The quote has come back from the mechanic and they say you need a timing belt change. It sounds expensive, clock-based and confusing. Well you’re right about two of those and close on the third.
It can be expensive, it can be confusing, and it does kind of involve timing. A timing belt replacement is just one of those things that you need to keep your car running.
The replacement costs can vary, even up to thousands of dollars, but it’s essential to your cars’ engine.
What is a TIming Belt?
A timing belt is spun by a pulley on the crankshaft and it rotates the camshafts of your engine. The camshafts open and close the valves, letting fuel and air in, and letting exhaust gas out via the cylinder heads.
Thus, the timing belt controls the timing of your engine’s operation. If the timing belt isn’t serviced, it can snap, and the timing belt can break. It is for this reason that a lot of manufacturers recommend timing chains when constructing new engines.
Is Replacing a Timing Belt Expensive?
If there are a bunch of surrounding components then it can be.
Imagine you need a can of spaghetti, but to get to your precious spaghetti you have to pull everything else in your pantry out. This is what makes the replacement vary so much, sometimes you can just reach in and pull out the can with no worries, other times you’re taking the pantry apart.
If your water pump needs to come out, timing cover needs to be removed, the car is front or all-wheel drive, there’s engine damage from it failing – like the oil pump runs off it, and there’s lots of smoke when the motor is running, then, wow, yeah, the labor costs are going to be in the thousands.
But a lot of manufactures know this, and so, make it easy to service.
It all comes down to your car.
If you need a timing belt replaced and you like saving money, use My Auto Shop to book your car in for all it’s maintenance needs.