Mitsuboshi Timing Belts

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artbuc

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I have installed several over the years (Aisin kits) and never had a problem. On another auto forum, someone just posted to avoid Mitsuboshi timing belts because he had two that broke on him. I know Mitsuboshi makes some of their TB's in Thailand. Is it possible the Thai belts are inferior to the ones made in Japan? I am not a mechanic but have read extensively about timing belt quality and failure modes over the last 20 years or so. I can not recall a single case where a relatively new timing belt failed on its own. Failures are always a result of a faulty tensioner, WP or idler bearing. The only belt failures I ever heard about were ones with ridiculously high mileage, ie 200k +/-.

So, would you guys hesitate to install a Mitsuboshi timing belt? Thanks.
 
No hesitation! These are the only belts to use in my opinion.
Maybe this "someone who posted" about the Mitsuboshi/Aisin timing belt, may have installed them incorrectly?

We don't know all of the details or skill level of this particular "someone"!
Did this person cut corners?
Did this person NOT install a new tensioner?
What?...we just don't know the details.

Are there knockoff parts being sold around the world? We don't know this either!
In regards to quality:
Between Japan & Thailand, I choose Japan
Between Thailand & China, I choose Thailand
My understanding is that, Thailand has quite good quality coming out of their factories than China does.
 
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Originally Posted by Char Baby
No hesitation! These are the only belts to use in my opinion.
Maybe this "someone who posted" about the Mitsuboshi/Aisin timing belt, may have installed them incorrectly? We don't know all of the details or skill level of this "someone"!


He has over 9k posts on two different MDX forums and is Moderator on one of them. He considers himself to be an expert and it appears most readers see him as an expert. That is why I asked the question here. I have to assume he knows what he is talking about but his advice does not square with my experience or knowledge.
 
I suppose that we could get less than IDEAL parts quality/reliability of any product. Even products that are known for their quality/reliability.

I've actually owned Toyota's & Honda's that were less than satisfactory. Not disasters per say but certainly not what I would have expected from them. So, maybe this person may in fact have gotten some bad timing belts with the Mitsuboshi/Aisin name on them. And maybe they've all come out of Thailand.

Hard to tell but, I'd still use'em.
 
Not saying that this person bought the TB online but...
In addition, I know lots of individuals(DIYers) who buy these timing belt kits off Amazon. However, IDK if they've had any issues. Where as, I also know lots of professional mechanics that buy these kits directly from the dealer and claim total success. It may cost more from the dealer but, they need'em now, not is 3-5 business days, And IDK if the pro's use Amazon/Prime for their business but, do use it for themselves.

Is the stuff from Amazon or any other online service, inferior to the dealer stock???
 
I own a VW and a Saab that were both service by a "guru", friggin hacker butchered everything so don't go by that. Mitsuboshi timing belts are top shelf I would and do use them with no reservation.
They are made in Thailand for a reason. The Japanese belt companies built plants there primarily because it is closer to the raw materials and its cheaper to process it there than ship it to Japan. The plant are fully automated start to finish so it really makes no difference whatsoever as far as quality goes.

Rock sells correct parts and so does Amazon but with Amazon you have to be careful, buy only from Amazon or a known quality vendor selling on Amazon eg some tools are sold on Amazon by say Zoro and that is fine but some fly by night may be selling the same item and that's the one to avoid.
 
I've used Mitsuboshi timing belts on most of my cars over the years and who knows how many customer cars. I wouldn't have any worries using one. High post count doesnt equate to knowledge or experience.
 
Originally Posted by artbuc
He has over 9k posts on two different MDX forums and is Moderator on one of them. He considers himself to be an expert....

I stopped reading there ! Being a forum mod, in many cases, means a person often spends time getting their nose brown from higher-ups at forums !
grin.gif
Certainly doesn't mean they're experts, even though they themselves think they are !!

Originally Posted by Trav
They are made in Thailand for a reason. The Japanese belt companies built plants there primarily because it is closer to the raw materials....
Ding, ding, ding - there's the winning answer regarding why rubber belts are being produced in Thailand.

Guess what country is the largest rubber producer in the world ? Big name tire producers are making tires there too.
 
Originally Posted by Trav
I own a VW and a Saab that were both service by a "guru", friggin hacker butchered everything so don't go by that. Mitsuboshi timing belts are top shelf I would and do use them with no reservation.
They are made in Thailand for a reason. The Japanese belt companies built plants there primarily because it is closer to the raw materials and its cheaper to process it there than ship it to Japan. The plant are fully automated start to finish so it really makes no difference whatsoever as far as quality goes.

Rock sells correct parts and so does Amazon but with Amazon you have to be careful, buy only from Amazon or a known quality vendor selling on Amazon eg some tools are sold on Amazon by say Zoro and that is fine but some fly by night may be selling the same item and that's the one to avoid.


Plus 100 on this one!
 
The belts are fine, I have installed in a few. Are they identical to the OE part? Definitely not. But will they do the job? yes.

Subjectively, the belts feel a bit thinner than OE Honda belts.

For Toyota's, the Aisin kits are great and are almost identical to OE.

If price was a concern, I would have no problems using the Aisin kit.

Also, I am suspicious about the hydraulic tensioner that is included in the Aisin kits. The new ones now just have Aisin stamped in ink. Are they really OE or some relabeled part from a mysterious vendor?
 
Originally Posted by The Critic
Also, I am suspicious about the hydraulic tensioner that is included in the Aisin kits. The new ones now just have Aisin stamped in ink. Are they really OE or some relabeled part from a mysterious vendor?

For mine the OEM is made by NTN. When I last bought one in that kit it had NTN in the casting.
 
Originally Posted by kschachn
Originally Posted by The Critic
Also, I am suspicious about the hydraulic tensioner that is included in the Aisin kits. The new ones now just have Aisin stamped in ink. Are they really OE or some relabeled part from a mysterious vendor?

For mine the OEM is made by NTN. When I last bought one in that kit, it had NTN in the casting.

Exactly. The last two I have purchased did not have anything on the casting; it was only stamped with "Aisin" in ink.
 
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On the other hand Aisin is about the most reputable manufacturer I know, I don't think I would worry about anything they put in their kits.
 
Originally Posted by kschachn
On the other hand Aisin is about the most reputable manufacturer I know, I don't think I would worry about anything they put in their kits.

Agreed. But I figured it was worth mentioning.

The difference in cost between aftermarket and OE is just staggering. Usually that is an indicator of a difference in quality. Perhaps this is an exception to the rule.
 
The tensioner in my last kit also had Aisin stamped In blue ink. I was concerned enough to call Aisin and they confirmed it was original Aisin part. IIRC, I did some additional research and independently confirmed Aisin identified their tensioners with the blue ink stamp as opposed to the name in the casting. I did not necessarily like it but I accepted it as a cost cutting/sourcing flexibility issue.

Edit. Just talked with Aisin. None of the Aisin tensioners have the name in the casting. They stamp their name on ones designated for aftermarket primarily for warranty claims and also to know if they need to communicate any quality issues to OE's. He said NTN has also stopped putting their name in the casting presumably for the same reasons. Re belts, Aisin aftermarket sources from Mitsuboshi because of their broad presence in the aftermarket and Aisin only wants one supplier to simplify sourcing. Gates Unitta only supplies to OE's and does not make belts for many applications covered by Aisin kits. Aisin experience with Gates aftermarket belts was less than satisfactory. I only installed one Gates aftermarket belt and it sucked...thick, stiff and noisy. I immediately replaced it. My old 99 Avalon came from the factory with a Gates Unitta belt. From what I know, Gates Unitta makes the best TB in the world.
 
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Originally Posted by The Critic


Also, I am suspicious about the hydraulic tensioner that is included in the Aisin kits. The new ones now just have Aisin stamped in ink. Are they really OE or some relabeled part from a mysterious vendor?

The one on my parent's van was an NTN piece in an NTN box, IIRC. Ditto with my old LS400.

On cars Aisin doesn't supply the OEM water pump on, they'll source it from the supplier - Aisin makes a timing kit for manual Subaru EJ25s but isn't the OEM water pump supplier. In that case, it would be from Hitachi/Paraut or whoever Subaru used.

A friend used to own a 2003 Forester with the EJ253 and I installed a Gates "OE" timing kit sans the water pump. The belt was made by Gates in the US I think and they used all NTN tensioners and idlers. This was before Gates started to use Chinese components.
 
Yeah, Gates screwed the pooch big time. They tried to recovered by offering a more expensive kit with all made in Japan components designated by "N" added to the kit number. Then they messed that up by getting parts mixed up when they introduced the "N" kits.

Here are some good pics of a Subie Aisin Kit. Notice the NTN brand is not in the tensioner casting.

https://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2818757&page=3
 
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This is why I like timing chains, because you usually never have to replace them
smile.gif


That said, nothing wrong with Mitsuboshi or Bando belts or timing belts
 
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