Edit: This thread was made before I opened my shop. I have seen enough timing belts now to be able to make a deicsion. They start to look cracked and worn around 80K. 60K they are still in good shape appearance wise. Time doesn't seem to play as big a factor.

Alright community, I have a question. My Evo only has 25K miles on it (not a DD)but I have had it for for about 3 years now. It has seen about a dozen track days. I believe the maintenance schedule says to do the timing belt at 60K but with the cars age and what I use it for I am beginning to wonder if I should change it now to be safe. Am I being overcautious? It is a lot of work that I would do myself, I like working on the Evo but I don't want to do it yet if I don't have to. Thoughts?

 

If you really know what your getting yourself into, and you are aware of how easy it is to destroy your valvetrain, then I would say yes its a good idea. Any kind of rubber will dry rot after a while, and become weaker. And when you least expect it, BOOM. It is good preventative maintenance to change it.

 

I wouldnt sweat if you drive the car at least once a week. I mean if you let it sit for a few months in the cold and you think the belt has gotten brittle then yea go for it. If your gonna be doing more mods such as cams in the next few thousand miles, wait til then to do it

-Steve

 

I drive my 03' Evo on a daily basis and i have 67k on the factory belt. I have one ordered , but i would say the same as Steve, as long as you use the car pretty often, it should last a while longer.

 

Personally I feel that would be nothing more than a waste of time and money.
Its your call though...

 

i heard u should do it at 30K

 

No Need To.

 

keep the timing belt cover on all the time, and your golden till 60k. Even though it's been 3 years, not many people put 20k miles on the car every year. If you reach 5 years, and still haven't hit 60k miles, then I'd consider it.

 

I have an 03 EVO with only ~ 26,000 miles. My mods are listed in my signature. The owners manual says replace the belt at 60,000 miles or 54 months, whichever comes first, but many folks have told me that mileage is more important than time. I drive the car about 1-2 times a week and have it in a garage. Any opinions would be appreciated.

 

Don't really think it's needed; you should just pull the cam gear cover to get a look at the belt and rotate the crank by hand to get a full look at the belt. If it doesn't appear to be cracked or in bad shape I wouldn't bother. I have an 03 w/ 56k miles and mine stills looks good. I'm closer to replacing than you should be though

 

I'm surprised he is asking this question since he owns a shop. But anyway there really
is no need to replace the timing belt at only 25k miles, even if the vehicle is tracked.
The only thing you'll gain from doing the replacement now is just some peace of mind.
As you know the recommended interval for this is 60k, but it definately won't hurt to
replace the belts a little earlier sometimes.