Timing Belts - Shelf Life? - Page 4

munroman · 5th February 2014, 19:32

If I can add my 2p's worth, I used to work for a company who used various versions of toothed timing belts for an industrial process, the belts were made by Gates, so I have seen how the belts were manufactured.

In use the belts were carefully recorded for life, and a common cause of early failure was poor storage, e.g. they used to be hung over a nail, this caused a stress weakness, so they were hung over paint tins.

Solvents and oils were bad for them too, as were sharp bends in the process, they were kept in the cool and dark, because this was in Scotland!

Some belts were found as 'old stock', they were about 10 years old, and performed the same as new belts, so, as long as the belts had been carefully stored, any age up to about 10 years wouldn't worry me.

Tyres are a different matter, age is a factor with them as the wire reinforcement can corrode due to porosity, and UV and ozone can damage the rubber bonds within the carcass, leading to cracking.
This was shown up with the Ford Explorer in the USA, when numerous crashes linked back to tyres made during a strike, and which had aged, and generally not been looked after properly.

If a timing belt fails, it's bad news. if a tyre fails..........

5th February 2014, 19:32	#31
munroman Loves to post Rover 75 Tourer Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: Glasgow Posts: 409 Thanks: 365 Thanked 83 Times in 62 Posts	If I can add my 2p's worth, I used to work for a company who used various versions of toothed timing belts for an industrial process, the belts were made by Gates, so I have seen how the belts were manufactured. In use the belts were carefully recorded for life, and a common cause of early failure was poor storage, e.g. they used to be hung over a nail, this caused a stress weakness, so they were hung over paint tins. Solvents and oils were bad for them too, as were sharp bends in the process, they were kept in the cool and dark, because this was in Scotland! Some belts were found as 'old stock', they were about 10 years old, and performed the same as new belts, so, as long as the belts had been carefully stored, any age up to about 10 years wouldn't worry me. Tyres are a different matter, age is a factor with them as the wire reinforcement can corrode due to porosity, and UV and ozone can damage the rubber bonds within the carcass, leading to cracking. This was shown up with the Ford Explorer in the USA, when numerous crashes linked back to tyres made during a strike, and which had aged, and generally not been looked after properly. If a timing belt fails, it's bad news. if a tyre fails..........