Timing Belt Change

[JAMAS]

Talk to an Isuzu dealer - mine said they'd do it for under $400, but I had the indie mechanic who did the S/C install do the t-belt, and it ran me like $700 or $800 in his hands.

I just scheduled my timing belt replacement at the local Isuzu shop. Any day of the week it is $380 + tax. However, the last time I talked to him, during my $700 all fluids synthesized and serpentine belt replaced, he mentioned about a 20% off. So I held him to it.

Should be done for $304 + Tax. <KnockOnWood>Unless something else is broken when they go digging.</KnockOnWood>

53K on the clock, but 10 years on the calendar. Probably not a bad way to spend birthday money. Although that DEWALT 1/2" 18-Volt Hammer Drill would have been alot more fun to buy. Damn responsible decisions. They are never any fun.

[alterastro]

This is interesting... There is something in the UK (don't know if you have it in the US), called AUtodata. It lists everything you could wish to know about vehicles, including timing intervals and instructions etc.

For the 6VE1 engine after 1998 it quotes 72,000 miles or 96 months. I notice the spec in the knowledgebase says 100,000 miles which did seem high to me. The 6VD1 (3.2) engine is the same unless it is pre-1998 when the stated interval is 54,000 miles or 72 months.

Me thinks I need to change mine!

Be interesting to hear where you all think the differences come from

Nick

[nfpgasmask]

IIRC, the VX manual states 72k or 75k. I changed my belt at 87k and change. I just officially rolled 90k last week, and it is probably more since my speedo is off.

Bart

[nfpgasmask]

I just scheduled my timing belt replacement at the local Isuzu shop. Any day of the week it is $380 + tax. However, the last time I talked to him, during my $700 all fluids synthesized and serpentine belt replaced, he mentioned about a 20% off. So I held him to it.

Should be done for $304 + Tax. <KnockOnWood>Unless something else is broken when they go digging.</KnockOnWood>

So here is my question- How the hell is a shop going to do this for only $304? Is that labor only? I spent damn near $900 on OEM parts for this maintenance! Or are you ONLY doing a belt change and leaving the water pump, radiator hoses, idler pulley, tensioner pulley and push tensioner original?

I could understand $300 for the labor, but what about all the parts???? Are after market parts REALLY that much cheaper than Merlin?

Bart

[tom4bren]

Guess I'd better get back to work on making a pdf of your How2

[nfpgasmask]

Guess I'd better get back to work on making a pdf of your How2

Let me know if you have the same "problem" you had before. And make sure you have cleared your cache and deleted your cookies before hand. My ISP told me to do that and it seems to have solved the problem. Since it was a htaccess file hack, it is possible the problem gets downloaded into your IE cache and will crop up again. So far, after clearing my cache, I have not had the issue again. And if you want, I can zip it up and email it direct to you, if that would be easier...

Thanks,

Bart

[JAMAS]

So here is my question- How the hell is a shop going to do this for only $304? Is that labor only? I spent damn near $900 on OEM parts for this maintenance! Or are you ONLY doing a belt change and leaving the water pump, radiator hoses, idler pulley, tensioner pulley and push tensioner original?

I could understand $300 for the labor, but what about all the parts???? Are after market parts REALLY that much cheaper than Merlin?

Bart

Parts and labor to only replace the belt. If they find more then they will fix more.

I have $300 to spend. Not $900. So I am going to have them replace the thin rubber belt that could break and destroy my engine. However, if the other items seem to be good, I see no reason to spend the extra cash. I figured I was still ahead of the game with replacing it now.

As I understand it....the other items are just a "while you are there anyway" kinda deal. They have no "must be changed after xxx,xxx miles" type deal.

[nfpgasmask]

Parts and labor to only replace the belt. If they find more then they will fix more.

I have $300 to spend. Not $900. So I am going to have them replace the thin rubber belt that could break and destroy my engine. However, if the other items seem to be good, I see no reason to spend the extra cash. I figured I was still ahead of the game with replacing it now.

As I understand it....the other items are just a "while you are there anyway" kinda deal. They have no "must be changed after xxx,xxx miles" type deal.

Yes, you are right. IMO however, that is just a different way of thinking. In my case, the water pump was leaking coolant, and it is recommended that it get's changed anyway. The radiator hoses are cheap and easy to swap, so they got changed. The push tensioner and idler pulley are very important, so they got changed. IMO, it's always better to be safe than sorry. That "thin rubber belt that could break and destroy my engine" could still break even if it is brand new and your push tensioner or idler pulley fails after its been yanked and replaced...just something to think about.

I'm not trying to convince you to spend more money or do more work, just looking out for you. I would hate to only have done half the job to save money only to have to do it over or cause bigger issues later, that's all. Just food for thought.

Bart

[tom4bren]

"Let me know if you have the same "problem" you had before. And make sure you have cleared your cache and deleted your cookies before hand. My ISP told me to do that and it seems to have solved the problem. Since it was a htaccess file hack, it is possible the problem gets downloaded into your IE cache and will crop up again. So far, after clearing my cache, I have not had the issue again. And if you want, I can zip it up and email it direct to you, if that would be easier..."

OK. OK. Understood. No Thanks.

[etlsport]

bart, arent the idler and tensioner pulleys on the outside of the engine anyway? they could be done in a few hours without having the top of the engine off?

same with the radiator hoses, but with them you need to drain the coolant so it makes sense to do them with the water pump

[nfpgasmask]

bart, arent the idler and tensioner pulleys on the outside of the engine anyway? they could be done in a few hours without having the top of the engine off?

same with the radiator hoses, but with them you need to drain the coolant so it makes sense to do them with the water pump

No, don't confuse the "drive belt" (serpentine belt) pulleys with the timing belt pulleys. Furthermore, the serp belt and all of the outer pulleys do need to come off to get to the timing belt chamber, which by the way is on the front of the engine, not the top. Take a look at my how to. I go through everything on there that I removed.

http://www.nofuture.com/myvx/how-tos/tb/tbelt.htm

(Please tell me if anything odd happens when you visit that link, I had a problem with my ISP that should be resolved now)

I did remove some things that I didn't ultimately need to remove, but by doing so it made things much easier. The push tensioner MUST be removed to change the timing belt. And as illustrated in the video instructions, can be reused by compressing the tensioner rod in a vice, and then inserting a pin to hold it in place (which your mech will have to fabricate if he doesn't have one sitting around). The push tensioner is the part that keeps your timing belt taught on all the pulleys. If that part fails, BLAMMO! Your belt will come loose and bad things will happen. The water pump, being the main device that pumps coolant through your engine, is in my opinion a no brainer to change. Keeping your VX properly hydrated is VERY important. Furthermore, being that it is a possible source for leakage, should be changed and tightened up. To me, preventative maintenance is worth every penny. I would rather swap working parts out than struggle through and pay for fixing damaged parts. Not to mention the breaking down, getting stranded, getting towed, and getting taken to the cleaners by a mechanic who has to deal with your lack of preventative maintenance.

Seriously, not trying to scare anyone, just stating that there is a REASON why it is recommended to change these parts. I do not believe it is simply to make you spend more money. Am I talking outta my bunghole here?

Bart

[etlsport]

gotcha.. never been inside an engine (yet) makes sense that those are found inside the engine as well.. im with u on the preventive maintenance though, when my time comes (late in the summer probably) ill most likely be doing replacing most of the stuff u did.. sadly.. plus my thermostat which is stuck open

i wonder if it would be okay to order parts though napa, i can get them at cost though work.. but i REALLY dont want to have something fail on me..

[nfpgasmask]

i wonder if it would be okay to order parts though napa, i can get them at cost though work.. but i REALLY dont want to have something fail on me..

I bought OEM for one reason alone: I my VX. For my Trooper, it's Napa all the way. Still, I think it would be 100% better to install aftermarket new parts rather than NO new parts. But that is just my logic. With my VX I have never used anything but stuff shipped to me directly from our main man, Merlin. I know there are timing belt and water pump kits out there that are considerably cheaper.

Bart

[tom4bren]

The main reason that it is highly recommended to change the tensioner is that several members noted that the tensioner was no longer functioning (which could cause timing belt failure).

[VXR]

I thought that our VXs had a non-interference engine. So if the timing belt went it would not cause engine failure. Can anyone clarify