So, I'm not a mechanic, but I need a new timing belt for my car. When I look them up online there are too many to choose from and different price ranges. How do I know what I should purchase? At this point, I'm being told I just need a cheap one to see if it's gonna work.. Any suggestions...

 

Installing a timing belt is a lot of work MollyMcPirate. Installing a cheap one is not a good idea. It takes several hours to disassemble and reassemble that it doesn't pay off to use cheap parts. Besides parts may be cheap but its the labor that cost money. Let us know..

 

I spent 45$ on the belt Friday. Now the guy tells me he doesn't have the correct tool or something. I knew this wasn't going to be the easiest of tasks to begin with. I'm just hoping things will work out okay (no bent rod/ rods) especially considering I still have a year left to pay on it.

 

What type of engine do you have?

 

2.4 dohc

 

I have the same engine. You should in theory have no damage. Your engine is non interference. I did my belt after it broke on the highway. It started rite up after I got the belt on there rite but it was no easy job. Who is doing the job?

 

The chic I work with, her husband is a mechanic. So he is trying to help me out so I don't pay out a ton in labor charges.

 

i have a 2002 stratus 2.4L...I paid (with labor and taxes) $740 for a timing belt, water pump, alternator and power steering belts...I think i got ripped off because it took 3.5hrs of labor when others said it should have been no more than 2 hrs..

 

I'm no master mechanic but I did my timing belt and water pump for my car same year and engine and it was no walk in the park. It cost me a lot of time and money. It would have to be a master mechanic to do it in two hours. I don't even know if thats possible. You pretty much have to take apart the front of the engine to get at it. For someone to do it in two hours, I would not feel comfortable driving it. But thats besides the point. I spent over two hundred in parts. When you do the timing belt you also do the tensioner assembly and Idle bearing assembly thats $150 in parts on the cheap rite there. Then you gotta add the water pump that's $55 bucks rite there. Then you gotta add the belts say 35-40 bucks. What have you got now? You got $245 dollars in parts. So, lets see $740 minus $245 = $495. Then you take that 495 divide it by 3.5 = $141 per hour. Whats the going rate for a mechanic now a days? Did you get the job done at the dealer? Maybe some one else can answer that question? The one thing I can say is I would never expect such a big job to get done for cheap thats why I did it myself! LOL! Lets us know...

 

When you do the timing belt you also do the tensioner assembly and Idle bearing assembly thats $150 in parts on the cheap rite there.
Castlenut: I gotta have this done as well? Lol, I'm never gonna get my car back.