[revjpeterson]

I'm around 101,700 on my 2014, and I've been trying to get around to doing the timing belt for the past 2000 miles or so. I was going to get it done back around Labor Day when I could still do it outside. I just haven't been able to squeeze out the half-day I need to do it. Now that it's cold out, I also have to squeeze out another half-day to reorganize the garage enough to pull it inside. If I'm lucky, I might be able to fit those two half-days in this week finally and accomplish it. Although I also have a seized brake caliper to replace on the Jeep and a coolant leak to track downon the wife's van while I'm at it. Seems like it never ends.

 

[revjpeterson]

Same year same mileage same packed garage. I'll be doing it within ththe next few weeks

I hope I can get to mine soon. Plans changed when my wife totalled her van hitting a big, fat doe Friday night. Now we're splitting the 5 kids up between my Cruze and my Jeep, or she's squeezing 4 of them at a time into the Cruze with her to run them around where they need to go, and I'm driving the Jeep full-time until the insurance claim is worked through and we can find another vehicle we can afford that fits the whole family.

 

[revjpeterson]

Just a follow-up, but I got the timing belt changed out last weekend along with the idler, tensioner and water pump. What an easy job. I just figured I'd mention the fact that these aren't the old school rubber belts anymore(at least this diesel, not sure about in general). Since they're more of a composite type of belt I can understand how the cogs won't show signs of cracking as much as the old rubber belts would, BUT, I did notice my tensioner was almost maxed out. So obviously the belt was stretching, and that's not something you can easily see without tearing the motor down anyway. I'm glad I replaced it, but for those that think if they don't see cracking then the belt is good, think about how it might be stretched too far and it should still be replaced at the suggested intervals anyway.

I managed to get around to mine on one of the early warm days we had back in March (around 108k miles and 68 months after the car was built). My belt looked pristine, and my tensioner was maybe a millimeter off from the mark for setting a new belt. It was rock hard, though. I hung it over a hook on my ceiling after removing it, and it's still hanging there in a perfect "O" shape. I'm not sure if it hardened with age, or if that stiffness is just from the Kevlar or fiberglass or whatever they reinforce it with. My new belt was much softer and more flexible, but it was the ACDelco Professional TB350 belt rather than the OE belt, so that could make a difference. The TB350 belt was also completely coated in black rubber, rather than tan/natural color on the toothed side like the OE belt. When I take it off in 95k miles (probably right before I hand it off to my daughter when she's 16), it will be interesting to see if that black on the toothed side rubbed off, or if it goes deeper than the surface.