I had my timing belt/water pump etc replaced about 2 years ago. I’ve put probably 30k miles on it and it snapped today. How long should a timing belt last?
A factory timing belt should last 80 to 100 K miles, some cars less. Frustrating for you that you only got 30k out of it. I hope your car was not an interference engine and there was no damage.
It’s not a factory belt. I had the belt snap about 2 years ago and replaced belt, water pump, tensioner, and pulleys. It is an interference engine. I had bent valves etc. it seems likely that this is the case again. That’s why I’m asking how long they should last. i can’t afford the absurd amount of money it costs to fix!!
Since the recommended change interval is typically 100k miles, then the mean lifetime is at well over 100k miles. That assumes the belt is OEM or equivalent AND correctly installed.
Looks like you are out of luck as repair warrantees are rarely over 1 year. Perhaps the mechanic who did the change will give you a discount on repairs.
@jonnyx, what car do you own, what year, and which engine is in it?
You already know how much it cost the last time and only you can decide if you want to put that much into your vehicle again. The first step would be to talk to the mechanic to see what they will do.
2001 Hyundai Santa Fe v6 2.7l
It is an interference engine meaning that the overhead valves interfere with piston movement. When the timing belt snaps, the valves may fall into the cylinder and can be bent by the pistons as they move up. Your engine may, and probably does, have serious damage. Don’t get the timing belt replaced until you determine what damage was done.
A timing belt replacement should last a minimum of 7 years, 60,000 miles if done properly.
Properly may include replacing tensioner, guides and cam seals, along with the water pump.
"How long should a timing belt last?"
“It’s not a factory belt. I had the belt snap about 2 years ago and replaced belt, water pump, tensioner, and pulleys.”
Certainly a timing belt should last longer than 2 years and 30,000 miles!
Perhaps the belt was collateral damage. Other things can cause a perfectly good belt to fail. A defective tensioner or fluid contamination are just a couple things to consider.
An “autopsy” and some “pathology” performed by a skillful technician are needed to tell for sure if the belt caused this or was an innocent victim.
CSA
“Correctly Installed” means to me that the belt must have no tension but a slight bit of looseness, there must be no misalignment among the pulleys, the tensioner pulley and the water pump if driven by the belt must be replaced. Two in a row as you describe says that you may be hiring mechanics who don’t do it right. My old VW has over 300k miles; have changed belts myself every 60k miles with never a problem. My wife had a VW for 110k miles and I replaced her belt too.
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What needs to be known is what caused the belt to break. Any oil leakage in the belt case from various seals? That would do it as an oil saturated belt won’t last long. Same goes for engine coolant leaks.
If a bolt which holds an idler or tensioner in place is broken or came out then I would suspect the job was not done properly.
I don’t see a future in a 2001 Hyundai DOHC 2.7L with a broken timing belt, too expensive to repair. You could pay someone to find the cause of failure but it will be difficult to hold anyone accountable for the failure after 2 years.