Timing belt replacement.

[VueGuy168]

Do you know is there any difference in the OEM to aftermarket timing belts, saturn wants 105 for a timing belt when rock auto sells a timing belt for 30 I told saturn i will bring them the belt and they want 250 for labor. Thanks.

[Ritz]

No difference other than they might give you a hard time on a warranty repair if the belt fails (if Saturn/GM is even around in the event that happens). Keep your receipt and perhaps print out the warranty information on the belt from the manufacturer's web site if you can find it.

Cheers,

[Ltech20]

The factory belt will be of higher quality. For such an important component that is expensive to repair and catastrophic if it fails i would personally spring for the factory belt. Aftermarket accessory drive belts tend to wear in a much smaller number of miles than the 100,000 mile gm belts. Timing belts are probably the same, you generally get what you pay for. Just my two cents.
-Dan

[rayzur9]

I just got a quote for replacing the timing belt. After waiting 16 hours for a response, I was told that the "technician" having never seen the car, "recommends" the tensioner pulley, as well as all the other timing pulleys be replaced and blah blah blah... All for the low low price of 1315.00.
Saturn of Houston on Southwest Freeway IS A RIPOFF, OVER CHARGING, and "recommending" things you dont need, as if their prices for labor werent outrageous enough, their top moron thinks he can "recommend" his self a few extra dollars out of your pocket. You cant even get an honest quotation for services, without it being padded with bull**** you dont need. Hey, how about you tell homeboy who thinks his recommendations are adequate to only give me a quote for what I asked for? And to try to keep the dollar signs from blinding his already incompetent ass into thinking everyone is a sucker.

[neilpilot]

I don't know about the VUE timing belt change (I have a chain, and at low mileage).

I do have extensive experience with another vehicle where, if you are at or near the end of the belt's service life, you better replace the tensioner when you replace the timing belt.

Owner's of that car, who have decided to replace the belt and not also install a new tensioner, have frequently experience premature belt failure of the replacement belt. The old tensioner will fail and take out the new belt.

[rayzur9]

I can understand maybe a tensioner, and would have probably accepted that as being the norm, except for the added "need" to replace all the pulleys, and the added quote prices for items I did not ask for. It seems to me like the quote was formulated to be extremely flexible for their best interest, so that they can give you a big bullSH^T story about this part and that part and how this affected that, and you need to pay a lot more now....

I just about felt an overwhelming sense of warmth and love when they went into "if the oil leak at the valve covers is really bad, we may have to change out the ignition modules as well, so we added that in there,,,," Geeeee, nice to have someone looking out for my best interest.

[Ritz]

That does seem high. However, for a typical timing belt job, I would normally also replace the tensioner, water pump, and the serpentine belt. No need to get bent over at the dealer. Any competent mechanic should be able to do this for you.

Best,

[VueGuy168]

I thought 250 for labor was reasonable on the belt. The dealer claims their belt is made of some cavlar material. It has 117000 mi I need to do this since I do not know if the previous owner has. They want 105 for the belt. I will probably get a new tensioner too. Should I get this aftermarket?

[Ritz]

I thought 250 for labor was reasonable on the belt. The dealer claims their belt is made of some cavlar material. It has 117000 mi I need to do this since I do not know if the previous owner has. They want 105 for the belt. I will probably get a new tensioner too. Should I get this aftermarket?

You should be able to get it all aftermarket. Head to your neighborhood Autozone/Napa/Rock/etc. I am not a good person to comment on the labor charge since I've never worked on that motor. Perhaps someone else can comment on that.

Good luck!

[VTchemist]

I had my timing belts, plugs, transmission service,serpentine belt and valve cover gaskets done at my dealership for $1100. (had my water pump done 18 months ago)

I have the 3.0 LV6 (L81). There is a lot of labor involved in the L81.

[VueGuy168]

yeah i hope you its lasts me at least 100k more miles. It is a weird design, plus everything says made in germany, what happened to a gm vehicle.

[texan]

Mine is almost due for replacement. Is the Gates Timing Component Kits - Belt, Idler and Tensioner pulley as good as OEM stuff?

http://www.oreillyauto.com/EW3/gpi?id=41832251

I'm also looking at renting the J-42069 kit. I've never changed a timing belt before and I do not want to screw it up.

[Dante]

Mine is almost due for replacement. Is the Gates Timing Component Kits - Belt, Idler and Tensioner pulley as good as OEM stuff?

http://www.oreillyauto.com/EW3/gpi?id=41832251

I'm also looking at renting the J-42069 kit. I've never changed a timing belt before and I do not want to screw it up.

I plan to do this job sometime this summer, even though I'm only at 75k miles. New plugs at the same time.

I can get the belt and pulley through my Dad's store, and then take them up to the stealership and compare the parts side-by-side to see if there's any appreciable difference. It wouldn't be the first time that I bought "aftermarket" parts that had the exact same factory markings as the "OEM" parts...

Has anyone actually performed this job? There isn't a lot of clearance at the front of the motor, and I'm not particularly looking forward to this one.

[slothy]

Mine is almost due for replacement. Is the Gates Timing Component Kits - Belt, Idler and Tensioner pulley as good as OEM stuff?

gates is probably actually better then OEM stuff

[Wolfc70]

I just got a quote for replacing the timing belt. After waiting 16 hours for a response, I was told that the "technician" having never seen the car, "recommends" the tensioner pulley, as well as all the other timing pulleys be replaced and blah blah blah... All for the low low price of 1315.00.
Saturn of Houston on Southwest Freeway IS A RIPOFF, OVER CHARGING, and "recommending" things you dont need, as if their prices for labor werent outrageous enough, their top moron thinks he can "recommend" his self a few extra dollars out of your pocket. You cant even get an honest quotation for services, without it being padded with bull**** you dont need. Hey, how about you tell homeboy who thinks his recommendations are adequate to only give me a quote for what I asked for? And to try to keep the dollar signs from blinding his already incompetent ass into thinking everyone is a sucker.

With the extended change interval, changing all pulleys and tensioners is recommended, you do not want to open everything up for another 100K miles. In the days of the 60K timing belt change, everything was replaced at the 120K interval. Since everything has to be disassembled anyway, just replace everything. Replace the timing belt tensioner, idler pulleys, belt and water pump. It is cheaper to do so when it is apart than to spend the labor later to open the engine back up later. Besides if a bearing fails and eats the belt, you need rebuilt heads, not very cheap! I believe it is around $350 for parts and about $450 for labor, so around $800 to do the whole job.

The Honda 3.5L V6 is costs more as a valve adjustment is required at the timing belt change interval (105K).

[hd071502]

Mine is almost due for replacement. Is the Gates Timing Component Kits - Belt, Idler and Tensioner pulley as good as OEM stuff?

http://www.oreillyauto.com/EW3/gpi?id=41832251

I'm also looking at renting the J-42069 kit. I've never changed a timing belt before and I do not want to screw it up.

I bought the AC Delco kit from rock auto for around $200 and did it myself. The belt had marks on it that line up with the marks on the cams and crank. You really can't mess it up as long as those lines match. It comes with a new tensioner and pulleys. Get the water pump right away!