How can i tell if a specific car has an interference engine or not?
I have read several discussions that if the engine is not intereference, i can practically just run the car till timing belt breaks then repair it; though not advisable.
Thanks.
http://www.gates.com/downloads/download_common.cfm?file=428-1466_web.pdf&folder=brochure
Those engines with a single astrix are inetrference engines.
Tester
If engine is non interference, I would still replace the belt when the time or mileage rolls around as indicated in the owner’s manual.
A few years ago I had a panic call in the middle of the night from a friend of my wife. Their daughter’s small pickup truck had conked out in the middle of a snow storm and the engine would not start again. After determining that is was not the radiator, electrical or lack of oil, I told her to call the AAA and have the car towed to a mechanic friend’s garage, and drop the keys and a note in the slot that the timing belt was broken. I called the shop the next morning and explained the situation.
So, if your life us so dull that you need the excitement of having a breakdown at the most inconvenient place (left lane on an expressway) or time (snow storm), by all means drive till the belt breaks.
As others have pointed out in numerous posts, these belts can break tomorrow or go another year.
Doc is correct. Somehow, people always seem to imagine that a breakdown will occur in their own driveway or in some other safe and convenient place. While that scenario is possible, more often than not, breakdowns such as the type that result from a broken timing belt happen in places like the left lane of an Interstate highway filled with 18 wheelers, or on dark lonely country roads.
Although the OP has probably not considered this, a broken timing belt can actually result in a serious safety hazard to the driver and passengers, due to the lack of engine power, lack of power steering, and the imminent lack of power assist for the brakes once the engine suddenly stops running.
My first timing belt broke on my Chevy Vega…Sunday Morning on the highway in Nashville TN. I was lucky to find a parts place open about 2 blocks from where I pulled off the highway.