Time to replace timing belt?

[Akgriffith]

I've owned a77 Spider for about 2 months. The PO owned it since 2008. The PO was meticulous and went through the engine, brakes & electrical system. He provided me with lots of receipts when I bought the car. Whlie he owned it he only put on about 1000 miles. The receipt that I have for the timing belt is dated Sept 2009. So my question is, should I replace the belt on age alone? It certainly isn't worn out, just old.
Thanks!

[Dawgme85]

I wouldn't worry about it at this point. The only real concern about the timing belt is due to the potential damage caused if it breaks. The manual recommends INSPECTING the belt at 25k miles. Unless an inspection reveals cracking or broken teeth, or performance degrades due to stretching (unlikely), the belt shouldn't need to be replaced. A mechanic friend decided to see how long the belt in his personal Spider would last and finally chickened out and replaced it at 75k miles. Personally, I would not worry about replacement, unless one of the factors listed above appears during an inspection, until 90k. Of course, if I had the engine apart for another reason, I wouldn't hesitate to replace it at that point.
For context, the belt in my Spider was replaced at 47k miles. At 59k the head was redone, but the belt was not replaced, as inspection revealed no reason to replace it and I trusted the opinion of my mechanic and his 40 years of Fiat experience. The car now has 79k miles on it and the belt gets inspected on a regular basis. YMMV.

[azruss]

a 7 year old belt is probably due. Yes, you can be like Dawg and play Russian roulette with your timing belt and save yourself a few rubles. Just consider what would happen if you are flying down the freeway without a care in the world and that old timing belt decides to croak. I've run a belt for 60k miles back in the 70s. My concern would also be with the tensioner bearing. Do the inspection at least and then decide your level of risk.

[Rambo]

I began work on my 79 last year after sitting since 2000. I ignored the belt and drove it all last year and are just now doing the belt. Upon removal the belt appeared to be in excellent condition. However, the damage done by a belt snap at speed could destroy your engine and i don't think what i did was the smartest thing.

[PhillySpider]

Before 1980 it's an interference engine, meaning definite trouble, bent valves etc if it breaks under speed. Even the non-interference engines pose risk of bent valves, I'm told, under the right circumstances. My spider is an '80 w/54K on it and never had the timing belt replaced. I'm planning on doing it this fall when I put her away for the winter.

[RRoller123]

I think the risk on the 2L, even though a non-interference engine, is what would happen if the Aux shaft lobe just happens to stop in the wrong position while the crankshaft is still spinning down? Not good.