i bought myself a '99 stratus in july of 2006, it just turned 121,004 km's on it,
i would like to like to know, when should the timing belt be changed.
i dont drive much, only about 2 km's to work each way mon-friday.
my mechanic says that i can wait till about late spring (end of april/early may) to change it. thanks for any info
james

 

The owners manual says to have it done at 100k miles. I did my girlfriends at 101k miles. It was still in pretty good shape. It's better to do it sooner than later if you ask me. Since the engine is an interferance motor if the belt decides to go you'll have pistons slapping into valves and all that fun stuff. If you have the $$$ to get it done when it turns 100k I'd say do it then or even maybe a little sooner. Just start saving now so you have the $$$ to pay for the work to be done if your not doing it yourself. While they are in there it's usually a good idea to change the waterpump as well. Have them check it first to see if its in good shape still. Have them inspect the wheep hole for leaks and also have them check for play in the ceramic bearing in the pump (done by moving it up and down side to side to see if there is play in it or not) If it's nice and tight still leave it in and find a parts store that sells water soluable oil, aka waterpump lube. Add between 3-6oz of that to the cooling system to keep the pump lubricated and see an improvement in the overall cooling of the vehicle. (it also prevents corrosion etc) Also have him check the motor mounts as well. I hope this helps.

 

have the belt checked out. the mech should be able to tell if it's been changed or not, if they can't: find a new shop. when you get the timming belt changed out, change out the water pump and the timming belt tensioner assembley. to change out both of these is about 30-45 min extra work. to hav it done whenever they fail is almost as costly as the timming belt itself, you save LOTS of $$$ as well as having the piece of mind they are good for another 100k.happy motoring.