Timing Belt replacement - is it hard to do ?

[novon]

Is it complicated to do yourself? How much to mechanics charge to do it? When should it be replaced?

thanks

 

[blahblah99]

what car?

Hondas are pretty easy.

 

[Linflas]

I did one on my 87 Shadow and it was pretty straight forward. I am going to do the one on my Subaru soon along with the front main seal. It looks pretty straightforward as well from the manual. You just have to be very careful to follow the instructions precisely with regards to top dead center and the camshaft alignment and the tensioning.

 

[Giblet]

the hardest part of belt replacement is tightening the belt after replacing it

 

[KokomoGST]

Originally posted by: Giblet
the hardest part of belt replacement is tightening the belt after replacing it

Umm... TIMING BELT... get it wrong and your valvetrain is Fsk0rd.

You just have to be very careful to follow the instructions precisely with regards to top dead center and the camshaft alignment and the tensioning.

 

[SuperTool]

Very easy on my Maxima, because it has a chain So no need to replace the belt

 

[Rastus]

Is it complicated to do yourself? How much to mechanics charge to do it? When should it be replaced?

It's not complicated if you do a lot of mechanical things, and you have the proper tools and a good manual.

Mechanics will charge about 2-3X the cost of the parts minimum, could go much higher.

Have the car put on a diagnostics machine (70-90 dollars), if there is a problem with the timing, they will tell you it needs a belt.