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...but there is no reason to believe that they shouldn't last at least the life of two or three timing belts.
The reason is preventative maintenance. You see the water pump will cost 40 or 50 bucks extra but hundreds more to replace later if it starts leaking before the new belt wears out.Its a gamble if you expect the original water pump to go 150 thousand miles....
When you find a good honest mechanic, stick to him and recommend him to your friends to make sure he stays in business. While they may be the same price on this job, the independent will almost always be less.
Good independent shops that limit themselves to certain makes of autos. Its not practical to keep up with all the equipment/procedures across the board.
The reason is preventative maintenance.
Its a gamble if you expect the original water pump to go 150 thousand miles....
This isn't my first time at the rodeo.
I expect a timing belt to last about 60,000 miles
I expect a water pump to last about 180,000 miles
Getting back to the OP and his point:
Even an OEM timing belt shouldn't cost that much. (I like seeing "Gates" on them personally)
The job itself is a plain vanilla task that any BUSY shop should be fine to have them do the work.
And anyone who tries to tell you that you "might as well do the water pump too" ...
is really telling you to find another mechanic.
My Sentra has no belt, it is an old-fashioned tempered steel timing chain, which, presumably, will never "wear out". What's the deal on belts in the first place? Why have we been taught to unquestioningly accept that a car must have a timing belt, and that it is has to be a POS that needs to be replaced when the car is still essentially a "new car", and we line up single file in lock step to pay hundreds of dollars in labor to have a mechanic go to a pre-designed inaccessible place to do it?
I have heard that after-market timing belts are of better quality than original equipment, and belts rarely need to be replaced a second time. .
As one who has replaced hundreds of "steel timing chains" in vehicles through the years ... especially in high end German marques ... I can assure you that steel chains and their associated guide rails and tensioner units wear out, too. In many cases, with no longer service life miles than high quality timing belts in other motors.
I have seen the results of folk assuming that a timing chain will last indefinitely, and it's not pretty. Certain Toyota motors, for example, are configured so that a loose/worn out timing chain rubs against the aluminum timing cover and wears through to the water gallery. Instant water into oil leak results, with typically severe damage to an engine.
As well, I have replaced many steel timing gears or plastic tooth covered steel timing gears in motors that didn't use chains or belts for the camshaft drive.
Depends upon the source, aftermarket parts can be equal to or superior to OE spec'd parts from a dealer. But it's also true that there's a lot of inferior aftermarket parts, depending also upon the source and the spec's they were manufactured for.
All of these items are designed to perform a task in a motor with an intended service life under optimal conditions. Timing belts do a very good job, and with typical 100,000 mile service life today, it's a lightweight/quiet and efficient way to get the job done. FWIW, many cars have timing belt access that's fairly good for a competent tech to service.
And anyone who tries to tell you that you "might as well do the water pump too" ...
is really telling you to find another mechanic.
Not necessarily ... there's more concerns about the water pump than the shaft/bearing/impeller/shaft sealing to address.
For example, in many cars ... where the water pump is driven by the timing belt, there may be wear on the driven sprocket. This can cause noise and wear issues with a new belt which can potentially shorten it's service life. Since the sprocket is pressed onto the water pump, it's not going to be replaced by itself.
In any event, absent clear signs of distress with a water pump ... I'll always give my client the option to replace the pump or not at the time I'm replacing the timing belt. For many cars, it's a small additional parts expense to replace the water pump at the time, and I'll never be closer to it than when I'm already there doing the timing belt work. The labor is the greater portion of the water pump job if you have to do it by itself at a later time ... given that you may have to remove a radiator/fan assembly, accessory drive belts, shrouds and covers, and the timing belt itself to remove the water pump ... all duplication of the work.
BTW ... on many cars that I work on, 180,000 miles is a totally unrealistic service life expectancy. A little more than half that is more common.
Personally, I do not understand why timing belts wear out, they could surely be made of some space-age material that would outlast the engine. Even if they cost $100 more to manufacture, it would be cheaper than replacing one. My Sentra has no belt, it is an old-fashioned tempered steel timing chain, which, presumably, will never "wear out".
timing belts are usually made from a synthetic rubber compound which does wear over time. also they use a cloth reinforcement that also stretches and wears over time. add in the heat cycling that happens, and the fact that the belt runs on metal gears and plastic belt tensioners, and it is easy to see why timing belts wear out.
as for steel timing chains, they stretch over time, and again because of heat cycling, they lose their temper and break. even the top quality double roller chains used in high performance and race applications break. nothing is forever.
For years, I used a private mechanic that specialized in my kind of car (Honda). And they primarily used Honda OEM parts. And when they didn't, they would tell me ahead of time and explain why. They also stocked a lot of OEM parts because they were a very busy shop and didn't want to wait for the parts to arrive from the dealership.
I used to sell Hondas and a few times I used my dealership for service. And I feel that my private mechanic offered me better quality work, advice and value. Now I have a boyfriend that is mechanically inclined and also loves Hondas.
From all the responses i think i'll go with the private mechanic, in 15 years he hasnt disappointed yet..
If you want your mechanic to use factory oem parts, just tell him what you want. I think that too many people either don't care or just go with whatever is cheaper.
If you have good mechanical.then way you are westing your money.private mechanic work in good way because private mechanic want customer.And i am agree with Private mechanic
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