| You really can't tell anything looking at a timing belt unless its frayed. | Usually, if they are going to fail, they look brand new right up until the | moment of death. My F20A's balancer*belt ( fitted in 10-05 ) broke in 9-07 when this * still looked new, both mechanic ( good ) & parts shop owner believe this * was not fitted properly ( in
10-05 ). This shop then claimed a replacement for me, from manufacturer's salesman. In 12-05, my 12-90 Mitsubishi 4G15P 's OEM t-belt ( 15 yr old ) @ 76958 km was visibly cracky when replaced : mechanic ( honest ) told me to look @ this belt, he said " You're just in time ; your belt is close to breaking.". He said car makers are mad to prescribe 100000 km for t-belts in this warm & humid climate, even OEM t-belts should be replaced by 70000 km ( I presume he meant before 5yr old ), obviously he'd seen many broken t-belts. I gather that synthetic rubber cannot deteriorate & yet appear as strong.