EEngineer

yea, unfortunately belt dressing is not a miracle product.
it's only going to make it run quieter.
I mean, it doesn't hurt to apply some.
most of the belt dressing advertise it as being able to keep the rubber from aging, but we all know rubber is not gonna last forever.
all rubber have oil dissolved in it, and it will evaporate slowly over time. once it becomes dry, cracks will appear.
belt dressing will only slow down the evaporation process. that's all.

LeX2K

NEVER use belt dressing on a timing belt. Never put anything at all on the belt, nothing. It is designed to be 100% clean and free of any contaminants. Belt dressing will not do anything at all to help the belt, and will just potentially weaken it and cause it to stretch or even break.

RandomTech

This is the worst idea in the history of the world.

A broken belt on the 3.0 will need:

New belt
New tensioner
New tensioner pulley
New idler pulley
New water pump
New timing belt metal backing plate
New timing belt upper and lower covers
New crank pulley sprocket (the one with the crank sensor teeth)

When the belt breaks, it doesn't snap, rather it sheers the teeth off. These, at running speed, allow the belt to slide off the cam sprockets, and the belt (with it's remaining teeth) grabs and destroys everything in the cover. Not only that, you've got to go in and clean everything, as any remaining debris will damage the new belt if it works into the moving components. If you've ever seen the inside of a tire that's been run flat, you know what I'm talking about (but with bigger chunks)

I've seen it happen. Driving it 'til it breaks is only going to cost you an extra thousand bucks.

BradTank

Talk about being a drama queen

It's not going to cost you an extra thousand bucks if the timing belt breaks on a non-interference engine, most of what you're describing is replaced anyway when you do that job. Can a freak accident happen? Of course, but it's highly unusual, and a freak accident could happen on anything.

On a car that's worth around $2,000 and has nearly 200k miles and has already had the timing belt replaced, I'd push it because you're getting near disposable territory.

You could make the case that nearly everything on that car needs to be replaced. Might as well replace the oil pump, it could seize up with that many miles and grenade the motor, might as well replace the head gaskets, they could blow and hydrolock the motor, etc.

brucelee1

iTrader: (2)

Well there is being stuck in the middle of wherever, whenever. But, why would THAT be a concer to anyone?

Crappy advice in the extreme, change the bleeping belt.

Coulter

I'm in the camp that if its a car with a lot of miles that's less than $2k and not an interference motor, I'd go a lot further than the 90k miles that's recommended. Getting over 150k miles on these belts is pretty common, and it's not the catastrophe some are making it out to be if the belt does break, it usually does about as much damage as if an accessory belt were to snap. You can also pull the cover off and do a visual inspection, if you see any cracks, go ahead and swap it out.

On a '99 or later model though, I would play it by the book with the timing belt. It's just not worth the risk.

Dealerships LOVE cars with interference motors and timing belts, they'll try to sucker people into getting it done WAY before the manufacturer recommends. I had a friend that just got his car done at around 60k miles for about a grand, it's easy to scare people into it.

Timing CHAINS FTW.

pohljm

Ok We have on 05 ES330 it only has 35K miles on it but it is past the recommended time interval of 72 months for a timing belt change. First question is if it is truly a non-interference design? second question is how long do you think its safe to go before changing? mileage obviously will not be the determining factor as we use the car little. I do not necessarily think a visual inspection of these belts can tell you a whole lot unless there is something obvious.

ASG14

iTrader: (1)

This thread sure shows who some idiots are, wow. I mean, really? Some of the stuff being said here is just moronic.