Greetings all. New member thinking about moving from the BMW E34 platform onto the B5. I'm going to look at a couple of B5s this weekend. I know about the issues with the timing belt and changing at 60k intervals. My question is about visual inspection. In the event a seller/dealer has no record of it being changed, what should I be looking for visually? Squealing pulleys? Other odd noises? Besides obvious splits or frays in the belt, how can I hand-check a tensioner for clues? I got through the first five pages of search without really seeing much.

Anything that would tip me off as to imminent failure is appreciated.

Looking forward to joining this community.

Thanks
Ken

 

if u look on the sticky notes on the front page it will tell you everything you will want to know!

 

check teeth and belt for cracks or visible wear

if the belt has been recently replaced it should have writing apparent on the outside, otherwise the writing wears off

your best bet is to have records of all maintenance

also make sure that they have used synthetic oil in the case of the 1.8t, as oil sludge is an issue with these engines

 

if theres no records at all the owner was probably a dink who ran 87 octane and hasnt changed the tbelt or anything ever.... if this is the case dont buy it.

however if you find a nice one i would definately say go for it because i love my car and havent had a single trouble with it!

welcome to the clan kenny

 

here you go
http://www.jeepnotes.com/(X(1)S(afk5...ookieSupport=1

hope that helps...

 

if they cant prove when it was done, assume it needs to be done immediately and factor an additional $1000 in to your decision to have it done. there arent necessarily any visual indicators when a timing belt is old. if they dont have the paperwork, it needs to be done now.