
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#15 ·
As for when it lights up that will depend on the mileage you were at when you did the first timing belt. It will light up 105K miles later, at the nearest oil change time. Just track it manually. Do any of the other maintenance indicated and skip the timing belt. If I were doing my own I might just throw a new belt only on it without replacing any of the other stuff and then let it go until the next MM interval. That's a bit on the OCD side. Totally unnecessary.
 
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#16 ·
Karl05 said:
Here's an interesting bit. I had just under 150K when my engine went. The replacement (62K) was put in. The shop did a timing belt replacement (I also asked for water pump also).

Now the maintenance minder is going to light up when I have 200K miles so what do I do? Follow it or go until 250K?
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I'm confused. 62+105 is 167. At 200K it will overdue. At 250K it will really overdue.

Am I missing something?
 
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#17 ·
DerbyDad03 said:
I'm confused. 62+105 is 167. At 200K it will overdue. At 250K it will really overdue.

Am I missing something?
Click to expand...
I'm assuming the timing belt on his original engine was changed at 105K and the MM reset, meaning it will come on again at 210K. However, at 150K the engine was replaced and a new timing belt put on the replacement engine. That timing belt should go 105K until needing to be replaced. That would occur at 250K on the odometer. His MM is going to tell him to change the timing belt at 210K...nearly 40K early.
 
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#18 ·
Ah...I see. I don't know why I thought the MM would be reset to match the 62K on the engine to line up with the belt change "mileage".

Color me :stupid:.
 
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#19 ·
I know they can transfer your old gauge cluster data to a new gauge cluster but not sure they can be reprogrammed to accommodate a replacement engine. There's probably a hack with a hex editor and reprogramming the chip itself. I've not seen that anywhere, though.
 
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#20 ·
krakozavr said:
I am not a car expert, so I may be mistaken.
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See, here is the thing: As my friends in NASA always say, "there are only two states of being for anything biological or mechanical: Failing, or failed." If your system falls in the "failing" category, you're OK. But the system or component will absolutely eventually, inexorably, fail. Honda says replace your timing belt by X number of miles. Why, oh why, would you, or anyone else, question that obviously-learned limit of usability? Just go change the damn thing. Geeeez... :facepalm:
 
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