When to replace a timing belt

If you still have the owner’s manual it will say something like 90K miles or 8 years whichever comes first. People focus on the miles number and ignore the years number. If you don’t have the owner’s manual you can research this on the – gates.com – web site.

If the Gates site shows you have an interference engine (I suspect you do) then if the belt breaks; the pistons hit a couple of values and lock up the motor. The damage is significant to several pistons and likely 4 to 8 valves. If you repair the motor figure about $3,000. If that is too much then you find a used motor from a junker somewhere and then you are talking about $2,000 to get the car running again.