[Scalawag]

I've turned a few wrenches in my day but I dont think I ever changed a timing belt . Well this question is more " Should I change it now @ 60 K{ orig.} miles "
Ok, it's an interference engine, a 4 cyl. 1994 Mitsubishi truck as stated earlier it's got 60k miles on it.
But here's the deal, I inspected the belt last weekend & it looked fine, no cracks, spliting, wear, even felt soft & pliable. It looked new, perfect. I bought the truck 2 years ago with 39k so maybe it was changed but I doubt it. Anyways the manufacturer says to change these things @ 60k for this truck , should I let it go a year to 70k or change it now? { I might be selling the truck soon }
Thanks for any tips,
Alan

 

[624272]

timing belt

its better to change it now because if it skips or breaks you will do extensive damage to the cylinder head the belt might cost $50.00 but the cylinder hear is $1000- $1500 with no core(a good old head)the manu. suggasts this dueto past experiances. The Choice is yours.if you do it yourself your looking at 4-6 hours dependant on your knowlege of this chore at hand

 

[Toutog]

Timing Belt.... a GearHead's Response

Scalawag....
Consider this: The timing belt is 10 years old and made of nylon belted rubber. You can't see what is going on inside the belt, it gives no warning when it is about to break, it just does....
The down side of it breaking besides it happening at the worst possible time is that you can do major engine damage like bending a valve and putting it thru the top of a piston.
I have seen timing belts go over 100K
and also seen the damage they do when they break at less than that.
IMPO I say 75,000 or 5years max....
why take the chance?

 

[Scalawag]

I was afraid of these logical replys !

Thanks for chiming in, Yeah Toutog it's the fact it's 9 years old that makes it sensible to change it now & not the milage.
Surfsanity, this truck has one belt { no ps or air } no shroud & 8 bolts on a plastic cover that goes over the belt. I just have to remove the pully & go @ it. I read on a website for these Mitsu trucks it can be done in less then 45 minutes but that's still cutting into some prime beer drinking time on the weekends.
You guys are right I think I needed a kick in the rear, but man it looks brand new! I wish i had a digital camera to show it but like mentioned it may be drying out or rotting in the inside of the belt.
Thanks for the comeback,

 

[jklett]

I had a timing belt go in a Mazda, and that thing looked brand new(except for the break). Got real lucky and had no other damage, but still scared the snot outa me when it happened. Ever since then, I won't go more than 5 yrs or 50K miles without changing. Oh, BTW, they're real easy to change on most cars, and even easier on trucks(at least from my exp.) Good luck, and use a torque wrench.

 

[Scalawag]

JKLett, wow & yours looked new as well

hmmmmmm, I've got to order one tommorow.
Now youve got me worried !!
I took this truck out east yesterday & ehemmm "blew it out" a little good thing she didnt let loose then...

(This post edited by Scalawag on 02/27/2003)

 

[sam843]

Change it
I don't know what the piston to valve Clearance is on that engine but if the belt goes =bent vales,holed pistons cracked head you know what the mech said you pay a little now or a how lot later

 

[616725]

Change it.

 

[captainlarry84]

Zero Tolerance Motors

If the motor is zero tolerance yes, if not what is the rush. Zero tolerence means that the valves can contact the pistons if the belt breaks. Most high performance OHV engines are zero tolerance. Call mazda and find out.

 

[STRIKERTHREE]

i would change it especially if its a low clearance engine better to be safe than sorry

 

[Scalawag]

CaptainLarry, it's a zerotolerence as you put it or an interference motor

I read it somewhere, it's a Mitsubishi 2.4 L Overhead cam jobbie it's a crunchola engine though..I think I read that 99% of japanese engines are " interference " engines & I think all 4 cyl. or OHcam's are. I'm gonna do it ASAP the thing is even Mitsubishi doesnt stock these belts for this truck they have to order them. They stopped importing this truck in '95. Great little pickup though, wouldnt want to waste the engine by not changing the belt..
thanks for the comebacks,

 

[624272]

bad timing

I had a mitsu. 2.4 in my 86 dodge that engine is chain driven but i had my problems with it a cracked cyl. head and head gaskets that blew between the cylinders even after i had the head milled and the deck on the block checked it finally died after 104 thousand miles .

 

[Scalawag]

My '94 2.4 Mitsubishi has a belt, I checked again today { after the replys on this thread } &

saw something I didnt like, looked like slight cracking so I ordered a Timing belt kit includes a silent shaft belt & tensioner.
Surfsanity, I think your was a 2.6 L engine, that was the one that had the chain. I know because I've been reading the Haynes manual all day on these things,