Junkyards are CRAMMED with cars that were delivered there after their cheesy engines were destroyed by the failure of a rubber belt…
… That were not changed when they should have been.
Wha Who?, I took the article with a gain of salt when I saw it was published by Gates, but if they are wrong, can you make an argument based on the technical issues mentioned in the document? It’s one thing to poo poo the document because Gates might have a conflict of interest, but it’s another thing to discuss the technical merits of Gates’ position.
Have they made any technical claims in the document with which you disagree? If so, why?
Enable lifetime timing belt drive systems? That is true that the belt lasts for the lifetime of the belt. If the vehicle lasts longer than the belt, this statement is not true.
Good damping characteristics? Didn’t know that I needed that. Our 74 Opel and my 71 Toyota Corolla OHV with roller timing chains did not care. Our two new GM cars with DOHC engines and roller chain cam drives don’t seem to care either
Incorporate additional components such as water pumps? This is positive spin on a negative feature that requires a water pump change at timing belt change time at extra expense. Normally water pumps are not changed until they fail. Often, a water pump can last for the life of the vehicle.
Error on synchronization between cam and crankshaft causes deterioration of fuel consumption and emissions? This is ad copy. Consider a Cobalt XFE with a chain cam drive, good for 37 mpg highway. Show me a compact size car with a rubber belt cam drive that can do better than that.
The article is full of ad copy and positive spin. No mention was made of drawbacks such as maintenance cost or ruined interference engine if the belt breaks.
I don’t see it as deceptive advertising. They will do the job for the quoted price, it is just prudent to replace the other components that have wear and tear on them. The shop is just trying to forewarn you that these parts that are accessible during the timing belt job could fail soon after ,and you would be paying a higher price in the long run. Its your car, your decision. Shops have different labor rates primarily due to that particular shops’ overhead costs
Incorporate additional components such as water pumps? This is positive spin on a negative feature that requires a water pump change at timing belt change time at extra expense. Normally water pumps are not changed until they fail. Often, a water pump can last for the life of the vehicle.
With all due respect, I disagree. I think the new practice of replacing the water pump prophylactically may have saved many engines that might have otherwise overheated when the water pump failed. Besides, I don’t replace my water pump with each timing belt. I change it with every other timing belt, which means my water pump gets changed every 180,000 miles. Even if I had a timing chain, I think changing the water pump prophylactically every 200,000 miles or so is a good idea.
Consider a Cobalt XFE with a chain cam drive, good for 37 mpg highway. Show me a compact size car with a rubber belt cam drive that can do better than that.
My 1998 Civic regularly gets 36 MPG highway, even though it is 12 years old with almost 190,000 miles. Is that close enough? After all, we are comparing a brand new car to a 12 year old car, and I bet my Civic gets better fuel economy in city driving (30 MPG) and combined driving than the new Cobalt XFE.
I appreciate your insight into the technical issues, but I am not convinced yet.
I object to the characterization from some members of this forum that timing belts are the bane of all automotive existence. I don’t think they are, unless one is ignorant about car maintenance or doesn’t shop around for a decent price for the timing belt job. Frankly, it seems like a knee-jerk reaction to the poor souls who come here knowing nothing about their cars and haven’t done the due diligence by shopping around to avoid getting ripped off. It won’t matter if these people have timing belts or timing chains. They will still go to the dealership for service, and the dealership will find another way to separate the ignorant from their money.
Where I live,unless you drive 20,000 miles a year, hardly anyone can keep a car long enough to exceed 200,000 miles. So none of us would need a timing chain changed but most of us will have to get the timing belt changed twice. Many car companies have changed back to the more expensive timing chain because of customer complaints. They wouldn’t have done that unless the chain was superior.
a great real-life example of deceptive advertising is one that I’m sure everyone has fallen for: the mcdonalds value meal. you save a few cents on the sandwich, but you pay a whole extra dollar for the soda.