Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Morgan Three Wheeler & Super 3 Cam timing belt thickness

I don't think you are hearing.... belts die for two reasons.... wear as in miles.... and age as in time. old low mileage belts look good... they measure well... to the surface they look fine

but they are old

old tires have great tread.... on the surface they look good but they fail because they are hard and brittle

do not go by one thing.... consider both.... age AND miles...

otherwise... I have a couple of 15+ year old 19" tires off of barn finds I will cut you a good deal on... lots of tread left, one even has the nibbens… they measure good! And for being old they are stiff!

S&S have come back with "We only recommend visual inspections looking for cracks and frayed edges. There is no wear indication available"
Age was not a consideration.

Mine disintegrated well before 10000 miles. An interesting experience.
The car had been in the shop for many months before that, after the original compensator also disintegrated. I assume they looked at belt, but decided it was OK. Almost lost two summer seasons in a row, but a local mechanic came to the rescue.

In short - I have no clue what to look for.

I wouldn't bother looking at it too much. `just factor in that it needs replacing on or before the manufacturer interval and do it. Peace of mind. My LR belt looked fine at 90,000 miles but it must have been knackered at 90%+ of its intended life.

I wonder how many unused spare wheels languishing untouched for years have old dangerous tyres.
Jay Leno has a Soviet Union built car a Volga I think & he was quite proud of its original made in USSR tyres. Since USSR disintegrated in 1991 if you see him coming turn off or stop.

But those are the finest quality Soviet tires.... best in the world! HAHAHAHAHA

He has a complete staff following him around and his own tow fleet. It would not surprise me that he has tires made for him to USSR spec.

My new belt arrived in todays post.
2mm / 70 thou thick.

So some basic maths says 30K miles change leaves a reasonable margin before it disappears assuming the wear rate stays constant, and ignoring age which I wouldn't know how to factor in to any meaningful degree.
More data would of course help.

Change mine every 3 years regardless.

The old one that came off last month looks perfect though.

S&S RECOMMENDED REGULAR SERVICE INTERVALS
Timing belt Inspect every 10,000 miles. Replace every 30,000 miles

Ref https://www.mtwc.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/SandS-X-Wedge-1.pdf