If my timing belt breaks

It should not damage your stock Rabbit engine.

I have seen timing belts last 140K miles.

at this site you can enter your cars info and find out..look for the 'Interference Engine' hyper-link in the lower right bottom of that page.

Hmmm....When I do that, it gives a timing belt part number and has a note that says "Interference engine application".

My input information was 1984 VW Rabbit 1.7 liter engine.

Andy

That's a valid question, no doubt. However, sometimes I think that people get a little too focused on the "Will it destroy my engine if I wait another 20,000 miles" aspect and forget that if the timing belt breaks, whether it wrecks the upper end or not, you are dead in the water. Immobile, not goin' anywhere. Kaput. Unless you're sure that this will always happen within within easy pushing distance of your favorite VW shop, then you should replace the belt on the most conservative intervals.

BTW the timing belts for the 8-Valve gas Rabbits usually show their age in the form of cracks on the outer surface. At least that has been my experience.

So take a look at the belt to see how it is doing! Simple huh? ;-)

You bet! And you're both right:

This is a 23-year-old car and I don't use it for long distance stuff.

So yes, I should just replace it NOW.

But until I do, I was wondering how much I should worry.

Thanks for the replies.

Andy

Don't worry at all, it's bad for your health. ;-)

-Andrew