… or who end up with a car that never dies.
.
Not strictly true. The price of fuel is low because of world events, since the price of fuel is governed by the futures market, which is based on the expected replacement price of current stocks, and the current regime’s failure to fulfill its campaign promise to raise energy costs… yet.
I will never again purchase a vehicle with a timing belt.
All of the major manufacturers seem to be switching to chains anyway.
I find it interesting that you would say that instead of “I will never again purchase a VW” or “I will never again purchase a timing belt made by the company that made those timing belts.” Instead, you identified the presence of a timing belt as the factor to avoid. It seems like a knee-jerk reaction to me. I can’t blame you though. It’s probably the same reaction I would have. Actually, I would probably take it a step further. I would probably never buy another VW and I would probably never buy another car with a timing belt, just to be safe.
But it’s much easier for some to come up with the $20-30 oil change price than it is to come up with a spare $350 or more to change the belt. Therefore it gets put off and put off until it’s too late. Maybe a coin slot to stick a quarter in every time you drive would work?? By the time you reach 90k miles you would have enough to replace it. lol
DfromSD, when I needed financial help to get work done on my car, I got a Goodyear credit card. On my last timing belt job, I also had the water pump and other belts changed. It cost six monthly payments of $91.67, and it was all interest free.
I believe other national chains offer their own credit cards, and they frequently offer deals based on the amount of the bill that give you three, six, or twelve months to pay it off interest free.
I will warn you that this can go awry. The normal interest rate on these store-issued credit cards is pretty high, so if you can’t pay off the balance in the specified time, you will be charged interest for the whole period. However, this is a great solution for people who want to defer payment for automotive maintenance and are committed to paying off the balance on time.
Well, actually, a serpentine belt failure can ruin your engine. One of the things it runs is your water pump. I had a 1984 Ford Escort once that lost the belt that ran the water pump; the result was a warped cylinder head.
I would think that interference engines would be safest if the camshaft were run by means of gearing. In the Good Old Days of side valves and pushrod overhead valves, straight gearing of the camshaft was easily done. It’s a bit more complicated with overhead cams, of course, but Ferrari manages it easily.
I am sure that one of the reasons belts are used, even with interference engines, is that the manufacturer expects that their vehicles will normally be consigned to the tender mercies of a dealer’s maintenance department, and people who do not use dealers for maintenance would normally be knowledgable about the need to replace timing belts on schedule.
I suspect that these modern engines with high horsepower from low displacement (high specific output) use cams with lots of valve lift, so the open valve reaches further into the cylinder. That plus higher compression (my Toyota has 10:1 compression and runs 87 octane gas) so the piston head comes closer to the combustion chamber roof and there’s less room there to tolerate valves and piston losing sync.
Has anyone here ever actually known a car engine to be ruined by a broken timing chain?
My wife’s car is due for a change, and I just had this conversation with a mechanic. For this car (2003 Toyota Camry V6), it’s apparently standard to change the water pump while the timing chain cover is off, total price ~600.00. I asked him what it would cost to do the timing chain without the water pump, and he said not to do it at all. Because he’s never known of one of these cars that has actually had the disaster that people keep talking about. (His contacts at the Toyota dealership haven’t heard of it either).
Good point about owner ignorance of replacement requirement. Of course, the maintenance schedule in the manual will say replace but in my case I had no idea that I had bought a car with an interference engine. I once owned a '66 GTO and the timing chain broke with zero damage to the engine. Not realizing the hazard of failure to replace the belt on schedule, I ended up with a repair over $1,000 to fix the valve damage to my ‘89 Honda. If this were a food product with peanuts, it would come with 20 pages of warning material but not a whisper in the manual. God bless the free market and private enterprise but one must apparently be aware of the fact that incompetents are out there writing owners’ manuals.
My Honda’s an otherwise terrific car and I’ve had it for 21 years now and it’s still getting 32-34 mpg on the highway.
I can get my belt replaced for $350 and have even done it myself. HowEVer, that doesn’t leave me particularly happy with the fact that Honda saved $5 by not using a chain.
Pray tell, what Honda dealership did that repair for you for a mere $350? California Dealer shop rates are around $90/hour. 3.5 hour job + parts starts to add up…
“My wife’s car is due for a change…I asked him what it would cost to do the timing chain without the water pump”
Timing chains are not replaced on a schedule.
The 2003 Camry V6 engines use a belt. I checked.
This belt is 7 years old, change it.
$600 sounds reasonable to me. About $100 a year engine insurance.
Not doing the water pump will save you $50-100, penny wise and pound foolish IMHO.
I would also replace the thermostat, radiator cap and hoses.
This is one of the reasons I bought a 2003 Camry with the 4 cylinder engine- it has a CHAIN.
In celebration of the service anniversary passing I think I’ll take the wife out to a nice restaurant for a big steak & lobster meal and still have $400 in the bank. That’s gonna taste extra special!!
“I would think that interference engines would be safest if the camshaft were run by means of gearing. In the Good Old Days of side valves and pushrod overhead valves, straight gearing of the camshaft was easily done. It’s a bit more complicated with overhead cams, of course, but Ferrari manages it easily.”
I don’t get the Ferrari reference, Ferrari engines have been using Timming Belts for decades and usually have to be changed every 30,000 miles.
Thanks for checking about the belt, but I’m still looking for an answer to my original question.
My mechanic may have simply meant that that car does not have an interference engine. But has anyone here actually seen bent valves because a timing belt or chain broke?
“But has anyone here actually seen bent valves because a timing belt or chain broke?”
Yes I have. On a 1981 Accord. The belt didn’t break. A bunch of the belt teeth broke off.
The belt was oil soaked due to a leaking crankshaft seal.
When I took the head off the valves were visibly bent and little gouges on the piston heads.
The engine had ~120K on it. The cylinders were badly worn, about 1mm and oil in the air cleaner suggesting lots of blowby.
A clear case of neglect.
A co-worker had bought it for $350 and it lasted him a few months. The body was in great shape cosmetically.
I read that message
Timing belts are due by a certain mileage or time, whichever comes first
So if that car is 10 model years old, I’d say the timing belt is most likely due by age, even if you’ve accumulated very few miles
Lots of us have.
Someone here posted a great photo just recently of valve damage due to a busted belt. I wish I’d kept it.
If the poster still has it may I plead with you to post it again? 
Never mind. I just discovered that this thread was originated long, long ago.
That’s a silly comment. $800-1000 is not insignificant.
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The OP mentioned FAULTY belts, that can also include mistakes made when installing new belts. I just read a post on another thread that a belt shredded 5 days after installation. You’re risking engine damage EVEN if you follow maintenance schedules perfectly just by owning an interference engine at all.