Good point.

 

Well, i take her in early next week to get timing my timing belt/water pump replaced.

$700 of my hard earned cash.

 

don't forget about the cam and crank seals too.. i guess everybody has a "rule of thumb" , but i just try and put common sense to it all... any wear items in the area to be replaced, unless un-necessary, should be replace. remember you're replacing these to last, i would worry about money cause your mechanic will get a bigger grin on his face if something else goes bad and he's gotta take it all apart again. i did my timing belt myself and got all stock parts.

here's what "I" replace: timing belt, water pump kit, cam seal, crank seal, timing idler pulley, and timing tension pully (both pulleys "did" turn out bad). i replaced my drive belts about a month before i did the timing belt so i felt it "un-necessary" to replace them. i have a snap-on (blue point) vacuum gauge that puts a vacuum on the cooling system to check for leaks when used with a stethascope, which came in very handy cause you want to make sure that before you start putting everything back together you don't have any leaks @ the water pump or in that general area.

talk about a purr @ idle... it's up to you though.

i never took into consideration replacement of the thermostat and gasket. hmmm.. it would definately save bleeding time, but if you just couldn't do it at that time and had to do it later, you wouldn't loose a whole lot of coolant when you replace it (make sure the car is cold) you would just have the hassle of topping off the coolant and re-bleeding the system AGAIN.. damnit!!!

 

Well, basically this is what's getting done.

- Timing Belt
- Timing Belt Idler Pulley
- Timing Belt Tensioner Pulley
- Water Pump
- And I Think Testing For Leaks In The Coolant System Is Going To Be Done As Well

I'll let you guys know on Monday how it went.

 

Got the car back today.

Replaced:

-Timing Belt
-Tensioner Pulley
-Idler Pully
-Water Pump
-Valve Cover Gasket
-Rocker Cover Gasket
-Spark Plug Oil Gasket

Fixed coolant leak from heater hose connection.

Nice and smooth idle. smile.gif

 

Hrmm, I know the valve cover gasket and the rocker cover gasket are the same thing... what the heck is the spark plug oil gasket? Almost seems like 3 of the same.

Why did they replace that? Those rubber gaskets are reusable. I took my valve cover off at 65,000 miles and it looked as good as new.

 

One of the spark plug gaskets, was cracked. Once you take the valve cover off, i don't think they seal as well when you put it back on. Those were minor repairs anyway, like $10.00 i think.

 

I had my cover off and on several times.. it was still sealing perfectly. I have yet to remove the Beta2 cover, so I do not know.

 

the way i think of it is, if you ever have to take off the valve cover, you "should" always replace both the spark plug gaskets & valve cover gasket.. it's not like you take it off every day, and you're right, usually it still re-seals, but i don't like to chance it. especially if it did decide to leak, it's possible to leak onto your timing belt. a few bucks in this case can really save you in the long run.