Timing Belt & Drive Belts service, Local or Dealership?

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dennis_protege5

Member
Hey Guys, i recently went to rosenthal mazda (arlington) and they said i should replace the timing belt, when i asked how much that would be they told me around $700. They also said for about $200 - $300 more then can replace the drive belts, Isnt that to expensive?

Anyway i checked how much it would cost me to have it replaced from a local shop in springfield, va and they told me around $250 for labor + cost of parts.

Now my question is, is the timing belt something i should do at a dealership or can it be done at a local small shop? The shop says they can do it but and i know they dont have fancy equipment like the dealership, but i dont even know if you need fancy equipment to do it. So what would you suggest i do?

If you have any suggestions feel free to let me hear it.

Thanks,
Dennis
 
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The biggest issue with a timing belt is who will take responsibility if something goes wrong. Serious damage can result from a timing belt breaking (bent valves, damaged pistons, etc) and when you have this done at a Mazda shop, it's warrantied. An independent shop might do a fine job, or they may screw up and crimp the belt, which can cause premature failure. Are they offering any kind of warranty that will cover parts and labor? Drive belts are one thing...a timing belt is more serious. If you have confidence in your independent shop, save some money and go that route.
 
The engine is non interference, if the belt breaks it won't damage your engine. It just won't run.
 
ok, a number of people are saying to take it to a dealership since it deals with the timing belt, so i think i will, i called around to 5 different places and finally found one where the guy knew what he was talking about and gave me a great price, only $200 more then the mom and pop shop and it comes with a 12 month warranty on the work, so i will go for it. Thanks again guys.
 
Riken said:
$700 wow way to much.
Click to expand...

Yeah i know, but the dealership is in a fancy part of town so i guess the people around there can afford it, anyway im getting my timing belt & my drive belts replaced for $450, plus they will replace my healight bulbs cause one of them burned out for just the cost of the bulb.
 
If you are paying for the timing belt replacement, it is a great time to consider installing the Underdrive Pully, they should do it for free, cause they are already removing the drive pully...Also, new cams and cam-shafts are an easy install during the timing belt change...should only add about 1/2 hour to the total work time...

BTW $450 is a pretty good price....
 
Dayam, you could get a long block for less than a grand. Just let it break, shee ut! The question is....do you feel up to saving that money & doing it yourself? You won't get that conquering feeling of fixing it yourself paying someone else to do it but you don't get any warranty with that either but since you care & are taking pride fixin your ride then you won't need it. It's a really cool feeling to bust out some stuff like this & it's all working good. Time or money, you're spending one or both so there ya go. You can do it, turn some wrenches, you'll love it.
 
It doesn't look very hard to do this your self. Im going to attempt mine this month due to lack of funds.
 
$178 labor and I supply the belt, tensioner, idler and water pump. Got a Gates set and bought Gates drive belts while I was at it. Cost right over $400 for labor and parts. I had it done at a performance shop though as the dealership here is horrible.

Timing belt set -
Gates timing belt, tensioner, and idler set - GATES Part # TCK228
ACDELCO Part # TCK228

Water pump -
GATES Part # 42135
CARDONE SELECT Part # 5523126
A-1 CARDONE Part # 571455
ACDELCO Part # 252322
BECK/ARNLEY Part # 1312164
<TABLE class=parts><TBODY><TR><TD class=left></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
Drive belts:
Alt & WP
GATES Part # K040360
DAYCO Part # 5040365

PS & AC
GATES Part # K050459
 
Never had gators. Link? I liked Gates because of their construction and material used. So far I have used them on four cars with no problems, cracking, or stretching.
 
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