On Thursday, 21 July 1994 05:15:51 UTC+8, Owen Lee wrote:

I have a timing-belt-conspiracy-theory, please read and comment:
(I'd like to compile some data and will post the results later)

I had a 1983 Honda Civic, with a 5 sp. It went ~170k miles without
ever breaking the timing belt. My Uncle's 1986 Buick Park Avenue has
over 100k miles (Automatic), without breaking the timing belt. None
of my friends (work and social) has every broken a timing belt. In
fact, the only sources of broken timing belt stories are: auto-shops, dealerships, and friend of a friend of a friend who has a broken one
once.

Harley Davidson uses a similar belt to drive its 800 pound motorcycles
in place of a chain. Now if a rubber belt is stong enough to drive a
800 pound bike for usually 10's of thousands of miles, wouldn't you think it's strong enough to last for a life time when used to drive a couple
of cam shaft, which probably offer resistance equivalent to about 20 pounds?

My theory is that timing belt breaking is a scare story cooked up by
people who want you to spend $2-300 every 60k miles, so that the auto- service industry can have a few billion dollars more business. After all, the timing and valves were supposed to be adjusted anyway, why not add one more item while the valve cover is off.

I want to know if you have had a timing belt broken before, if so,
which car was it (make, model, year, etc), transmission type (which
affects engine rpm), mileage (highway miles, local miles, average
speed), whether you are throttle happy, how high do you rev your
engine before shifting, climate (hot air presumably makes plastic
deteriorate faster), etc. All the variables that you think may
effect the life of a timing belt.

It's important that that you respond even if you have not had a broken timing belt, especially if your car has gone over the magical 60k mile
mark without replacing the timing belt. Also, please include all cars
in your family so that I can have a big database. Otherwise I will
get only broken timing belt stories.

And please be honest.

you are terribly misinformed and ignorant about engines and cars. There is no conspiracy! Carmakers use belts to save 1,000 per engine and then make interference engines on top of that. The consumer then has to let a mechanic tear his engine apart to
replace the belt and pay about 900.00 average (Lexus GX470 about 1500) for the privilege. In short the belt will last anywhere from 60k to 200k depending on how the car is driven and what climate(freeze/thaw cycles) like in Canada or ideal conditions
like southern California. In 99% of engines with belts the engine is toast if the belt breaks. Are you willing to risk it because most cars are not worth the 8,000 price to replace the engines. So blame the car makers. The real conspiracy is making
engines with belts in the first place. I won't buy a car that has an engine that uses timing belts.I went round and round with VW. They give you a 100,000 mile engine warranty but it specifically EXCLUDES the timing belt which must be changed by VW at 90,
000 at a cost of 1100.00 Dollars. petebartelt@gmail.com

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I agree my timing belt on my Honda civic haven't ever broke in brighter car.My last one had 312 on it and one i'm driving now has 132 on it.The only way I would have it changed is if the water pump went,then ya might as well.I do beleive some people and
them breaking but it's far and few between on Honda's Civics at least.Now I'll tell ya what could happen if y beleive the hype.Well on a Honda y have a better chance of someone changing your belt at 80 grand and breaking your air compresser on your Honda
Civic and it will never have ac again than it ever breaking.I know some guy that exact same thing happens and the belt was fine when y turned it over there essentially even a tiny crack in it,but he no longer has ac.They even replaced the whole ac unit ,
but it's never write again because everything is bent out of shape.MORE HYPE than ever even this it happens from time to time depending on weather cold and hot.Wait till your water pump goes out on HONDAS Trust me on that!

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I had a 1995, 5 speed Mitsubishi eclipse I bought brand new. No problems until the odometer clicked over to 60,000 miles and then the timing belt broke as I was parking the car. The car literally wouldnt move, even if I put the car in neutral and tried
to push it down the hill. The engine was completely seized up, it bent the valves, pistons were all screwed, everything was out of alignment. Cost to repair was 4,ooo to 5,000 dollars. Needless to say I called the bank and told them where the car was and
to come and get it. Warranty didnt cover it because I didnt take the car to the dealership for regular maintenance though I did have regular maintenance done, such as oil changes, with certified mechanics. That was my 1st car I bought as a young adult
and didnt know my warranty would be voided if I didnt take it to the dealership for regular maintenance and that is something they for sure dont tell you. I drove it in Georgia and Florida and never abused it. I took better care of that car than I have
any other vehicle that I have owned since then. I say screw interference engines.

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I had one break in a oldmobile Achieva in the 90s. GMPP fixed it no charge. Today April 6 2019 I am having one replaced in a 2013 Buick regal turbo with 184k miles on it. It didn't break but was jumping time.

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I have broken a belt before it's not the pressure the belt has its the rot doused by the grime they deal with

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