I have an 04 Santa Fe with 93000 km's. At what point should I be looking at replacing the timing belt?

the belt should be changed at 60,000 miles or five years whichever comes first, so yours is due now, please don't neglect this very important service requirement

Yes, it's definately not good to try to "push your luck" to see how many miles you can get out of a timing belt. Replacing it may be expensive, but it's definately cheaper than replacing all the valves when it breaks.

Dear j,

Absolutely do change your timing belt. These have a 60,000 mile/96,000 km change requirement in the US. They are not hard to change...the first time will be the hardest andeach subsequent change will be 30% quicker.

You can pay the dealer, or you can get the magic tool. The magic tool is an electric impact wrench rated 275 lbs feet or higher, with a black impact rated 12 inch extension and a black impact rated 22mm socket.

The replacement can literally take 20 minutes with 2 people. Most of that time is jacking up the vehicle and removing/replacing the right front tire.

A second magic tool is a serpentine belt wrench. http://www.lislecorp.com/tool_detail.cfm?detail=1148

Byron

What about the actual timing?

I have had this changed on a previous car and didn't have to take the wheel off. Why do you have to take the wheel off on the Santa Fe?

I also called the dealer today and they quoted me somewhere around $500
I was shocked at the price.
I am planning on trading it in soon, so hopefully it will last a while longer until I trade it in.

This post has been edited by jhorton: Jun 25 2008, 01:23 PM

Dear jhorton,

The only reason to remove the right front wheel is for ease of access with either an air impact tool or an electric impact tool. These are honking big...the size of a 1/2 inch power drill. They simply won't fit in that space between the right wheel and the crankshaft bolt.

Also, you will find that getting the lower timing cover off, installing the belt around the crank sprocket, and aligning the crankshaft pulley will be much easier from the side than from the top leaning into the engine bay with your hands fully stretched out and working blind.

As far as the actual timing, hmaservice.com has an excellent guide on aligning the marks, releasing the tensioner pulley, and belt routing. After installation and ALWAYS before turning on the ignition, you MUST turn the engine over by hand three times and verify the timing is correct and no metal-to-metal pinging contact three times. This is called static timing. Are the timing marks still aligning at the third turnover? good to go tighten every thing up, close the hood, reinstall the wheel, start driving.

If you are considering a trade-in, be aware that the dealer will ask if your timing belt has been replaced and will mark down your trade accordingly, or mark up your trade if you can give copies of receipts for the work. You may find a private buyer who may forget to ask about this important detail.

The belt will last awhile longer right up to the time it snaps. Then you have catastrophic engine damage. Your call.

Byron

Byron, The two shops where I go for repairs quoted me $1,000 for changing the timing belt and water pump. Are they taking apart things that don't need to be taken apart?

Roger

$1000???? My dealer did mine for under $500. Just the timing belt not the water pump.

I didn't change mine until it hit 160,000mi. I changed the timing belt, tensioner, idler, water pump and gasket. It was really easy to do and only took a couple of hours. The 60,000 mile belt change is a myth to sell more parts and labor.

Tanker,
Thanks for your reply. Mine is a 3.5 and I think they need to take more apart because there is no room to work like on the 2.7. No sure since I am not a mechanic. The companies are great at scaring us into doing more than we need to for to spend money. I just talked with another owner of an 04 with 160,000 that had gone that many miles with only and exhaust noise that didn't cost much to fix. It was at a gas stationa and I forgot to ask him if he changed the timing belt.

Tanker, Thanks for your reply. Companies are great at scaring us into spending money.