Mister Blue's 1HZ timing belt - is there a date code on these? (1 Viewer)

[John Young]

Hi all,

I just collected Mister Blue, a 2003 105, to daily for a week or two before it goes back in. I parked the truck right after inspection and registration for fear of a timing belt failure. This poor old truck has been out in the UAE sun for a long time and all the rubber has gone bad, more or less. The guys replaced the radiator, coolant hoses, timing belt, idler, and the water pump with Terrain Tamer parts, so I feel like I can drive without too much concern for a time.

I picked up the replaced parts at the same time and am going to keep them for field spares because to visual inspection they all look fine and the bearings on the water pump and idler don't seem bad.

I am, however, very curious about what level of maintenance this former government vehicle was getting. It could help us as we tear into the truck.

I am hoping that the collective wisdom here can help me decode the timing belt markings.

The only thing that looks like a date code is the 3-37. Can anyone enlighten me?

 

[roscoFJ73]

The only thing that looks like a date code is the 3-37. Can anyone enlighten me?

Im unaware they have a date code. With timing belts, you either use them or throw them away. If a belt needs to be changed, you should be using a new one. And if you need field spares, I would only have new one as a spare. But they do not fail very often and will do 3 times the 100000 klm service time. Belts dont just fail, they normally drop grey dust out of the bottom of timing belt cover long before they fail.

 

[mudgudgeon]

Judging by how shiny the rubber teeth are, it's got its fair share of use on it.

Looking at it in isolation, it's hard to tell just how much wear they have.
Lay it beside a new one, and match up the teeth, you'd see just how much rubber is lost from the teeth.
This affects cam timing. As the belt wears, cam timing will retard.

I would not reuse, not worth the effort.

These are an interference engine. If a belt fails on the trail, you're engine is gonna eat valves for lunch. So a trail spare is basically pointless.
Just keep up with the 100k km maintenance interval, and replace the Idler assembly everytime.

 

[John Young]

These are an interference engine. If a belt fails on the trail, you're engine is gonna eat valves for lunch. So a trail spare is basically pointless.
Just keep up with the 100k km maintenance interval, and replace the Idler assembly everytime.

Another friend pointed that out to me. And yes I see the point.