Timing Chain Replacement Interval

I would not worry about trying to change it. It should last the life of the engine.

I personally will not buy a car with a timing belt anymore. I had two Mazdas that had to have the timing belt changed every 60K. I had the dealer do mine the first few times and they kept messing stuff up. They would break the plastic timing covers or not get the gaskets back in correctely, or break a bolt head off the water pump pulley and not tell me (that cost me a 500 dollar radiator job). I then started to do it myself, and with DOHC, it was a PITA.

Now, that is one of the first things I ask about a new car. If they say belt, I walk.

Mike

 

Had a 2002 vw new beetle with the tdi engine. Timing belt broke, new engine was going to be $8,500. It is much cheaper to replace the timing belt than having to buy a new engine.

 

I put over 250 k on my Toyota Celica with a timing chain. The engine purred even with this mileage. I would have been required to replace the belt 3 times with this mileage? Does the Prius have the timing chain or the timing belt? The belt replaced the chain because many car owners did not do proper maintenance on their cars...the chain broke and damaged the lifters and valves...very expensive versus the timing belt when it breaks, no engine damage. The downside...the timing belt replacement is expensive.
DOES THE PRIUS HAVE THE CHAIN OR BELT?

 

The Prius engine definitely has a timing chain. Do not worry about replacing that part, unless you hear unusual engine rattles or other noises.

Regarding belt vs. chain, some engines are designed to have "interference", so that when the correct valve timing is disrupted, damage will result to the valves when the pistons hit them. Usually those engines have relatively high compression, so there is no space between the piston at top dead center position and an open valve.

The question of interference is unrelated to the question of whether a particular engine is equipped with a timing belt or a timing chain.

 

Hey everyone,

It is not the chain that we should really be worried about; it is the CHAIN TENSIONER. The chain, being made out of metal, will probably last 200k or more; however, the CHAIN TENSIONER, I presume, cannot be made out of metal, too. This is for obvious reasons, unless someone can verify otherwise. The CHAIN TENSIONER is probably made out of some kind of hard plastic, like my 94 Saturn, which also uses a timing chain. The chain was in great shape, but the CHAIN TENSIONER gave out at 80k or so, which resulted in an engine overhaul. Has anyone ever seen the CHAIN TENSIONER on a Prius? What is it made out of? I will keep everyone posted when I change the chain/chain tensioner. Peace.

 

same sh!t happened to our 94 saturn. bashed things up beyond recognition. oh, were we pissed off. that is also about the time we switched to toyota and DH has been complimenting their quality since the first day he took one apart. (that was over 7 years ago.)

short answer: toyota doesn't use cheap nice person plastic for critical engine parts. the guide will last you a long time, say around 200k you'll probably need a crankshaft seal anyway and that would be a good time to dig into it.

 

there's a reason it costs so much, the job is a serious pain. but the guys who can whip em out quickly (usually with shortcuts or mistakes as you noted) make a killing on that kind of stuff.

 

The timing chain is classed as an engine lifetime part. If you rebuild the engine, replace the chain and tensioner as well as the guides. Other than that, don't worry about it.

DO check the water pump belt when you do an oil change. I expect even it will last a long time. It's not working very hard.

 

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_H*

 

In response to an earlier post about thr rattling of the chain, that would be the tensioner that goes bad, the chain will probably last the life of the car but if you have to get into it to change the tensioner, you might as well replace the chain and water pump also because it is such a pain to get to where they are located. But, if you don't have to... there is no reason to ever have to change a chain