So I looked into what it would take today to view the belt before replaceing it. It was major, and before I got there I read some horror stories of those who attempted to do it themselves and the complications that one can run into. I recall the teeth of the belt getting thinner and effecting the top end timing of the motor before we replaced a customers belt. So that was my indicator all these years later as to weather or not to replace the belt. I looked at the cover myself and could not determine an easy way to remove it and cop a view, finally I found someone who said you had to remove the camshaft cover before removeing the timing belt cover.
Well that was more involved than I thought I should have to go through so I did a 180 and decided to drill out a hole on the side of the cover and get a look at the teeth of the belt that way. I used a 3/4 inch forstner bit and drilled 2 holes in the strategic location and then used a wire cutter to snip off the remaining bits of plastic being very careful not to get any shavings or bits into the inside of the cover. [you could drop alittle bit down and be okay but that is a concern when performing a surgery such as this.
It revieled just what I thought it would, a perfectly new belt that has no viewable wear, and I checked it a dozen times over the course of a month to get a different spot on the belt and it always looks the same.
