“There are numerous TSB’s and links concerning early Aveo timing belt failure.”
…thus providing just one more reason to NOT buy one of these cars.
Truthfully, there is absolutely nothing about the Chevy Aveo (nee Daewoo) that is an advantage over its competition.
What is a TSB? i found service bulletin 3936 concerning this problem, but is this just for technicians or can a consumer use this for something?
If the timing belt is broken the only thing he needs to do to check for bent valves is remove the valvecover and be sure the valves are closed…and he NEEDS to do this. If the valves are sitting in the position they came to rest at after the belt broke some of the valves will be open and he’ll get zero ability to retain pressure. It doesn’t matter where the crank and pistons are.
Normally with a leakdown test you’re concerned about the position of the pistons…because you want the piston at eth top of the compression stroke to ensure the valves are fully closed. But with the nelt busted the position of the piston becomes irrelevant.
I have a copy of a TSB which outlines Chevy’s liability for the Aveo timing belt breakage. Basically, if it occurs before 60,000 miles, Chevy is liable. For a copy e-mail me at dyeazell@hotmail.com
Be that as it may, GM/Chevy may still be able to weasel out of this claim if the OP cannot substantiate proper maintenance on the car, especially the required 30k inspection of the belt. The OP never responded to my question regarding whether he/she has the car’s maintenance records, but as with most used cars, those records are probably not available.
He did the leak down test after replacing the timing belt. does that still make the test irrelevant?
I have no such records. Furthermore, I did not bring the car to a dealership because the warranty was up, so GM rep told me in no uncertain terms that any liability was void. BTW got he car back after a month and $1350 total.
I’m sorry to hear that it cost you this much money.
May I respectfully suggest that you fully research car models and their reliability records before buying your next car? While this type of catastrophic failure can happen to any vehicle, the Aveo’s dismal reliability record and dodgy origin did not promise great things to begin with.
A belt is subject to breaking at any time no matter the make. Some good friends of mine bought an as-new Honda Civic with 59k miles and the belt broke a couple of weeks later, although the replacement interval was 60k miles.
This left them stranded in the OK Panhandle near Boise City, OK (sometimes referred to as Oblivion) with a damaged engine.
I’ve seen a few prematurely broken belts on other makes in which mileage was under 50k. My son owned a Ford 2.3 at one time and a replacement Goodyear belt on that car snapped at about the 25k miles mark. (no extenuating circumstances such as fluid leaks, idler problems, etc.) The one saving grace was that this one was a non-interference engine.