Hello friends, It's been years since I last posted because I finished the restoration on my '84 308 and was just laying low. But it's now time to spend some time under the car instead of in it's seat. I last replaced the timing belts when I did a full rebuild back in 2004 or 2005. The car was driven only 1,500 miles since then and am curious to hear what you guys think concerning the need to replace the belts. Should I replace them due to their age or leave them as is because of the low number of miles? I'll be doing the work myself so the cost isn't an issue. And if you think I should change them what brand belts are now the best to use? What do you guys think? Thanks!
I think rifledriver should dive into this pool I would do a search if i were you you're welcome Sent from my SM-P905V using Tapatalk
Funny, the question I thought of when I saw the thread title was: How do I break in my new timing belts? Aaron
OUCH !!!!!!! I'll save you from the "Kill Shot." #1: Change them. #2: Get the belts from one of our sponsors and tell them you will take them only if they have the "Horseys" on them and are less than 5 years old. (The more Lesser than 5 the better).
I never accept them unless they are less than 2 years old. Seldom do I see them over 1 year old. I have been seeing well known shops installing belts over 5 years, assuming they were changed at all. But then I specialize in reliability, not repairing damaged engines. A client car sitting by the side of the road is hardly a good advertisement and the good part is I have no need to operate my own tow truck.
That's exactly my point, Aaron! Do I drive the car and "break them in" or are they too old and need to be replaced? Rifledriver, would it be incorrect to ask you where you get the belts you use? It sounds like I need to replace them to avoid a major problem. Plus I'll feel better about having new ones then worrying about the 7 year old ones. OK, now where do I get them and what else do I need to order? Thanks again, Lou
Couple hundred bucks and a weekend or two for new belts AND tensioner bearings vs. possible broken belt and bent valves and so on. I would definitely do the maintenance.
I will be driving the car more once I change the belts and regain confidence that I won't have a problem, at least not with the belts. The reason I haven't been driving the car is I've been spending my time restoring other cars. But now that I finished a body off restoration of my '54 MG TF it's back to the 308. Thanks.
I am driving less than 500 miles a year and change them every third year. The belts from T.Rutlands are "fresh"
My aim is every 5 years. Just did them last year. And I would use new belts just as Brian suggested. PDG Sent from my SM-G900P using Tapatalk
Rob, Here you go: Cam Belts Date Code - FerrariChat.com http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/138215700-post28.html Enjoy.
The answer to this question is always basically this: No matter when you replaced the belts, you would be crazy not to replace them again this weekend. They are too old, too many miles, too unknown, of unknown manufacture, or unknown date of manufacture, have the wrong tooth profile, came in the wrong box, came in a counterfeit box, sat in a hot UPS truck for too long, were incorrectly installed, had the wrong date code, et cetera. And when I say "et cetera," I really mean it. I bought a spare long block and it is sitting on a pallet in my garage. Let the damned thing break!