soliciting advice...

im on my 2nd aveo. The first aveo had about 75k miles when I replaced the timing belt. That replacement belt only lasted 50k miles before it failed and chewed up the engine. I sold it as it was. Now I have an 09 aveo and it has 70k miles right now. it's time to replace the belt and im considering two things, however i dont have enough info about my second option. here they are: (1.) do it myself, save money and know that it gets done right even though it will take me considerably longer to do the job than a professional. (2.) give it to a pro. whom I can trust. yet I wonder if there is any shops other than a dealer that can do the job in such a way as to maintain the powertrain warranty? please tell me what your experiance was in replaceing your timing belt regardless of how you did it....
respectfully,
ryan

if you have a 09 aveo, then you have another 30k miles to figure it out, the 09+ has a 100k service interval on the timing belt.

my aveo has over 80k miles and not only have I not change but will not replace the timing belt. I have had lots 1.6 engines with over 150k miles and the belt was never changed most of I sold or gave to family and they drove the cars for years until they more work then it was worth but the engine was still running good. My point why fix if not broken??

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Originally Posted by AveoJoe

my aveo has over 80k miles and not only have I not change but will not replace the timing belt. I have had lots 1.6 engines with over 150k miles and the belt was never changed most of I sold or gave to family and they drove the cars for years until they more work then it was worth but the engine was still running good. My point why fix if not broken??

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because if it breaks it will cost a lot more than just replacing a timing belt?
it's one of those things that is worth fixing before it breaks.

i'd say do it yourself if you are able to.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by AveoJoe

my aveo has over 80k miles and not only have I not change but will not replace the timing belt. I have had lots 1.6 engines with over 150k miles and the belt was never changed most of I sold or gave to family and they drove the cars for years until they more work then it was worth but the engine was still running good. My point why fix if not broken??

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Not to be a smart Alec, but fixing what is not broken is called Maintenance. Replacing a timing belt is not nearly as pricey as rebuilding the top of the engine when a belt breaks. " An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure!" but thanks for sharing your experience of 150K+ miles with no problems. It's at least reassuring. Although naive when considering critical parts like a timing belt. the approach embraced by phrases like "if it aint broke don’t fix it" is efficient and effective for non-critical parts that don’t effect other critical parts when they fail, but not a critical internal engine component. This is where maintenance pays off. You said yall drove the cars till they were more work than they are worth to repair right? well, my opinion is that this is the zone of a vehicles life where you get the most bang for your buck. you see, I buy these Aveo's because they are inexpensive and almost like a disposable car. I pay cash for them, slightly used (less than 10k miles ) for less than $10k. At that point I drive them for as long as possable. the longer I keep it running in good order the more value I get from it. Once it no longer operates I sell it for scrap and parts and find another one to buy. it is the least expensive way to operate a vehicle according to the NFCU and my wallet. LOL anyway, what Im getting at is if I can get another 80k-100k miles for a $400 maintenance job it is a good value!
Respectfully,
ryan
Respectfully,
Ryan

just saying. How many people on this forum has replaced there belt just to have them break soon after? I gave my son a Suzuki Swift with 159k he drove it for 3 more years trashed it only after the trans broke and it had a il4. beat on your car it will break down. Also from my point if the engine goes on my car I'll stick a 2.0 in it.

I had about 154000 miles on my 98 ex before I changed it. When I got the belt off, it actually didn't look bad at all..no cracks in it, but I still felt good about replacing it.

Yes, iv had an experience just like that too .... I hope mine last that long. My only concern is that it's a gamble ya know.... mabey I'll roll the dice lol :-)

The aveo is an interference motor, don't slack with maintaining the timing belt
Especially when they seem to wear faster then other cars. As for changing it yourself.. if you like working on cars, do it! I just changed mine and it was a fun learning experience. Took quite a while but as long as you read the guides on this forum and have the proper tools handy it is fairly 'simple'. (Quotes cause it is time intensive )

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Originally Posted by AveoJoe

I have had lots 1.6 engines with over 150k miles

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unless every one of those engines was an etecII, that experience you have is gonna bite you in the ass.

its all about service interval.

I'm definitely onboard with petrified.rabbit on this. It is all about service intervals. I pushed my timing belt to 91000 miles and thankfully nothing happened. Some cars will survive with their timing belts unchanged because the owners have a similar method of thinking, and those that dont wish they had done it. It is really worth the gamble to see if you'll be lucky?