Peabody wrote:
>
> SoCalMike says...
>
> > jim beam wrote:
>
> >> without any form of visible deterioration. i say, do a
> >> visual inspection. if it apears to be in bad shape,
> >> cracking, fraying, teeth worn or deformed, yes, replace
> >> regardless of mileage. but if it's not, and you /know/
> >> for sure mileage is within spec, i'd stick with earl's
> >> advice.
>
> > id be curious to know how many 80s/90s vintage civics
> > *ever* get their timing belt replaced. its something 99%
> > of people dont even think about. im sure some live their
> > whole lives with one belt, then it gets replaced when
> > the water pump starts spewing coolant.
>
> Yes in fact, Earl said that the water pump is what usually
> goes out at somewhere around 90-100k miles, at which point
> they do the belt too.
>
> He said he sees a lot of early-80's models with their
> original belt, and presumably the original water pump. But I
> would still guess that most of them get replaced at some
> point, either because the water pump goes out or because the
> dealer hounds you about it at each oil change.
>
> I was frankly surprised at how confident Earl was about his
> advice. Of course it isn't his car or his risk, but even so
> I would have expected him to hedge a little, or do one of
> those disclaimers about no guarantees, and so forth. But he
> just said "You don't need to do this," and there were no
> qualifiers. I mean, I had my checkbook with me. It would
> have been $595.
>
> Well, I may check with some other places locally just to see
> what they say, but having gotten the answer I wanted... :-)
>
> I just want to point out that in my owner's manual, there is
> only one column that says 90,000 miles, and that column also
> says 6 years. There is no 90k/8yrs or 90k/4yrs. All of the
> columns assume 15k miles per year. But it's clear that some
> things are really mileage based, like brake pads, while
> others (I don't know - maybe antifreeze, or maybe even
> engine oil) have a significant time component. But you
> aren't going to get your valves adjusted based on time even
> though the 30k/2yr major service includes it.
>
> So it's not completely unreasonable to suggest that just
> because that column says 90k miles or 6 yrs it shouldn't
> necessarily be taken literally. The question is how
> important time is for big honking belts like these. It's
> too bad we don't have statistics that would tell us.

But if you DO decide to keep a car that long, its cheap insurance
to get the belt/pump thing done.

My 1996 Civic Coupe only has 62K on it, and every time I look
at a new car, I remember that my Baby runs great, always starts,
gets 33 MPG @ 80 MPH and 21 in NYC and the AC is still chilly!

The $400 bucks it cost just bought me another ten years....hehehe.

--------------------

http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/i...now-usat_x.htm

"Other top officials, including Cheney and Rumsfeld, said the war would
last
"weeks, not months.""


http://www.natcath.com/NCR_Online/ar...05/052705w.php

"More than two years into a war that was supposed to be quick and easy,
and
the justification for which has spun from removing a dictator to
eliminating
weapons of mass destruction to fighting terrorism and, finally, to
planting
democracy that would then spread across the Middle East, Iraq is in chaos."


RayGun sends his lackey to kiss Saddam's ass.
http://www.worldmessenger.20m.com/weapons.html#wms

http://www.bushflash.com/thanks.html
WHY IRAQ?: http://www.angelfire.com/creep/gwbush/remindus.html
http://www.quantumphilosophy.net/fil...yan_Medium.mov
http://www.toostupidtobepresident.co...ickenhawks.htm

"Bubba got a BJ, BU$H screwed us all!" - Slim