I got a 98 neon a year and a half ago, and 12 months ago while I was in for other repairs the mechanic recommended replacing my timing belt since I had no idea how long the belt had been in there for.

That was at 171,000 Km. 10,000 Km and 12 months later I have a breakdown and I'm told by a different place that the timing belt has broken and there could be severe engine damage but they don't know yet. Of course I immediately phoned the place that did the repairs back. When I asked why the **** a 100+K part only lasted 10K, the guy said he'd have to have a look because "timing belts don't just break". So, I had to have it towed there. After this it's the last place I want my car to be, but the guy made it sound like there might be warranty coverage.

Any reason why a correctly installed timing belt would break so quickly? Or did they do it wrong or possibly not at all?

(Still waiting for word back, they're supposed to be looking at it tomorrow.)

 

forgot to replace the belt tensioner?

Back when I was little my parents had this one mechanic replace the timing belt on one of our Neons and the guy didn't replace the tensioner and within 3,000 miles the belt broke and took the head with it... my parents were stupid enough to pay the guy to fix the head and the belt... as to why they paid him to fix his mistake I will never know.

 

was the waterpump replaced with the timing belt?.... if it wasn't it could have failed and taken the belt out... thats what happened to my neon but i was lucky enough that with a new belt, tensioner and pump my engine was fine....

 

let someone look because it could be as easy as the belt had a crack or some defect from their suplyer...depending on the shop they could be buying really really cheap...just because its new dosn't mean its perfect ive had new break parts fail and leave me almost wrecked on the freeway and they were installed right just a 1 in a millon defect...it happens

 

^true the shop could have used one of those really cheap timing belts... there is a reason why they are cheap.... i use nothing but the premium either gates or dayco... i suppose a factory belt would also be just as good but is most likely either gates or dayco

 

The mechanical tensioner itself could have failed or was not properly installed and tensioned correctly. Too loose or too tight is not good either and can lead to premature failure along with not replacing the water pump and/or not replacing the tension pulley.

 

and another thing dose it still have the timing belt cover?...i know of a bunch of people who keep it off to show off cams...but if a rock or something hits it just right then its gone lol

 

I learned the hard way not to use cheap belts. It wasn't on a Neon but I bought a "Timing belt kit" on ebay which included belt, water pump, idler pulley, and tensioner pulley. It lasted approximately 12000 miles. I couldn't believe it, the pulleys/water pump were not locked up or anything and it failed while cruising on the highway. Long story short I saved about $20 on the belt and ended up costing me around $300 for new valves/gaskets etc... not including the time to do the work.

 

yeah those tensioners are commonly put on wrong and can cause premature belt failure

 

I also just recently got my timing belt replaced, however I was under the impression that on my neon, 98 dodge neon highline 2 dr coupe DOHC, it has a hydraulic tensioner that doesn't need to be replaced for the lifetime of the vehicle? Please correct me if I am wrong so that I can go claim this and also have the tensioner replaced, I don't want my timing belt to mess up due to the tensioner not being replaced. Thank you!