Posted on 06/24/2015 11:34:27 AM PDT by US Navy Vet
I definitely would get rid of the timing belt...
What year?
SMARTA$$!
2004
“My daughter’s car’s Timing Belt Broke this morning(she thinks) and we are deciding whether to fix it or get rid of it.”
Timing belts cannot be repaired. You may check to see if it can be recycled.
Fixing the timing belt does not always guarantee the car will run. In some cars, it can mess up the valves.
I just read from:
http://www.aa1car.com/library/timing_belt_aveo.htm
That it’s an interference engine, so valves are probably damaged.
It’s an interference engine... break a timing belt and you can kiss the valves goodbye.
http://www.carcomplaints.com/Chevrolet/Aveo/2004/engine/timing_belt_failure.shtml
Pretty common problem apparently.
Whoever came up with timing belts should be doing hard time.
Replace belt at 60K? Man, I thought the standard was 100k.
It cost the guy $1500 damage at 70k, but it cost $1,000 to replace mine at 100k (in a Chrysler 300m).
I don’t do GM any more for a bunch of reasons. I owned a ‘72 Vega and bought a 1980 Skylark brand new. Turns out they were in Customer Beta Testing that year. What a piece of crap. I learned.
A 2004 Chevy Aveo?
The timing belt is fine. The car itself? Junk.
Seriously. Why put $1000 into a $1000 car?
First check to see if any of the valves are bent. If so, depending on the condition of the rest of the car it might pay to replace the engine. Otherwise if you replace the belt, since you’ll be taking the front of the engine apart, be sure to flush out the cooling system and replace the water pump, serpentine belt and the radiator hoses. Since they’re also on the front of the engine and a big PITA to get to. It won’t be cheap, but compare it to the cost of replacing the car, even good used cars are expensive.
You would do that before the belt broke and the valves crashed into the piston head.
If timing belt were outlawed...
Yeah, the Aveo is the “Ford Fiesta” of Chevrolet.
Maybe part it out?
Problem is valve clearance. If the valves and pistons occupy the same space, but at different times, when the belt breaks, they try to occupy the same space. It is never good.
But some engines are not designed this way. If the belt breaks, it just means you have to tow it in to have the belt replaced. That is the only extra cost.
A quick search tells me that this car has a known timing belt idler issue (poor quality plastic idler pulley) that can fail ... as a 2004 model your car is over 10 years old and all manufacturers recommend replacing a timing belt before 10 years no matter the mileage...
The timing belt failure could have damaged the head and pistons... I would pull the cover off of the belt and if the idler is damaged/worn/loose I’d try to get GM to fix it.. it seems they are doing that under a hidden warranty ,, of course the age, mileage and whether you bought the car new or used will come into play..
I consider it to be a good car to zip around in for chores ,, worth fixing if it’s not too much $$$.
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