On Nov 7, 5:55 pm, Plague Boy <plague_...@earthlink.net> wrote:
> Voyager wrote:
> > Ed Pawlowski wrote:
>
> <snip>
>
> > The question I would ask is what is the warranty on the belt and does it
> > cover incidental damage to the engine if the belt breaks. I don't know
> > if this is an interference engine, but many are nowadays.
>
> > I believe that hyundaitech said that Hyundai will warrant both the belt
> > and any engine damage that occurs should a dealer installed belt fail.
> > That could well be worth the extra $400 cost at the dealer if you plan
> > to keep the car a long time.
>
> Interesting question! I didn't think to ask the dealership what
> the warranty would be on their work. I guess my presumption was
> that the dealer would do it right, and that after the four year
> interval on the belt was up, the car would probably take it's
> chances. *I* will not be putting 100K miles on this car in the
> next 4 years unless my life changes radically.
>
> I'm guessing if the dealership did warrant the work for more
> than, say, 90 days, that it would only be until the 4 year
> interval on the belt was up. Which is only fair.
>
> I've also bee thinking that I have been at cross-purposeswith
> the dealership. They wanted $950 for the belt, pump, idler and
> tensioner. *I* am not overly familiar with what this system
> comprises. I *meant* the belt, pump, idler pully, and tensioner
> pully, which are all moving parts and, to my mind, subject to
> wear and now have 100K miles on them. I see there is a tensioner
> assembly, which is about $150.00. I wonder if *that's what the
> service manager was telling me was not usually replaced. Although
> if the tensioner goes bad, I guess the belt fails, I'm not so
> gung-ho on replacing $100+ parts just for insurance. $25.00 parts
> that are subject to wear and involve little labor to do at the
> time, and much labor and potential expense and engine damage if
> they go bad later, seem like a no-brainer to me.
>
> --
> PB
> "I suspect you're an arrogant little pissant who grew up in the
> Red Bull generation." - CJW

My advice is to have the shop purchase the parts (except spark plugs)
from the dealer. It'll probably cost about the same as if you
purchased them at the dealer yourself. There's nothing special about
the dealer's NGK spark plugs except their price. The same plugs can
be sourced elsewhere at a much lower cost.

I'd recommend replacing the idler and tensioner pulleys only if
necessary. Failures are rare and would normally be accompanied by a
loud noise, warning of the impending failure. Additionally, you're
likely to pay closer to $65 or so for each pulley, not the $25 you're
thinking. The hydraulic tensioner, on the other hand, is more
difficult to notice, and can cause the belt to jump time. I'd replace
this for insurance.

 

Plague Boy wrote:

> The guy at the shop listened to what I wanted, recommended I change
> the water pump, and said he would use parts I supplied if that was what
> I wanted. BUT no warranty if I provide the parts. He will order the
> parts from the dealer if that is what I want and told me it would cost
> more, which I knew. He said they would check the idler and tensioner and
> replace them if they *needed* it, OR I could replace them anyhow for the
> peace of mind.
>
> So I was favorably impressed, he seemed honest and alert and willing
> to "work with me". His basic quote was $350.00 for the labor. He will
> work up a quote for parts if I'd like.

Well, it's done. I stopped in and made an appointment last week,
for last Tuesday. Wed the mechanic called with the price, just
shy of $800.00 I specified they get the parts from the Hyundai
dealer a block away.

He said they could not the idler pulley or tensioner, even the
Hyundai dealer didn't have them. They would take 2-3 days to get
in. So, I opted to not change them. The dealer said the same
thing I was told here, they rarely fail. I presume the "tentioner
pulley" is actually the tensioner.

Breakdown of the bill is:
Timing belt: 102.06
Tentioner (sic) pulley 083.11
Waterpump 141.23
Gasket 008.54
Drive Belt 027.50
coolant 2@10 020.00
labor 5@70.00 350.00
total w/tax 791.04

Car seems to run fine, I haven't checked it out as it's been in
the single digits here. I will check it out later today when I go
outside.

On the plus side: the guy listened and seemed willing to do what
I wanted. Presumable, he didn't rip me off, because he could have
charged me for the pulleys and I would probably never have known.

On the minus side: I offered to give him a deposit for the parts
the first and second time I was there, which he declined. I
thought that might speed things up in case it was hard to get the
parts for any reason. When he called with the estimate, he said
he didn't have the money for the parts and could I drop off some
money so he could get the parts first thing in the AM. So, I had
to walk home (as usual), then start up my beater car, drive 6
miles across down during rush hour to drop the cash off. I wasn't
really happy- I spent Tues rushing to get the car to the garage,
had to arrange a ride, and planned on rushing right up there
Thursday to pick the car up before they closed. I had other
things planned for Wed. night

Although I had told him I was willing to wait for the car, I
know a garage is busy and he needed to block out the best part of
a day to do the work, I finally had to call at 4 PM Thu. to make
sure it was ready, since I was paying for a ride after work to
pick the car up. He said it would be ready by the time I got
there, it just needed the bill finished in the computer. The guy
who does that is "on a police call" and he (the mechanic) doesn't
do that. (???) So, when I get there at 5PM, the car is still in
the bay with the hood up, the guy who puts the bill in the
computer is still not back. he says it will only be a few more
minutes. So, I send my ride away, and sit in the waiting area for
15 minutes while they finish up.

So, I don't know. I could have gotten it done at the dealer for
$950. The dealer didn't really tell me what was included,
parts-wise. I didn't find them very willing to spend time talking
to me, and when I left the car there for the recall work they
didn't call me (as promised)when it was ready, I just didn't feel
a lot of confidence in the dealer.

All in all, it made me realize that when I planned this out, I
planned on losing 8-12 hours if I did the repair myself, but I
lost about 3 hours just running around dropping the car off and
picking it up. Plus $20 for "taxi" service. So I believe that I
will plan on doing any work possible myself in the future, I can
make about $30 hr. and know exactly what happened during the repair.

Still, I would not be doing a timing belt in my driveway at this
point, it's *cold*. Waiting until spring didn't seem like a wise
move, given how overdue the repair was.

--
PB
"I suspect you're an arrogant little pissant who grew up in the
Red Bull generation." - CJW