Going on a long road trip on Sunday and he suggested I get a new belt and coolant flush. Said my belt is pretty worn out and if it were him he wouldn't go on a long road trip with it in that condition. My car has 60k and still has the original coolant or was it a transmission flush? I forget. Anyways it was a total of like $250 that I really can't afford. What should I do?
If your vehicle is over 6-7 years old, I would definitely get the belt replaced. I would replace the coolant/tranny fluid as well. Nothing worse than having your vehicle break down in the middle of no where and having to find a mechanic to fix it. $250 is cheap. For my car it costs $450-$500 for all the belts + water pump. Oh right, do the water pump when you do the timing belt. Probably set you back another $75-$100.
What kind of car do you drive and what year? The reason I ask is because in the past I've had repair guys say I needed to have my timing belt replaced in a '97 Maxima after about 60-70k miles. Except it used a timing chain (not a timing belt) that probably would've lasted longer than the rest of the car would've.
Which belt is it and on what model car? I just did a belt change (I forgot which one) for my 2003 Camry this past December and it's running like new. This one was needed after 90K, but I did it at 110k. I'd say YES, go ahead and do it, brother. Maintenance is better than getting something REPAIRED soon.
What year is your car? 60k is a little young to be replacing the belt and fluid. The belt should have cracks showing. But cracks at 60k? That's pretty young unless you live in the extreme cold - and even then.... A fluid change will keep you from replacing the water pump but most new cars have 100k mile fluid. Sounds like the man wants you to help pay his bills.
I just got an estimate last week on replacing 2 (serpentine and AC) belts in my chevy truck, and the estimate was $167. $250 seems a bit high to me... but not knowing your car type, hard to say. Still, hard to imagine one belt and a coolant flush would run HIGHER by $83. Just my guess.
The parts should be about 70 bucks assuming you have the longet belt ever. I would learn how to spin a wrench and DIY or just not do it until something fails. I SERIOUSLY doubt your belt is gonna break.
timing belt =/= accessory belt (a.k.a. serpentine belt) it's quite simple to replace yourself. depending on car it shouldn't be more than $40-50. all you do is take the tension off the belt. by turning the tension pulley with a wrench. example pic:
Well, duh. I thought we were talking timing belts. I guess with a $250 pricetag, I should've guessed it wasn't a timing belt change they were offering.
Take some pics of the belt and post -- we will tell you if it needs to be changed. I wouldn't worry about the coolant flush.
Is it a timing belt or serpentine belt? big difference. If its just a serpentine belt and anti freeze then the parts and fluid will probably cost well under 50 bucks and less than an hour to do both. More than likely it will take longer to flush your anti freeze. If you are comfortable with tools then changing a serpentine belt is not that hard on most cars (I say most becaue some cars can be a pain in the ars). All cars do not have a tensioner but if you do then it should be fairly easy. I have a hard time beleiving anyone is going to claim your timing belt or timing chain is likely to brake after 60K (I know some dealers claim you should change it around that time)...that is just rare. Of course anything can happen but you are far more likely to need a new serpentine belt after 60K than a new timing belt. If the mechanic is charging you 250 bucks for this labor then he might as well be robbing you at gun point. I would figure parts plus about a 10 percent mark up on parts plus no more than 45 an hour for labor. If the parts cost 50 bucks (which they should not) and it takes an hour of labor (which any novice could acheive) then you are looking at about 100 bucks.
My Timing belt snapped on a long road trip... it sucked... wish I would have spent the 300 dollars to get it fixed, instead it cost me almost 2 grand to fix the engine once the pistons got pulled out
Got my regular free oil change today from my Nissan dealer and they are suggesting I replace 3 cracked/worn belts and get my front brakes done (I have 58,000 miles and have never had any brake work done.) Can't wait to see the cost of this.
There is a big difference in a timing belt and an accessory belt. The timing belt isn't normally visible without taking some covers off the end of the engine. It connects the crankshaft to the camshaft(s), and keeps them in time to each other. If this belt were to break, the cams would stop spinning, some of the valves would get left open (actuated by the camshaft), and the piston (driven by the crankshaft) would ram itself into the valve, causing all kinds of damage ($$$). For this reason, timing belts are scheduled to be changed long before they are likely to break-it's a definate preventative measure, and one that should not be overlooked. There is more work involved to change a timing belt vs. an accessory belt. Accessory belts drive the alternator, water pump (timing belts drive some, which is why it is suggested to change the pump at the same time as the belt-if the pump locks up, it strips/breaks the belt and you've got a big problem), power steering pump, ac compressor, etc.. Depending on the vehicle, it can have several belts, or one big one that drives everything. Often times, if one belt breaks, it can take out the other ones with it. I'd fix the belts, and worry about the fluid later if you have to. If a part is about the fail, a coolant flush isn't going to help for the immediate future, but it will extend the life of parts that are in good shape. Antifreeze lubricates the water pump, so don't use straight water, or severely old antifreeze any longer than you have to.
Just to add to my above post, some cars are a major beotch to get to the belts, and some are simple. What kind of car, and what part of town?
Do the coolant flush yourself. Have you looked at the belt at all? Mechanics of course do screw you over, so you are right to ask someone else.
I found a good site that gives you a rough estimate of the cost of things, including timing belts and labor: http://www.costhelper.com/cost/cars/timing-belt.html www.costhelper.com
