How to check if Timing Belt is done

kunst nugget

Hi. Sorry if this is a stupid question but is there anyway that a mechanic can check a timing belt for you. I'm thinking of buying a used car - the owner seems quite genuine but hard to tell sometimes in these situations. They say they have the timing belt done but don't have receipts. Is there a way to check what shape the belt is in or should I bite the bullet and get a new one for piece of mind - lost a car to a timing belt before.

CiniO

kunst nugget wrote: »

Hi. Sorry if this is a stupid question but is there anyway that a mechanic can check a timing belt for you. I'm thinking of buying a used car - the owner seems quite genuine but hard to tell sometimes in these situations. They say they have the timing belt done but don't have receipts. Is there a way to check what shape the belt is in or should I bite the bullet and get a new one for piece of mind - lost a car to a timing belt before.

I'd say if belt was fitted very recently, once you take the plastic cover off, belt should look like brand new. But if it was fitted few months back or something, it might be hard to tell if belt is few months old or few years old.

Interslice

kunst nugget wrote: »

Hi. Sorry if this is a stupid question but is there anyway that a mechanic can check a timing belt for you. I'm thinking of buying a used car - the owner seems quite genuine but hard to tell sometimes in these situations. They say they have the timing belt done but don't have receipts. Is there a way to check what shape the belt is in or should I bite the bullet and get a new one for piece of mind - lost a car to a timing belt before.

What car/year/engine and what's the mileage?

Belt are changed at set time and distance intervals.

biko

There is no way of saying for sure. They should at least be able to tell where it was done and you can ring and ask.
"My mate did it" doesn't really cut the mustard..

JohnBoy26

There will be no real way to tell if it's been changed. Id be getting it done again for peace of mind.

rovoagho

Interslice wrote: »

What car/year/engine and what's the mileage?

Belt are changed at set time and distance intervals.

They're supposed to be, but that's no guarantee. I changed the belt on mine shortly after I bought it because I wasn't sure it had been done when it should have. Better to change out a newish one than clean up the mess a snapped one would cause.

H3llR4iser

kunst nugget wrote: »

Hi. Sorry if this is a stupid question but is there anyway that a mechanic can check a timing belt for you. I'm thinking of buying a used car - the owner seems quite genuine but hard to tell sometimes in these situations. They say they have the timing belt done but don't have receipts. Is there a way to check what shape the belt is in or should I bite the bullet and get a new one for piece of mind - lost a car to a timing belt before.

I'm afraid it's a leap of faith - there is no real way to properly check if it's been done or not, without...well removing the whole kit, at which point you might as well replace it.

Most mechanics will write the mileage (Kms, actually) of the last change on the cover, but again...anybody could write a number pulled out of thin air and claim it's the timing belt mileage change.

Cee-Jay-Cee

Interslice wrote: »

What car/year/engine and what's the mileage?

Belt are changed at set time and distance intervals.

They're generally not when cars get older. If I have no real proof a belt was replaced on a car I've just bought then I do it straight away regardless of the mileage or age so intervals and times/mileage are irrelevant after that.

Anan1

kunst nugget wrote: »

They say they have the timing belt done but don't have receipts.

Why don't they have receipts?

djimi

Only sure fire way of knowing is if they have receipts to back up the work. Without receipts Id be assuming it wasnt done, and would be changing it again. For the sake of a couple of hundred quid its well worth having piece of mind.

Interslice

CJC999 wrote: »

They're generally not when cars get older. If I have no real proof a belt was replaced on a car I've just bought then I do it straight away regardless of the mileage or age so intervals and times/mileage are irrelevant after that.

If a car is within the time/distance interval and the owner says it's been done I'd be reasonably confident he's full of it. Likewise if it has a chain;)

discombobulate

If it was done in a dealership they should have a record of doing it on their systems

dgt

kunst nugget wrote: »

Hi. Sorry if this is a stupid question but is there anyway that a mechanic can check a timing belt for you. I'm thinking of buying a used car - the owner seems quite genuine but hard to tell sometimes in these situations. They say they have the timing belt done but don't have receipts. Is there a way to check what shape the belt is in or should I bite the bullet and get a new one for piece of mind - lost a car to a timing belt before.

New car standard op: belt and pump change. No questions, even if the said it was done the week before I'll still change it (don't think I haven't done that either)

bazz26

If the seller has no proof that it was done then assume that it wasn't done and budget for it. You should also take that into account when negotiating the price with the seller.

ltdslipdiff

A far from perfect science, but you could check and see if the coolant looks fresh, and/or if the water pump is visible, does it look new(er).

Yeah, probably better to just change anyway !

kunst nugget

Cheers everybody for replying and sorry for not answering back sooner. It's a 307 and we ended up buying it in the end on Saturday -we'll be changing the belt this week. I kind of knew the answer already but glad to get the confirmation from yourselves. Cheers again.