To my surprise, I found in a posting of this newsgroup that it is "standard practice to replace BOTH belts, as the balance belt is right behind the timing belt". Is it true? Are there two belts (timing and balance) to replace every
60K in addition to water pump ? Do any of you had trouble with balance belt breakage? Thanks.you might as well, you have to break the timing belt loose, replace everything.
The answer is based on risk. There have been a few broken balance belts that have taken out the timing belt. Others break with no problems. The labor is not significantly more than a timing belt, so why not? BTW, I wasn't aware the V6 Galant even had a balance belt.
Yes. Waterpumps do wear out, but should last 100K or so. The test is whether there's ANY roughness to be felt when when the pump is turned manually. Replacement part is about $40, and the labour to get at it is the same to chnage the belts, which is why the recommendation is there.
Balance belts also suffer from age and oil contamination, the same a cam belts. If a balance belt breaks or strips some teeth, best case the engine will virbrate, but the usual worst case is that a broken piece will cause the can belt to jump teeth or break. Thi$ often cause$ major engine damage, $uch as bent valve$.
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