Car repair question

The Coffee Shop
1

My car was ‘missing’ some so I took my car in today and they replaced the spark plugs. Something I would have done by myself, but I was told the issue probably wasn’t the spark plugs. Last time I’ll listen to my dad for automotive advice :slight_smile:

it’s a place I trust, have taken my car there before for a second opinion and they seem fair.

My truck is a 2000 nissan Xterra has 103000 miles and runs great. I’ve replaced the distributor in the last year and that’s the only thing I’ve ever had to do, until the sparkplugs. They gave me a list of things that need to be done.

AC belt.
Steering belt.
Timing belt
Alternator belt
water pump
thermostat

And said it would $1000 ($600 was labor) to do these things. when it hit 100K miles, I figured that i would have to put about $1500 into the truck in the next year. Which is what this and new brakes which it will need soon) would be. But, if some things don’t need to be done, I’ll wait. For instance, if I can drive it and wait until the AC belt breaks before I replace it and it won’t cost anymore to replace after it’s broken than before, i’ll do that. What about the alternator? If the belt breaks will I have to get a whole new alternator? Or just the belt.

Which of these really need to be done? I’ve been told that if the timing belt goes when you are driving, you’ll need a whole new engine. And you can’t visually check the timing belt. So that one it probably going to be done, as well as the water pump, since you have to take apart the engine for both. The other belts they mentioned are actually starting to crack a little. I’ve lived in dry climates and also moist, humid, ocean climates. I take care of the truck, oil changes every 5K miles, etc. I want to keep the truck running for at least 5 more years so I can say i got my money out of it. If not longer.

I realize that taking it in for 3 different things vs having them do it all at once will probably cost more, and that’s something I’ll consider. I’ll also look into doing some of the easy things myself or having a friend do them for beer.

I am not taking into consideration the truck breaking down and being stranded on the side of the road. I have tow coverage with my insurance for $5 a year and I can deal with that. And access to a company vehicle if I am with out a car for a few days.

I really just want to know what on that list will cost more to fix after it’s broken than if I did it tomorrow as preventative.

2

You dont want the timing belt to go. (i’m assuming that the nissan head is 0 clearance)

Thing is, the labor to replace the timing belt, and the labor to replace all of the belts is the same… but its unlikely that an AC or alternator (serpentine) belt would cause damage to either the alternator or the AC system (BTW I think that its only one belt for both). A belt is about $5…

I’ve never heard of replacing the water pump and thermostat proactively, but it’s probably that its one of those things where its 15min if you’re already in there or 2 hours if you’re not… .

You can and should have your mechanic break all of this down for you, as there are book hours for all of these activities… and if you are mechanically inclined and have tools and time, its nothing that you can’t do at home over a weekend…

3

Thing is, in order to get to the timing belt they will have to remove those belts anyway. So really you should only be paying for parts. The waterpump/thermostat is just about the same issue. They are more than likely behind the timing belt. In other words you have to take the timing belt (along with those other belts) off to get to the pump. So the idea here is that since you REALLY need to change the timing belt, those other items should basically be parts costs only since they will be all of the way into the engine anyway.

Besides ifthe truck has been reliable and problem free, just consider it good will towards the truck :slight_smile:

4

Some vehicles spec timing belt replacement as early as 60-70k, and they often do the water pump at the same time, because of the reasons that have already been mentioned. If you got to 100k, that seems darn good. I’d probably have them do it all, again, the belt is cheap, it’s the labor, and they’re already in there, so doing that at the same time makes sense.

5

Nissan says 105K miles for timing belt. My dad was surprised it wasn’t 65K. Based on the replies I’ll probably just go ahead and have it all done. I could do some of the belts myself, but I don’t really need to. It would take me a couple days to do, no matter how easy, and I’d rather do other things on my weekend. I figured I’d be putting preventative money into it this spring anyway. And the cost is right about what I figured I’d have to put into it this year, minus what I figured for brakes and tires. I’ll take it to one other shop I use as well and see what they would charge for the work.

Thanks.

6

Same position this last week. Took it in for 105K service. Car was actually at 113K. Figured the front brakes had to be done too. Found out that I was correct. Everything you mentioned plus front brakes was $1350. It is a Honda and I consider this an investment in another several years of reliable service. Never had any issues with it so far and want to keep it that way. It is now a commuter car and I don’t want a call at 11:30 p.m. after my wife gets done with work saying she needs a tow or ride home. If is no fun having to deal with a car issue when it is not on your own terms.