Best Timing Belt Brand for Hyundai vehicles?

[S2500Dog]

Hey guys,

I need some suggestions and recommendation for best timing belt brand. Which brand do you recommend and how well or bad it does in your vehicles. I will need to replace the timing belt along with the water pump, belt tensioner, idler pully, and front camshaft and crankshaft seals. All accessory belts are new and replaced from Autozone Duralast-Dayco made belts. My 2003 Hyundai Elantra currently has 91,815 miles and is possibly a California car due to having two cat converter.

 

[The Critic]

Genuine Hyundai parts only. Not the OEM stuff from worldpac, not Duralast, not Gates, not dayco. Genuine Hyundai only, it is too great of a risk to use anything other than the Genuine part on an interference engine.

 

[S2500Dog]

Well Critic, the OEM timing belt is Gates including the belt tensioner and idler pully which are also OEM Gates. Hyundai dealers in my area sell and used the Gates TCK284 timing belt kit as Hyundai OEM genuine parts.

 

[The Critic]

Originally Posted By: S2500Dog
Well Critic, the OEM timing belt is Gates including the belt tensioner and idler pully which are also OEM Gates. Hyundai dealers in my area sell and used the Gates TCK284 timing belt kit as Hyundai OEM genuine parts.


I would check around. Gates and Dayco make a line of belts and tensioners for OE and a separate line for aftermarket. They are sometimes different as the OE product requires more extensive validation testing. Kestas discussed this issue a while ago regarding wheel bearings, and it's basically the same story-- a product made for the aftermarket and one made for the OE from the same manufacturer can be completely different. In this case it is best to stick with the OE product, whichever it may be.

 

[Eddie]

+1 critic. OEM dealer for this replacement.

 

[Chris Meutsch]

Why am I seeing both a normal belt and a smaller chain on this car that both refer to timing?

Gates makes a good belt product.
I would go with factory tensioner/idler pulleys just in case they fail and take out the head. Happened to me after only 20k on my Civic and I got a free rebuild out of it worth $2600 or so.

 

[Scienceman]

Dayco!
They sponcer the site!

 

[Propflux01]

Originally Posted By: Eddie
+1 critic. OEM dealer for this replacement.


+2

 

[JTK]

Originally Posted By: Chris Meutsch
Why am I seeing both a normal belt and a smaller chain on this car that both refer to timing?


If it's like my Hyundai 2.7L V6, the dual over-head camshafts on each head are looped together by small chains to maintain valve timing. I believe the intake cam is driven by the T-belt sprocket on mine, then power is transferred to the exhaust cam by the chain. There's also a phasing actuator on the exhaust cam. You can see the chains here, #7.

Joel

 

[jkhawaii]

factory stuff would be the safest bet, but I never had any problems with any aftermarket belt be it Gates, goodyear ect.

 

[S2500Dog]

Thanks for all the advice and suggestions. I decided that the following will be purchased and installed in my 2003 Hyundai Elantra GT:

Front Camshaft Seal Set - Fel-Pro (OEM quality is shoddy)

Front Crankshaft Seal Set - Fel-Pro (OEM quality is shoddy)

Timing Belt, Belt Tensioner, and Idler Pully - Hyundai OEM genuine parts (security and peace of mind from premature failure)

Water Pump - more likely Hyundai OEM or Auto 7 from South Korea which build OEM parts for Hyundai (water pump is external on 2003 Elantra and does not run by the timing belt)

 

[JTK]

I know the old "while you're in there, replace everything" adage, but I personally wouldn't touch the cam and crank seals unless they are leaking. 92Kmi is nothing on a water pump, but given it's a 2003, might not be a bad idea to replace. The main things are the T-belt, T-belt tensioner and idler(s) if so equipped.

Joel

 

[Texan4Life]

+1 on Fel-Pro

I haven't had any problems with gates belts. But you cant go wrong with OEM.

unless the water pump is in a UBER hard place to get, I wouldn't replace it unless it needs it.

 

[PandaBear]

Most reputable aftermarket brands are good, I've used Mitsuboshi, Gate, AC Delco, Beck Arnley, Honda, Toyota and haven't seen any problem with any of them.

However you should double check before install, I've seen rockauto warehouse shipped me defective belts before.

 

[MarkM66]

Perhaps some of the aftermarket parts are BETTER then the factory parts.

Why wouldn't they try to one up the factory equipped part?

OR in the case of a belt, maybe the factory stuff is the same as the part being sold at the parts store. Hyundai/Honda/GM etc. doesn't makes belts, they have them made by belt company, ie. Gates, Dayco, or maybe some no name brand that's $0.02 cheaper the the name brand.

Just saying if someone hasn't actually tested them, everything else is an assumption.