TIMING BELT AND WATER PUMP CHANGE??

[mjb457]

Ok thankyou..Its on the 100K list (25k to go-2years) again thanks MJB {{{{{{{{{{$1300.00 will go on the budget}}}}}}}}}}}}}} MJB

[prettybluewoody]

It's understandable that you want to wait a couple years more until you do the timing belt and water pump, but most recommendations say 80k-100k miles --- so purposely waiting until the high end of that, the 100k, might not be a very good idea.

One suggestion I'd make is, if your Cruiser is in the shop before then for any other major work, go ahead and get the belt and pump as well. Yeah, it'll add big bucks to the total cost, but that'll still be cheaper than waiting for it to actually fail!

[Hooligan]

Originally Posted by prettybluewoody

It's understandable that you want to wait a couple years more until you do the timing belt and water pump, but most recommendations say 80k-100k miles --- so purposely waiting until the high end of that, the 100k, might not be a very good idea.

One suggestion I'd make is, if your Cruiser is in the shop before then for any other major work, go ahead and get the belt and pump as well. Yeah, it'll add big bucks to the total cost, but that'll still be cheaper than waiting for it to actually fail!

In the mean time you can have the major parts you need on hand. Crewzin got his from Rock Auto Parts I believe. He only paid about 1/2 the cost. If I'm wrong, he'll chime in.

[bobdole369]

Pretty much right on, a bit optimistic on the mileage IMHO. I see a lot of folks between 80-100k have the timing belt snap on them. Average is about 90k, which is what I'm fairly sure the maint schedule says (might say 60k.)

100k is possible sure, but rolling the dice. My 2001 base went at 93k. My 2004 limited has 82k, and I'm saving like mad to get it done next month or two before any bent valves/head work would need done.

BTW I've seen anywhere from $700-$1200 to do just the pump/belt/tensioner, but once the valves bend and the head has to come off and go to the head shop - that bill gets to $2000 quick.

[NIL8r]

Hi All,

I thought I had read somewhere on this forum that the PT is a "non-interference" engine. Meaning that if you do lose the timing belt, you won't have valve/piston collision.

Can anyone confirm this? I just rolled 80k miles.

[cdynaco]

Originally Posted by NIL8r

Hi All,

I thought I had read somewhere on this forum that the PT is a "non-interference" engine. Meaning that if you do lose the timing belt, you won't have valve/piston collision.

Can anyone confirm this? I just rolled 80k miles.

Yeah it was covered over here today:

Chrysler says: interference. (ignore the thread title - read the thread)

Non interference in terms of valves not hitting pistons. But apparently some valves can come in contact with each other. So either way a timing belt failure could result in your tearing the head down.

[cruiserbettyboop]

i have a question to anyone...my timing belt broke while driving down the road, i got it fixed and it ran for 3 weeks, then it gave out while i was driving down the road but the timing belt is intact, so far i have changed the coil pack and the drive shaft sensor, because that is what the machine read but after all that the pt still will not run, it tries to start but won't turn over, it sounds as if the fuel pump is out but that isn't it...how can i find out if the heads and valves got damaged? there is no water in the dipstick...

[cruserdad1976]

sounds to me like it is out of time maybe the belt slipped as hard as that is to belie but that's about the best bet if you had bent valves trust me you would have known as soon as you started the motor

you can have the valves hit but that usually only happens when the rpms are up in the 3000+ range

[cruiserbettyboop]

do you think I need to change the waterpump? i heard that when the timing belt needs to be changed the water pump is also supposed to be changed, is this true?

[CREWZIN]

First, Schedule "B" which is what most of us fall under calls for 120,000 timing belt change, not your 80-100K. We on the forum recommend to anyone that asks to do it at 100K. Very few excluding the post from bobdole369 went to 100K without a problem. For him to have 2 belts on two different PT's go before 100K is one in a million.

As cruiserdad just said, it's very rare that the valves hit each other but it can happen. We've not heard of anyone that had that happen in all the cases where an owner comes here and tells us that the belt broke or asks why the PT wont' start and we tell them how to check it.

We also tell everyone to change the water pump at the same time because it takes the same amount of labor time (5 to 7 hours) to change the pump as it does to change the belt. Might as well do both at the same time. The pump does wear out. Also if the serpentine ans alternator belts haven't been changed before then, might as well do it at the same time.

All the parts needed, including a new tensioner for the timing belt are around $300 maybe a little cheaper. RockAuto.com sells a completed kit (without drive belts) and a lot of us had a good experience buying from them.