Timing belt question. ?

Car manual says to change timing belt at 60k Should I do it or should I wait. How long I can go without changing it? How much does it cost? What damage could by done if its brakes? Timing belt question. ?Personally I would get it changed at 60k miles. I would get it done either then or before. The cost can vary greatly from vehicle to vehicle (I would say as a ballpark guess w/ parts and labor about 150-200 someodd dollars). As far as what damage could be done if it breaks (again it can vary from vehicle to vehicle) is in the case that it is an interference fit engine is damage to engine parts. An interference fit engine is when the piston at top dead center does not have any clearance for a valve to be open (it shouldn't be happening anyway). Should it break in that case, the general thing you could see are bent valves (the valve stems of course) and/or damage to the crown of the pistons. In short, its a service I would get done to prevent a much more severe (by about 10 times in cost) in damage to the engine, aside from having the vehicle down for a longer period of time.
Timing belt question. ?
i really need to know what kind of car it is and the engine. some engines will be destroyed if the belt brakes and some wont. but if the book says change it then i would change it because the consequences are expensive. also need to know what kind of car to give you an estimate.
Timing belt question. ?
depending on the vehicle, most motors are non-interference and it just breaks the belt and leaves you stranded, but on high performance vehicles they have interference motors and when the belt breaks the valves get out of sequence and the pistons start hitting them causing all kinds of damage, so best to change, since belts are cheap. you can look it up at the gates website to see what you have..
Here is a typical breakdown on a mitsubishi engine. Change the timing belt water pump and timing belt tensioner at 60K miles will cost about 350 dollars parts and labor. Wait until the timing belt breaks the cost goes up to about 1400 dollars, due to valve and head repairs. Your call.
if the book says every 60,000, i would do it at that point. i am not sure if that is an interference engine or not but i would not risk it. if it is and that belt snaps, you can cause severe damage to the pistons heads, valve train, and your wallet.