Timing Belt.

[Fear ón Srath Bán]

That's the theory Mac Eoghain, yes. Have a look in your maintenance manual to see if there are any actions recommended at whatever interval(s).

[mannix]

My belt went too, luckily I was near the house and quickly grabbed me trousers at the front and managed to walk home.A new belt was 4.99 in dunnes but you can by a used one in the salvation army for a euro.They should be changed every 10 years or so or else you could be left in the lurch like me, its just not worth it.The embarassment of a broken belt.

[Main Street]

My belt went too, luckily I was near the house and quickly grabbed me trousers at the front and managed to walk home.A new belt was 4.99 in dunnes but you can by a used one in the salvation army for a euro.They should be changed every 10 years or so or else you could be left in the lurch like me, its just not worth it.The embarassment of a broken belt.

A used one   sometimes maybe a cheap beer sometimes a cheap woman but a used timing belt, never.
Are you sure you are talking about a timing belt?

This is worrying. I've never checked a timing belt and i do major miles. How do you check it and how often? Do all cars have these?

If you want to check then you have to remove the Timing Belt cover, check for slackness and fold it a bit with the fingers to see if you see the beginnings of cracks.
The worst time for an old belt is sudden freezing weather.
Usually it's  50,000 miles standard, then change. Feck the visual inspection. If you buy 2nd hand ALWAYS have cast iron proof that that service job has been done otherwise calculate the cost of that service job.

[Aerlik]

This is worrying. I've never checked a timing belt and i do major miles. How do you check it and how often? Do all cars have these?

It depends on the size of the engine and type of your car.  Some timing belts in smaller cars (engines smaller than 2L) are covered, but in larger cars they are easily checked visually.  You can see wee nicks forming along the inside so that usually means get ready to change it.  As the others have stated, you should get up to 100,000kms though that depends on the type of driving you are doing.  Over here, V6 and V8 are the standard for anywhere outside a large metropolis so the cars get good run-outs when driving. (It took me four solid days to drive from Emerald in Queensland to Perth, sun up to sun down and used to drive from Broome to Perth in 2 days on a not infrequent basis.)  However for shorter urban stop-start driving it is inevitable that wear and tear occurs at a faster rate.  Although fun to drive, the wee MX5 I had in Japan was a nightmare once the bonnet was opened.  The waterpump is in the actual body of the engine meaning you can't change it yourself unless you know how to reset a timing belt, which I don't.

I was involved in my first ever traffic accident the other day.  Feckin clown went straight though a stop sign into my left side.  Luckily Mini-Me was not in the car.  I was actually on my way to pick him up from school.  She had no insurance so she's going to regret that. No injuries though which was the main thing for both parties.  But jeez I was ropable.  Luv my machine. 

[mannix]

Main street,
no.In fact I was making a poor attempt at wit but it went over your head.The joke was meant to convey my supposed incident when my trouser belt gave up and broke.
Sorry, i will be more serious in future and not tell stupid stories that i just made up to be more popular.

[Main Street]

Main street,
no.In fact I was making a poor attempt at wit but it went over your head.The joke was meant to convey my supposed incident when my trouser belt gave up and broke.
Sorry, i will be more serious in future and not tell stupid stories that i just made up to be more popular.

Good joke then,  just bad timing

[Lecale2]

Like other posters I'm a bit concerned. How do you know if your care has a worn timing belt? Is there a site that lists cars with belts/chains?

[Puckoon]

My belt went too, luckily I was near the house and quickly grabbed me trousers at the front and managed to walk home.A new belt was 4.99 in dunnes but you can by a used one in the salvation army for a euro.They should be changed every 10 years or so or else you could be left in the lurch like me, its just not worth it.The embarassment of a broken belt.

A used one   sometimes maybe a cheap beer sometimes a cheap woman but a used timing belt, never.
Are you sure you are talking about a timing belt?

This is worrying. I've never checked a timing belt and i do major miles. How do you check it and how often? Do all cars have these?

If you want to check then you have to remove the Timing Belt cover, check for slackness and fold it a bit with the fingers to see if you see the beginnings of cracks.
The worst time for an old belt is sudden freezing weather.
Usually it's  50,000 miles standard, then change. Feck the visual inspection. If you buy 2nd hand ALWAYS have cast iron proof that that service job has been done otherwise calculate the cost of that service job.

[ExiledGael]

Have a few mechanics as friends and they always say it's the one problem not to mess about with or leave it be, if in any doubt get it changed or it could destroy your car. Any decent mechanic will know to look at it just how risky it is

[armaghniac]

When buying a used car with a few miles on it, the timing belt and when it was replaced is one of the major issues. A big danger with clocked cars is that the mileage is higher than you think and the timing belt is banjaxed, but you don't know it.

[Gold]

mine is on its last legs--ive a 100 mile drive from dublin 2 fermanagh b4 im gettin it fixed on sat mornin-- i hope to f**k it dosnt go--ive put 50 thousand miles since got car 2nd hand 3 yrs ago and was told to get a new one at a service 6 months ago.

ive had a new belt in the boot for months but aint got one put on

cant afford to get it put on but cant afford not 2 by the sounds of things

will driving slower increase chamces of it not going during the trip to fermanagh?

[Bacon]

Which cars have chains rather than belts?

[themfc]

Fan-belt tensioner went in my car and had similar symptoms to OP. Fan belt runs the alternator and power steering pump. Not sure if same with all cars. Lights went dim, battery light came on and power steering went. No oil light, however. Leaves you stranded and can be awkward to get at to replace (i.e. pricey at a garage: labour)

Timing belt is a whole different world of pain as mentioned by other posters.

[Fear ón Srath Bán]

will driving slower increase chamces of it not going during the trip to fermanagh?

Yes, driving smoother and slower; higher revs, greater stress, greater risk.

[corn02]

Thank you Mannix you just made me bust out laughing in the middle of a seminar.