164LS (24v) T-belt inspection

[Karl D <karld@domain.elided>]

Digesters: My 1995 164LS timing belt has 21000 hard miles over the past 3.5 years. I usually change it every 30K miles, but my annual mileage is now lower, with alot of stop and go driving and cold starts. Combined with the extreme heat of this engine, I wonder if I should soon be considering a new T-belt. If my t-belt breaks, APE may be the next owner of this car...which I hate to think of. 

Question: Is there an easy way to get a glimpse of the T-belt condition without disassembling anything? I'm mostly a checkbook mechanic, except for changing the oil. I remove the wheel and plastic fender liner to change the oil. Perhaps the T-belt is easily visible at that time(??). 

Yes, I know, a visual check does not always show the actual condition of the belt, but I've also heard others say that their belt looked visibly frayed when they changed it.

Ciao,
Karl
Sunnyvale, CA
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