Do I really need to change my timing belt

[chrisesteschiro]

My timing belt has less than 2000 miles on it along with the tensioner.... I am replacing my water pump. The bently says that anytime tension is lost on the belt replace it..........why would a belt suddenly be weaker after losing then regaining tension? I really don't mind throwing down the few dollars for a new belt but I was just wondering if its really needed...

Thanks

[Turf1600]

One of those "Want to pay to find out" type of deals. Just swap it and the peace of mind will be worth the money

[delatlanta1281]

Srsly.

[TwoJ's]

Yes, you should replace it. I tried to tell the kids on bf.c that they should replace it whenever tension is removed, but they insisted that wasn't the case.

The smart move is to replace it. What is a belt, $25? $20? It's just cheap insurance if you ask me.

[rwh11385]

No man, it's all a conspiracy to make you buy more parts at a dealer. You don't have to replace control arms ever either.

[DarkWing6]

I just used a shoe lace instead of the belt last time it "needed" to be replaced. Mine were from KMart for $1.99, but some guys have been getting them on sale at Sears for $.99.

[nando]

you guys are idiots :p

if he just changed it and it only has 2000 miles, he doesn't need to do it again just to do the waterpump. not neccesary at all. You don't have to loosen the tension on the belt at all - you can remove the waterpump separately without touching the belt. just make sure the tensioner is tightened down really well. you don't really need the tensioner spring for anything but the initial installation of the belt. once the tensioner is tight it's just dead weight.

[///M42 sport]

the tensioner spring was pretty annoying to put on.

[AndrewBird]

you guys are idiots :p

if he just changed it and it only has 2000 miles, he doesn't need to do it again just to do the waterpump. not neccesary at all. You don't have to loosen the tension on the belt at all - you can remove the waterpump separately without touching the belt. just make sure the tensioner is tightened down really well. you don't really need the tensioner spring for anything but the initial installation of the belt. once the tensioner is tight it's just dead weight.

This be a good point. The SPRING rests against the water pump, not the tensioner it self.

[StereoInstaller1]

Besides, what is a few bent valves between friends?

[atomic]

I would replace it after all it is cheap insurance ...

[nando]

Besides, what is a few bent valves between friends?

did you miss my post entirely?

[nando]

also, the whole "don't retension the belt" thing is a myth. when I was building my motor, I had to take the belt off and put it back on again - since my engine is non-interference, I thought it would be a good chance to test this. almost 20000 miles later and it's just fine.

[chrisesteschiro]

r3v's great......first few post calling me an idiot, followed by dont change it............It's not a matter of money its, the time involved to wait for it to ship to me.......

[nando]

you don't need to change it - you have 2000 miles on a fresh belt right? change your water pump, and leave the belt alone (don't even take it off). why waste your time and money? everyone just assumes you can't change the waterpump without removing the belt. it just happens that it's easy to change them both at the same time, and they both have the same service interval (about 50,000 miles) - so the real lesson here is, change your waterpump next time you redo your belt. :p