timing belt / drive belts /wp -$1066, opinions?

winston3x

Member
Hi,
02 auto 60,5xx miles-new to me a couple months ago. did the 60k service today (independent import shop). $135 - not too bad, most of the expensive stuff was already done.

Car has low miles but all of the belts are nearing 7 years old. They need to be changed sooner rather than later, timing belt is close too, so best to do it all together, waterpump and seals/gaskets.

the quote includes all new pullies. They said I might not need them, which would bring the price down $2-300. they won't know til they pull the belts off.

so my question is, would age affect the pullies like the rubber belts or should i just bite the bullet and get them done. thanks
 
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I just had my timing belt done at 71k. The mechanic said the tensioner/water pump looked fine and I didn't need to change them. In hindsight I wish I would have anyway. I have a slight whine now at idle and certain rpms which was not there before. Sounds like a pulley/bearing/??? to me...:bs:

I just moved to a new town, don't have access to my trusted mechanic and have yet to find someone locally. Sooo, I went to the dealer for that one. I don't think I'll be going back there...
 
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quote is for all drive belts, timing belt, water pump, all pullies, and gaskets, seals. Their labor is $80/hr.

this is the shop


they said i may not need the pullies so that would drop the price dramatically. I'm just interested in knowing if the pullies will fail at some point, and if I should just do them now. thanks,
 
so i went back got the an itemized quote from the place and tweaked it to around $800 for everything.

the killer on the original quote was a "timing Belt Kit" (belt/tensioner/pulley) to the tune of $400.

so how crucial is it to change the timing tensioner/pulley?

I can buy the same Gates kit for $285 from O'reilly but i'll have to find a shop that will let me bring parts in.

this shop has a good rep. and history but apparently are seriously marking up parts. thanks
 
173K on my p5 all original....

Price is a little high but not abusrdly so. Labor nearing a hundred bucks hurts.
 
Timing belt is not due until 105K miles. Replacing sooner than that is just dumb.

Don't change pulleys unless going underdrive pulleys. And you have time to shop around for a better quote as well..

Why not buy the parts from a vendor here and just find a shop who will install them?
 
Speedcircuit.net $80 Shop around more! They are about to jack-your-ass!!

http://www.speedcircuit.net/product...d=234&osCsid=0e9ea235abed409136c88fd7b9773e81


so i went back got the an itemized quote from the place and tweaked it to around $800 for everything.

the killer on the original quote was a "timing Belt Kit" (belt/tensioner/pulley) to the tune of $400.

so how crucial is it to change the timing tensioner/pulley?

I can buy the same Gates kit for $285 from O'reilly but i'll have to find a shop that will let me bring parts in.

this shop has a good rep. and history but apparently are seriously marking up parts. thanks
 
Order your own parts from supporting vendors. MUCH CHEAPER!! Then, find a shop willing to install. That's the way to do it!!
 
looking around for shops right now. I know i can get the Gates kit for $169and everything else from rockauto. The trick will be finding a shop that's going to guarantee the work for 12 or 24 months.

Timing belt is not due until 105K miles. Replacing sooner than that is just dumb.

the car was orginally purchased (not by me) in august of '01. mileage is low but the belts have been on the car (and exposed to the seasons) for almost 7 years. the timing belt was showing wear on inspection. best to do it all at once. DIY is not an option. thanks for your help
 
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Rubber belts wearing out steel pulleys on street cars - nonsense! I have some 400,000 mile pulleys on a 27 yr old truck that aren't one bit worn from rubber belts. Hell, my double roller chain driven timing gears aren't even worn enough to be replaced & chains are made of steel. Don't forget the timing belt tensioner spring, that should run another 350.00.....at that shop. WTFM (Way too F'in Much) At that price the motor should just be like a disposable lighter, throw it away & get another because you could for that much. Please don't patronize places like that! They may be able to itemize & ligitimize that s*** but in the real world that's just WTFM! You're not driving a rebadged Lamborghini are you? They think so...........just say no.
 
looking around for shops right now. I know i can get the Gates kit for $169and everything else from rockauto. The trick will be finding a shop that's going to guarantee the work for 12 or 24 months.

Timing belt is not due until 105K miles. Replacing sooner than that is just dumb.

the car was orginally purchased (not by me) in august of '01. mileage is low but the belts have been on the car (and exposed to the seasons) for almost 7 years. the timing belt was showing wear on inspection. best to do it all at once. DIY is not an option. thanks for your help
who told you it was showing wear? i've seen timing belts off cars with 150K and they don't "look" worn. changing the timing belt before 105 is not necessary (i'm actually at 115K and haven;t changed it yet...next month)
 
looking around for shops right now. I know i can get the Gates kit for $169and everything else from rockauto. The trick will be finding a shop that's going to guarantee the work for 12 or 24 months.

Timing belt is not due until 105K miles. Replacing sooner than that is just dumb.

the car was orginally purchased (not by me) in august of '01. mileage is low but the belts have been on the car (and exposed to the seasons) for almost 7 years. the timing belt was showing wear on inspection. best to do it all at once. DIY is not an option. thanks for your help
who told you it was showing wear? i've seen timing belts off cars with 150K and they don't "look" worn. changing the timing belt before 105 is not necessary (i'm actually at 115K and haven't changed it yet...next month)
 
who told you it was showing wear? i've seen timing belts off cars with 150K and they don't "look" worn. changing the timing belt before 105 is not necessary (i'm actually at 115K and haven't changed it yet...next month)

I had a timing belt break on my Mazda B2000 at around 100k...
IMO, age is a factor as well. His is 7 yrs. old, why not change it?
 
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Why not change them yourself & buy yourself a bunch of extra goodies to go with it due to saving 750.00 or more?
 
going back tomorrow to get a more detailed explanation as to why they recommended changing it. either way it won't be done there, whether it's now or 40k from now.

would still love some opinions on how age affects the timing belt/tensioner/idler. that seems to be the mystery to me. thanks again

and just to clarify (my misunderstanding), they were never talking about changing drive belt pullies, only timing tensioner and idler. which makes it even worse.
 
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