Timing belt broke today :(

[4x4wannabe]

So i was cruising down the highway heading to work at food lion, (grocery store), listening to some classic rock happy as can be, and all of a sudden the ranger just died on me, lost oil pressure, i was scared to death what had happened. I was able to maneuver it off to the side of the road without going into the ditch, but i didnt have time to do anything with it because i had to work, so i called my local mechanic and they came and picked it up on a flatbed as my grandma picked me up and took me to work. They called my dad a couple hours later and its the timing belt. Anyway mine is the 187,000 mile model that has a stock timing belt, is it normal for this to break? And how much can i expect them to charge me for this? Yes i know i could probably fix it myself but it has already been towed to the shop so i might as well get them to fix it now.

 

[kossdust]

Not really normal for it to break. You are suppose to change it before it breaks. Around 100k I believe is what the manual says.

You are lucky in the ranger it does not harm the engine you just have to replace it and go on about your life. In another type of car it would have ruined your engine.

 

[BRUTUS_T_HOG]

So i was cruising down the highway heading to work at food lion, (grocery store), listening to some classic rock happy as can be, and all of a sudden the ranger just died on me, lost oil pressure, i was scared to death what had happened. I was able to maneuver it off to the side of the road without going into the ditch, but i didnt have time to do anything with it because i had to work, so i called my local mechanic and they came and picked it up on a flatbed as my grandma picked me up and took me to work. They called my dad a couple hours later and its the timing belt. Anyway mine is the 187,000 mile model that has a stock timing belt, is it normal for this to break? And how much can i expect them to charge me for this? Yes i know i could probably fix it myself but it has already been towed to the shop so i might as well get them to fix it now.

they are supposed to be replaced every 60k-80k miles or every few years. whichever comes first.

they eventually break after running for so long so no surprise there.

yeah you got lucky this engine is not an interference engine or you would have had to replace some bent valves

 

[4x4wannabe]

yea luckily its not a toyota 22re, and i just inherited the truck less than a year ago and i was six when my dad bought it so i have only been old enough and mechanically inclined enough to know anyhthing about it for like 3 or 4 years. Im am just very thankful its a freewheeling engine. You would think my dad would have replaced the belt at least once after having his old yota 22re break the timing chain and bend valves and have to pay over 1k to get it fixed not only once but twice. Anyway i dont really take responsibility for the routine service on the first 170,000 on the truck because it wasnt mine. Im glad this happened so i will be more cautious in other vehicles i might have later in life. How much am i gonna be paying for the shop to do it? Like i say i would have loved to try to fix it myself but it is already been towed to the shop and i might as weel get them to do it instead of paying more money just to tow it back to my driveway.

 

[kossdust]

yea luckily its not a toyota 22re, and i just inherited the truck less than a year ago and i was six when my dad bought it so i have only been old enough and mechanically inclined enough to know anyhthing about it for like 3 or 4 years. Im am just very thankful its a freewheeling engine. You would think my dad would have replaced the belt at least once after having his old yota 22re break the timing chain and bend valves and have to pay over 1k to get it fixed not only once but twice. Anyway i dont really take responsibility for the routine service on the first 170,000 on the truck because it wasnt mine. Im glad this happened so i will be more cautious in other vehicles i might have later in life. How much am i gonna be paying for the shop to do it? Like i say i would have loved to try to fix it myself but it is already been towed to the shop and i might as weel get them to do it instead of paying more money just to tow it back to my driveway.

you will prob spend anywhere between 600-1000 depending on rates and stuff in your area.

Or you could take this as a learning experience and change it yourself. If you can turn a wrench and read a manual you should be able to do it in a long weekend. I did mine in 1.5 days being the first time I did it. Do a little research and go for it.

 

[gribly]

It shouldn't take that long or be that expensive to change... I did the one on my escort 1.9 in under two hours including beer time.

 

[OilPatch197]

Just be SURE, SURE you do not turn a sprocket with the belt off, and before you take it off, be sure to align your "dots" on the gears pointing at each other by turning the engine by hand. That way if you bump a gear off, you can align it quickly.

Anyway mine is the 187,000 mile model that has a stock timing belt

That is just way too long for a belt change, considering how easy it is, you could have saved some money if you did regular maintenance. The cost of the tow alone probably exceeds the cost of a new belt.

I recommend NAPA, or Gates timing belts.

 

[4x4wannabe]

well i got it back today. The damage was $290 total plus 60 bucks for the tow, but my insurance covers towing. And like i said the truck has only been mine for about 15k miles. I had assumed my dad had done all necessary matinence up to the point that i got it. He said he looked in the manual when the truck had about 80k miles and there was nothing in the service plan about changing it so he left it alone. And yes i could have done it myself but the truck had already been towed to the shop and "diagnosed", and i have the bed off of my chevy doing the cab corners so i kind of needed the ranger fixed as soon as possible. Like I have said, im only 16 and by no means do i know everything there is about mechanics and cars so i guess i can take this as a learning experience for the future.

 

[crusin93]

You dodged a bullet. At $290 I'd have them do it also. Thats a very fair price and a cheap lesson about "assuming".