This Summer I plan to replace both my Timing and Aux Belts and all the gubbins. I have brand new ones but they are five maybe six years old and have been in a box in the shed for that time.

May be a silly question but if the service spec says change every 7 years does that mean from the time they are put on or from the time since they were made, Don't think they have a Sell by/ Best before date. Does storage deteriorate the rubber compound.

I'm no expert, but if it were me, just to be safe I'd buy a new set. They aren't that expensive but a broken timing belt could be!

Rubber can deteriorate over time, but the water pump, and tensioner should be ok, i am going to do the same to my two FL2 over the next months or so, bought my kit before Xmas just gone 2023, let us know what you decide.

Couple of quotes below from google

A timing belt's shelf life is approximately eight years as long as it's stored in the right conditions. After that point, its service life will begin to gradually decrease.

Belts may be stored up to six years if properly stored at temperatures less than 85°F and relative humidity less than 70%. For every 15°F increase in storage temperature above 85°F, the time the belt can be stored without reduced performance decreases by one-half.

It is just a thought I hope doesn't turn into a nightmare. I have never heard of belts failing due to using new old stock. Yes failures due to the gubbins braking or old belts waring down the earliest I heard of in a Freelander being 185,000 miles.

The cost of two new belts will be say around £50 for something good. How long are belts in storage before being sold

I like chips said:

This Summer I plan to replace both my Timing and Aux Belts and all the gubbins. I have brand new ones but they are five maybe six years old and have been in a box in the shed for that time.

May be a silly question but if the service spec says change every 7 years does that mean from the time they are put on or from the time since they were made, Don't think they have a Sell by/ Best before date. Does storage deteriorate the rubber compound.

Click to expand...

I'd buy a new timing belt, but as suggested, the other parts should be fine.

A friend of mine with a Talbot Sunbeam Lotus is having similar issues with timing belts, as newly manufactured belts haven't been available in large numbers for years, so he's playing Russian roulette with old stock belts as supply on new belts is so limited.