Timing Belt Life

[JayDallas]

I change my at 152k

[Mile High VX]

Did mine at 115K.

[navistar]

2001 - 175,000 miles - original timing belt and water pump. Record?

[JoFotoz]

1999...original timing belt........but only 33k miles.

The thing is.... whats more important..age or miles?

I carry a spare with me on long trips just in case...
...but have been wondering if shear age warrants
doing it anyway.

?????

Jo

[circmand]

1999...original timing belt........but only 33k miles.

The thing is.... whats more important..age or miles?

I carry a spare with me on long trips just in case...
...but have been wondering if shear age warrants
doing it anyway.

?????

Jo

It is a combination. I did mine at 75,000 but at 10 years. I had read somewhere that that was the life span on the belts even if they did not have the miles. Not sure where I read it though.

[Stephen Biko]

Yes, the belt is rubber so it ages even if it isn't used.
Schedule is 75K miles or 6 years.
I know a fellow VX owner who's belt broke at 7 years and only ~35K miles, he had to get his engine replaced.
Don't chance it.

[PK]

Yes, the belt is rubber so it ages even if it isn't used.
Schedule is 75K miles or 6 years.
I know a fellow VX owner who's belt broke at 7 years and only ~35K miles, he had to get his engine replaced.
Don't chance it.

Why did he have to replace the engine??

Our engines are non-interference. If the timing belt breaks, you only need a new belt kit and the correct procedure to re-time the engine.

Sounds like your mate had a rip-off mechanic.

PK

[JayDallas]

It happened to me, my timing belt broke and following the instructions in this forum I was able to install and re-time the engine my self. It's easier than I expected.

[WillyLin]

I am doing timing belt on my 93 trooper, had it done at dealership at 120k, now 210k. belt looks normal, cant find any hair crack or any major wear. putting acdelco belt on. water pump was original I believe (210k) very little rust.( didn't had water pump done at 120k in 2006)

[mrtew]

How much does it cost to have a mechanic replace the belt and water pump. My VX is now 16 years old with 130,000 miles and I'm getting worried that I should be changing them but obviously I'm more the type to leave sleeping dogs lie and hope for the best! Unless it's just a couple hundred dollars then maybe I'll have it done today!

[CatFish]

The timing belt, tensioner, rollers, water pump and intake gaskets are grouped together on my invoice but it will give you an idea of what should cost. My guy only charges me for the time it takes him so it may cost more depending on who you go to or if you do the work your self. $280 labor and $276 in parts but this includes more than just the timing belt and water pump.

[mrtew]

Thanks, that doesn't seem as bad as I feared it would be! Maybe I'll do it after all!

[Nikad92397]

I liked these instructional videos



https://youtu.be/seW4HWkwb3Y

https://youtu.be/4st6CqDGmoc

[CatFish]

Thanks, that doesn't seem as bad as I feared it would be! Maybe I'll do it after all!

If you can do it yourself that would be the cheapest if not a good shop could do the timing belt and water pump for $450-$600. Even though the VX has a non-interference engine I think it is best to replace it because rubber ages and gets brittle and can stretch, I do not know how that would effect the engine or other components but I am one of those people that does not wait until my VX breaks down to fix stuff. I am proactive and do maintenance to all vehicles regularly. With that said I have gotten 200K plus out of many vehicles mostly Isuzus so I will continue to fix and replace stuff that is not broken so it might last longer and not break down.

I love old cars and trucks the VX is my newest vehicle and I have done the math on yearly cost of ownership of my vehicles. What I found was, if a new car payment is say $300-$400 a month and insurance is $100-$200 that is $400-$600 per month, so you could spend $4,800-$7,200 per year for a new car and it still could break down. My logic is I can own cool old cars and spend $3,000 per year on maintenance and repairs and still come out way ahead, but I was curious what I was spending per year and since I keep all my receipts I did the math and found I spend on average $2,500 per year including insurance, when I take the purchase price and what I spent on the vehicle before I sold it. My 96 Trooper was only $2,000 per year so if you look at it this way owning a older used car or truck is a win, at least it is to me.

[MSHardeman]

Bart (nfpgasmask) did an incredible write-up on how to replace the timing belt. I used the write-up to replace my timing belt and everything went off without a hitch. I can search around here for the write-up and post it if I can find it. If not, I may have it saved on my computer at home, in which case I will upload it.