ATTN: Mechanics! Please help.

Chris Pierce

Chris Pierce

Joined
Nov 15, 2006
Messages
4,837
Howdy folks

I'm in need of a new timing belt on my Nissan 94 SE-V6. I also need a fuel pump, and that exhaust leak needs fixed. Anyway, I called around some shops in the area (there's only one within 40 miles of me :D ) And I got a couple of estimates. $680 for the timing belt with a water pump. Or, from a different shop, $550 for just the belt. The Fuel pump is around $500-550. Nobody wants to give an estimate on the exhaust leak, but that's probably something that I can handle.
Do these prices seem reasonable? Or is this something that I can do myself? I'm no mechanic, but I know a few old farmers. :)

Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks
-Chris
 
Off the Gadgets & Gear where this belongs. :grumpy:
 
without knowing what nissan you speak of its difficult to answer your question
if its a front wheel drive car, that price is about on point, if its a truck with lots of room you can probably do it yourself
timing belts are a pain in the ass on a front wheel drive sideways mounted motor as its facing into the fender not the front
its usually a pretty straight forward approach however you basically pull EVERYTHING off and go from there.
if you dont have it yet, get the chilton/hanes manual for your vehicle in question. many libraries have them now, and you can
purchase it for about 12 dollars at most any discount auto or auto zone type store.
of the two repairs I would say the timing belt would be the one you probably COULD handle as exhaust is a bitch to work on.
the bolts almost always require a torch to remove them as they stay hot and are damn near impossible to take off with out air tools and heat
diagnosing the leak is the harder part, if its manifold or donut gasket you need a shop, if its a pipe or broken clamp sure you can do it, but that
is an unlikely situation I am afraid.

the timing belt w/water pump is probably a package deal on that engine most of the front wheel drive cut cost by incorporating as many combo parts as they can
so you will find may dual action parts on them. How or why do you think you need a timing belt? Has it slipped and not starting now?
was it running when you did it? is it an auto or manual transmission? if it was running when you it went out, and its an auto transmission, you may need
a valve job as well(voice of experience here did it to a 94 dodge once) anyway, you need to fill in some blanks here to get any more on target answers
 
Sorry ken, gadgets and gear? I never would have guessed.


The Nissan SE-V6 is a pick up truck, they used to call it the D21 back when it was Datsun.

I'm replacing the belt as preventative maintenance, since it's the same belt that came on the truck when I bought it 5 years and 100,000 miles ago.

Anyway, I decided that I'm going to do it. I ordered the parts. I should be saving $580.
 
I picked up my parts today, and I'm going to attempt it tomorrow after church. hopefully it's not a real late night. Wish me luck.
 
Yep, got her done this evening. Aside from having to fabricate (actually modified tech screws) some bolts to pull the harmonic dampener, and learning that carb cleaner eats styrofoam, everything went well.
Anybody wondering if they can do this themselves, the answer is yes. As long as you have a few things, like a torque wrench and a puller.
 
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Glad you did it yourself. The estimates sounded spot on. Timing belts are a pain just because of all the stuff that has to come out. I just had a 2004 VW Jetta's belt and water pump replaced. It was around $680.
 
Yeah, after calling around more the estimates did seem pretty good. And yeah, I think if I were going to charge someone to do that it'd be around the same price, and I don't even have any over head. After all the beers and bsing it took me around 8-10 hours or so total. If I were going to do it again I think that I could get it down to 4 or 5.
 
Good work! I was going to attempt and do it on my ex's Acura some years back, but once I really started looking into it I discovered that the whole front clip and the engine had to be pulled to do it! I gladly paid a shop to do it.


-X
 
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