Timing belt change or else.

Read owners manuel it states change timing belt and gears at 60,000 miles. Believe me do it or else the belt is going to break and bent valves and more possible. While you there change out water pump. This has happen to three people that I know of so pay now or pay later don't wait for real it can cost machine shop work which is not cheap and so on. Don't be saying I should have done it like the post read.

I have known that the timing belt on the Aveo should be replaced no later that 60k. Take it to the dealer and get it done for about $300. If it breaks you can expect to have it repaired for around $1500. Don't run your Aveo hard. It will make the belt break sooner. It's not a matter of if, its a matter of when. Don't put it off.

Alldata says theres a GM bulletin stating the original Timing and serp belts are not made of the correct material and they crack and fail earlier then expected. DO NOT wait past 50k miles! My 04 belts were shot @ 50k... cracks all through them.:banghead:

Alldata says theres a GM bulletin stating the original Timing and serp belts are not made of the correct material and they crack and fail earlier then expected. DO NOT wait past 50k miles! My 04 belts were shot @ 50k... cracks all through them.:banghead:

Thank you. I was going to wait til 60k, but will get the 05 done at 50k. Forewarned is forearmed. I appreciate your commments. You probably saved me $1500.00.

...DO NOT wait past 50k miles! My 04 belts were shot @ 50k... cracks all through them.:banghead:

I second the call to replace earlier. We have an '04 in our shop now with only 102,000 kilometers (about 63k miles) and its game over. Not only do the valves bend but it cracks the guides as well.

Thanks for your reply. I've got 47k now and am a believer that what you say is true. I will say just one thing. The tensioner pulley is on the water pump which is rotated to tension the belt. Always put a new O ring on the water pump. If not the old O ring which has been flattened out won't seal any more. The end result is antifreeze leaking on the pulley causing premature failure again.

Chevrolet used to use quality Gates belts. Did they switch to an over seas supplier?

I don't know. Possible. They probably have belts that are made in China. Everything else is made there. Chevrolet has known these belts fail arouind 60k. They have a TSB that states Chevy will pay for the belt if you get it replaced between 30k and 55k. They want to inspect the belts before they actually fail.

I don't know. Possible. They probably have belts that are made in China. Everything else is made there. Chevrolet has known these belts fail arouind 60k. They have a TSB that states Chevy will pay for the belt if you get it replaced between 30k and 55k. They want to inspect the belts before they actually fail.
Did you ask for a free belt so you can replace it yourself?

Nah. You gotta get it replaced by a Chevy dealership. I can get an excellent belt at NAPA for about $36. As a matter of fact I can get the belt, waterpump, idler pulley and tensioner pulley for about $168.00. at NAPA. All of the above are made out of aluminum alloy and disipate the heat better than the steel parts. They are made by Beck/Arnly here in the states. If you want to get a job done right, you have to do it yourself.

I've always found it takes as long to get the parts as it takes to do the job.
This means your 1/2 way done. Start early before it gets hot and you will be ready for Memorial day.
Any one else short on cash I checked my water pump wrenches against my water pump wrenches for size. I think a loaner set of water pump wrenches from Auto Zone or Advance will fit well enough to work for this job. Its better to have the proper tool but you have to get the job done.

It takes a special 1 9/16 inch tool to rotate the water pump to tension the belt. I've looked at it and if I take the motor mount off the block I can get a pair of water pump pliers in there to do the job. The special Chevy tool is nothing but an off-set open end wrench for $40.00. I've never done a timing belt on an Aveo. I have done it a dozen times in my mind so I know it will come out okay. Thanks for your thoughts and comments. I've always learned something from your posts. ~Dave~

I have 61k on my 07' Aveo, Knowing the maintenance techniques I scheduled my car to have the timing belt replaced a month ago. They ordered the belt, and finally today they are going to do the belt. They quoted me around 300 to do it, but while they have the car I am having them check the air bag light that just came on last week, and also the serpentine belt has been chirping when i hit the gas. So all is said and done, my car has been in the shop all day, can't wait to see the final bill.

Kris

Watch when you sell or give the car away. You can tell them to change a belt but if it breaks you don't want family or a friend mad at you because the belt broke and trashed the engine. Happens more frequently than you think.

I got the car back from the dealer, Only 255 to change the belt, however it was 43 to fix the airbag light, which turned out to be the sensor under the passenger seat was disconnected, and another 53 for the serpentine belt.

I did my 2004 at 67,000 + or -. We picked the car up from my wife's mother because it was going back for payments. It had 48,000 on it then and I wasn't sure when it had been done last, so I started looking into it and read where it should be done at 60,000 and I was getting nervous, where I read where it causes a lot of engine damage. It all worked out in the end. Not too bad of a job, if you're familiar with timing belt changes. You do need an extra hand to hold the cam pulley tight when setting up the belt though, I tried it alone and got the belt off by one tooth and it caused 4 codes to show up on the CEL.So I went back in and got it right the second time.

As far as the special wrench goes, I made one at work, where I'm employed in a shop type atmosphere. There is a good print that's available online. If anyone here wants it, I'll see if I can dig it up again.

It is a good idea to change out the water pump and idlers while you're right there. It's a little costly up front, but it is cheap insurance from my perspective.

Toni.

Toni, thanks for that information. If you can find the link to that wrench print, please do share it. I'm going to be changing my belt in the next month or so and any additional info (like the wrench print) is appreciated.

--Mike

I tried to find that link, it was on the Image Shack site, but I can't find it for the life of me now, might have been deleted.This link should be of some use:http://www.daewootech.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2746 In fact this whole site is pretty useful. It's for Daewoo, but the Chevy Aveo has the same engine.

I think I have that print at work in my papers somewhere. If I can locate that, I'll scan it and post it here for anyone else that wants it.

Toni.

http://www.ntxtools.com/ Search OTC-7823 SUN-97442 V8T-79041 One of the last two if you want to buy one. Going to be very close if it can be used crowfoot is better.
As its for a Ford 4.9L 92-96 it should be available at Auto Zone or Advanced.
Basically you pay for wrench and its refunded when returned. This is very close to 41mm.
http://www.uktools.com/ Search timing wrench. They do ship to the USA.

Here's a schematic of the tool that I made. I did some scribbling on it when making my cuts, etc. Like it says there on the width, I found that it could be narrower, in other words, 2" wide and not 3", on the throat that is. This was after I used it initially I think. As for the square hole for the 1/2" drive, you could weld on a nut as well, it would do the same thing.

1 9/16 =1.5625
1 5/8 =1.625
My Snap on 9/16 combination is very close to 40mm
41mm is 1.61417
You have some leeway as the nut is slightly smaller than the wrench.
If you have a metric scale when making a wrench use it.
http://www.integrityfirstauto.com/Engine-Mechanical/aveotimingbelt.html
If you look at the link remember the mark for the pulley on the crankshaft.
Use Google Search CTA A879 New Tool
This shows a picture of new 41mm timing wrench made like sketch.
http://www.autopart.com/ Get phone and call for price fast shippers.
Lisle 13500 is also a new tool.

That's great, guys. Thank you.