The old Corollas in the 70s and 80s had timing chains. In the 90s, Honda, Toyota, and even Nissan started making belt-driven cranks instead of chains. Now they are back to timing chains. What happened?
In: Engineering
I had a 2014 Ford Escape that required its “routine” timing belt replacement. The DOHC gears required a special piece to hold them in place, along with a special bolt to keep the crank at top dead center or else the timing was very difficult to get back correct. One bad movement and valves were banging into pistons. Oh, and the water pump was connected to the same belt, and was recommended to be replaced at the same time. Dealer wanted nearly USD $2k to do, because it was something like 17 hours (by the book) of labor. I found a reputable independent repair shop that did it for USD $1k.
Then the turbo went out and was quoted $2700 to replace. I sold it as is. I swear I will never intentionally purchase a vehicle with a timing belt. And hopefully no turbo.
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