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Is there an "easy" way to inspect the timing belt? We just purchased an 07 Aveo with 60,000 miles. I plan on replacing the belt before sending my son off to college in the car, but was hoping I could check the belt to see if I can wait til later in the summer or if I need to get it done sooner.
Thanks
Honestly, there really is no way to check it. You can look at the belt and it can look new, but the pullies can also break with the same effects. I would just change it without even looking at it, it was not changed most likely. I am sure you can find a place to do it for $500~ (belt, pullies, water pump), I would also change the sep belt as well while you are at it.
You should be safe till the end of summer though (no promises), if you put on more than 1k-2k miles, then I would feel safer to have it changed. Besides that, you and your son should have a very good car for school (or the next 60k miles), I wish him luck!
Welcome btw!
Thanks for the welcome!
He is going to school 3 hours away so I definately need to make sure everything is good before he goes.
Yeah, besides the timing belt, I think everything else should be fine.
Just got the car back. Had the timing belt, water pump, idler pulley and tensioner done. Mechanic saw the serpentine belt was starting to crack so he went ahead and replaced it since he was in there anyway. Hopefully we're good for another 60,000 miles.I looked at the old belt and it didn't look too bad, no cracks or missing teeth.
I must have missed this thread, sorry for the late reply. But, for the others... You can remove the upper timing belt cover and take a look at the belt's condition to see if its starting to crack, loose teeth, etc. Of course its always your safest bet to just replace it at the recommended interval.
I'm currently at 104,000km (64k+ miles) and have yet to get the timing belt done. 2000km ago in May I had it in to get replaced however they found some "safety issues" that needed to be addressed. $1300 later and they didn't replace the timing belt. I did ask them, however, to take a look at its condition and see whether it was in dire need of replacement or not. They said it should be good for another 10 to 15,000km. I hope to have it replaced by the end of the month (dealer quoted around $450).
what did they charge you the $1300 for??Quote:
Originally Posted by chrisu91
They replaced my subframe, both front control arms, both front sway bar links & did an alignment.
Finally had my timing belt replaced. Dealer originally quoted $420 before tax including parts and labour. They get the belt on and find that when pressure tested there was a leak from the water pump O ring so they went ahead and replaced that too.
At your mileage IMO a new WP should be automatic. How about the idler pulley - did they do a new one of those as well? Just curious what they nicked you for the WP. When I did mine, it was a bit of a PITA to remove the old and install the new one, so I'm guessing 75-100 extra (not knocking that because I think it's required maintenance in any case).Quote:
Originally Posted by chrisu91
But I'm really curious about the work you had done earlier. Did you have any symptoms of suspension problems which caused you to take it in for a look? Did they describe the specific problems and damage, and any likely cause (big potholes, etc.). I'd appreciate hearing anything you can relate about these repairs because I have a bit of noise and rattle at 116K, and haven't been able to find any definite cause yet. None of the common DIY tests have turned up anything. I certainly hope you're done handing out $$$ for a while :crybaby:
They did not replace the water pump. I even offered to pay the $175 they wanted for the part but they said it wasn't necessary. They said the pump's O ring was the only thing needing replacing. I've kept up with my scheduled maintenance intervals regarding coolant flushes so I hope I've got a lot of life left in the pump. I don't think the dealer would risk losing my business by giving me wrong advice.
And in regards to the suspension inquiry, here is what they typed on the work order when I got it fixed in May: "During test drive noticed clunk in front end. Found both front stabilizer bushings separated sitting on frame; unable to remove bolts seized. And control arm bolts broken, replace subframe and both front control arms". If you're hearing a rattle I'd probably guess its a dead wheel bearing. So far this year I've spent $2700 on repair & maintenance (still cheaper than the $4500 or so it'd take to lease a new car haha). Nearly everything that can go wrong with my car has. I've replaced both sides ABS speed sensors, oil pressure sensor, alternator, both front wheel bearings, and left side axle shaft. Now my car is almost 6 years old and it's got a ton of new parts in it. Here's hoping it doesn't give me any more issues for a while!
Thanks for the info on your repair history. Definitely not the wheel bearings on mine. Not a big deal yet - I'll eventually get it figured out and taken care of. That's a LOT of repairs on you vehicle for the age and mileage :(. I expect they must use a ton of salt up where you live - do you have major rust on the underside? That would tend to explain the long repair list.
Back to the WP. For around $50 (2 years ago), I put in a new pump without even thinking twice about it. But I'll retract a bit by saying it's not all that automatic of a decision @ $175. I'm surprised they recommended that you defer, after you told them you were willing to do it - sounds like they have some ethics, and would be a good outfit to stick with. That being said, I'm not understanding the $175. Did you mean it would have been an additional $175 beyond what they actually did charge you for the O ring replacement? Replacing the O ring is just as much work as installing a new pump, because the PITA part of the job is getting the pump out and back in. So, unless they swapped the O ring onto the pump blind (which I doubt that a capable shop would do), they had to remove the pump, clean out the old gasket, install the new O and finally reinstall the pump. But, the pump (now) costs around $65, and with the labor the same either way, I'm not understanding the (approximate) extra $110 charge. Just curious - what's done is done, and I hope the pump gets you all the way to the next belt change!
No large amounts of rust underneath the vehicle. When the vehicle was purchase I opted for the lifetime undercoating. I get it checked every spring and fall for free and they do touch ups as they see fit. And regarding the water pump; they said it was $175 for the pump itself (excluding the additional labour to remove and replace it).
Well I did find an "Auto7" water pump for $152 retail on Advanced, so I guess your shop prefers to use the best parts available (most expensive=best ?? -- who knows for sure?). But they still sound like a good shop. And, with no big rust and all of those repairs, it seems like you must have just wound up with the one they built on Monday morning :( - hope you're set now for a long while!