Timing Belt OEM vs Aftermarket

[ncsukingpin]

I have about 170k miles on my 1.6L 1999 Protege LX. Its been near 100k miles since I last changed my timing belt. I priced two places to get the timing belt and water pump replaced. Both places were highly recommended to me. The first place is asking $350 and the second is asking $650. Labor is about $200 in both cases, which means there is a $300 difference in parts. The first place just priced the timing belt and a water pump. The second priced a water pump and a timing belt kit which includes a tensioner and some other parts. This at most makes up about a $70 difference. I dug a little deeper and found out the real source of the price difference is that the cheaper place uses aftermarket parts (probably advanced or autozone or something) and the more expensive uses OEM parts.

So the real question is, does it really matter if I replace the timing belt and water pump with OEM or aftermarket parts? The more expensive mechanic says he uses OEM parts since my engine is an interference engine so that he doesnt have to worry about liability and warranty issues. Any thoughts? Is it worth the price difference to get OEM parts? Are they any better? Or worse?

Thanks for your help

 

[slavrenz]

I used quality aftermarket parts when I did my timing belt job from RockAuto.com.

I stuck with brands like Gates and Beck/Arnley, which are the same companies who make the actual OEM parts.

That's the thing though - I wouldn't trust Auto Parts store-brand parts for a job like this. But there are plenty of aftermarket suppliers that will be just as good as OEM. And I would replace your camshaft and crankshaft seals at the same time as well, since they're only like $5 each, and require minimal additional labor.

 

[ncsukingpin]

The Beck/Arnley timing belt parts sold by Advanced are about $200 if you buy them separate, or $150 for a Gates kit at O'Reilly. The water pump is probably another $50 or so. Totaling around $250. The OEM parts are around $450. Is there really that much mark up on OEM? Is Beck/Arnley gonna last me another 100k miles? Gates also seems cheaper. Is it as good of quality as Beck/Arnley?

 

[ncsukingpin]

Can anyone verify the OEM manufacturers for the 99 protege timing belt, water pump, tensioner, etc?

I priced all of these through Mazda and it was $330 for everything I would need.

 

[slavrenz]

I used a Gates timing belt kit, and it was very good quality. As for the water pump, I actually got a good deal on a Cardone Select pump (it was brand new), but if I had to do it again, I would've gone with beck/arnley, because it contains all the little rubber peices and the gasket that you need to replace.

Also, you're gonna pay a lot more for those kits at the auto parts stores than if you ordered them online. RockAuto.com, FTW.

 

[slavrenz]

Can anyone verify the OEM manufacturers for the 99 protege timing belt, water pump, tensioner, etc?

I priced all of these through Mazda and it was $330 for everything I would need.

You said in your previous post that it was going to be $450 for the OEM parts. What changed?

 

[ncsukingpin]

The $450 for the OEM parts is what the mechanic was quoting me. The $330 is what I priced from calling Mazda. I am not sure if there are more parts that he is planning on purchasing that I didnt price, or if he has a surcharge that he applies, or if he is simply paying more. But that is the difference.

 

[slavrenz]

The $450 for the OEM parts is what the mechanic was quoting me. The $330 is what I priced from calling Mazda. I am not sure if there are more parts that he is planning on purchasing that I didnt price, or if he has a surcharge that he applies, or if he is simply paying more. But that is the difference.

It's probably just his markup. The only bad thing about buying the parts yourself is that he won't warrant them if they break - he'll only warrant the labor.

 

[Dermen]

I used a Gates timing belt kit, and it was very good quality. As for the water pump, I actually got a good deal on a Cardone Select pump (it was brand new), but if I had to do it again, I would've gone with beck/arnley, because it contains all the little rubber peices and the gasket that you need to replace.

Also, you're gonna pay a lot more for those kits at the auto parts stores than if you ordered them online. RockAuto.com, FTW.

I used a Gate kit for my car (2.0 not the 1.6) and the quality seems just as good as what I removed. I decided to pay the extra for a beck/arnley water pump and the impeller was garbage. When you spun it you could tell every fin was at a different angle/height from the casing. Plus one of them was severely bent so it was returned. I got a GMB pump from advanced auto and it looked to be much higher quality plus when you spun it around everything was perfectly even. The gasket the GMB came with wasn't as nice though, but you can go get a nice metal one from the dealer for ~$10.

You probably missed a few things when you priced parts at the dealer, valve cover gasket, water pump gasket, tensioner spring, spark plugs, new belts, there are a lot of little things that add up quick when you are paying dealer prices.