Timing belt aging

[Ceenine]

I wonder if there are any markings on a timing belt which may indicate the month of manufacture of it. If one turned over the engine on 1.2l Puretech and peered down through the oil filler cap aperture the markings would be clearly seen.
Don

[wheeler]

Not really sure that that would achieve anything as the belt could have sat on the shelf in a box for a year before it was fitted to the car.

[Gibbo2286]

Some do some don't, usually the better makers have the date of manufacture on the belt but it depends on the run of the belt whether it can still be read after it's been in use for some long time, rubbing against the tensioner can rub off the print.
I've got a couple of Gates belts on the shelf, they don't have dates on them.

[white exec]

8 years or 75-80k miles normally quoted.
If in doubt, replace it . . . You never know . . .

[Harlequin]

Dayco stamp a sequential number in their belts. The first two numbers indicate the year, the next two indicate the week and the fifth number tells us the day of the week. The final three digits on the code represent the position of the belt in the mould.

[wheeler]

8 years or 75-80k miles normally quoted.
If in doubt, replace it . . . You never know . . .

I dont know if i'd be brave enough to leave a rubber timing belt submerged in oil for that long

[white exec]

Submerged in oil? What did I miss?

[GiveMeABreak]

I think he's referring to his first post - and is talking about a 1.2 Puretech Petrol Chris. These are 3 cylinder engines and have a belt in oil system. Early models were plagued with belt break-up, leading to oil starvation and blockage and ultimately in some cases a replacement engine being required.

The correct grade and specification oil is critical on these engines to ensure compatibility with the belts. They've also gone through a few belt revisions.

The timing service is also shorter (depending on model - i.e. EB2F engines) with most of these being 62k miles for the first timing belt replacement / check.

[white exec]

Gosh. Thanks for that info, Marc.

[GiveMeABreak]

... It's what ultimately put me off a petrol when we bought the Aircross - that and everything on those running hotter and quicker, issues with the timing belt could also cause damage to the vacuum pump / brake booster, for which there was a recall for the 530,000 vehicles fitted with these engines. I thought I'd take my chances, stick to generally reliable diesel and fingers crossed the Adblue issue would not rear it's head!

[Ceenine]

Simon, Thnks for your reply on the Dayco belts, very useful. I have a new one to hand and was wondering what all those numbers meant. I thought it might have been code for "this belt will last for 500,000 km" or "make sure you submerge this belt in oil every engine revolution".
I have been told by an experienced Peugeot mechanic that if you buy a second hand motor that has been sitting around for some years that the belt should be replaced, even if the motor hasn't done much work. Given that the belts are made out of an oil derivative the chemistry would be interesting. "Belts aint what they used to be" to quote the mechanic.
Don