How common is it for a timing belt tensioner to go bad?

Question

I have a 97 Toyota Tercel with 127,000 miles and have never got a timing belt.I was considering getting a new one soon and heard that the tensioner can fail when pressure is released,How common of an occurrence is this and is it safe to reuse it through the life of another belt if it is in good condition?

One more thing,I have a non-interference engine so I could just go till it snaps right?

Answer 1

You could reuse your tensioner, if its in good shape, but if your going to keep your car for a long period of time it would make sense to replace it along with the timing belt.

You could just drive your car until the belt snaps, but what if it snaps in the middle of the night on a country road, or in the fast lane on the freeway? It would cost you a wrecker bill and probably more to get your car repaired in this circumstance, or possibly get you killed.

All cars need to be maintained, do it now and you wont have to worry about it.

Answer 2

Your belt is way overdue!  Replace it immediately.  I don't ever recommend anyone go longer than 60,000m on a timing belt.  While he's in there, the mechanic will note the condition of the tensioner; if it needs replacing, leave him instructions to do it.

How sure are you that your engine is non-interference?  I always thought mine was too and it turned out I was wrong.  I have a chain and it is generally extremely reliabe, but still - I replaced mine at 150k.  I had the mechanic in there to replace the chain guides and had him do the chain too - why tempt fate?

As to running until it snaps, that's a fool's economy.  Then you'll have to go the added expense and hassle of a tow, not to mention the great danger of suddenly finding yourself in traffic with no power.  Take it to the shop for the replacement now, while it's still running under its own power.  The mechanic can replace the belt without losing time; if you run it to failure he'll have to retime the engine too.  That isn't a big job, but those guys charge as much as $75 per hour, how many extra minutes do you want to cough up for?

Answer 3

just given the mileage, and what is involved to get to it, i think that i would would replace it now because you have access to it. but i have not heard of them failing like that.