I took my car to the shop

[grk nickafis]

I took it to the shop to get my water pump replaced (because no one answered my forum posts on how to do it) and he is replacing the timing belt aswell. I have a water pump and he ordered the timing belt. He said 6 hour job he will have it done in one day. it's been a week and a half. He wants 470 for the job and he replaced the thermostat without askign me and threw it on the tab (20 bucks)... it should be around 490 all together. is that alot?

[car nut]

Was the thermostat broken? I'd b**** about that if it wasn't...

[grk nickafis]

no actualy i replaced that when i got the car. it had an orginial Radiator and it blew. so when i replaced the radiator i replaced the thermostat. the guys a douche.

[car nut]

Give him hell. He had no reason to do that unless he broke it in which case it should be free.

[grk nickafis]

Thats what i was planning. and almost 2 weeks he's been telling me "U'll have it by tomorrow" ... if i had a nickle for every time he told me that, i could pay him with his own money.

[Zwicked]

It's well worth replacing the thermostat when the water pump is done. They are cheap and critical to be in good operating condition. ....as long as he used a Nissan T-stat. Most jobber ones are complete crap. I work at an automotive shop and see the non-OEM ones fail all the time. The ONLY after market one which seems to be of good quality is the Prestone brand, but again it's worth the few extra bucks for the Nissan one.On the T-belt issue, did you need that to be done? It's unrelated to doing the water pump. Depending on how many miles since it was last done, and whether or not the idlers and tensioners should also be replaced as they have bearings that wear out.His price is in line for the labor...providing it's done correctly. He's done this work to other Z's has he? Not very upstanding to not have the car back in 2 days maximum. I'd take someone along that is mechanically inclined and drop in to see where he's at.

[grk nickafis]

Well the timing belt and water pump were changed 60k miles ago. The tensioners and stuff have never been replaced i have 184k miles. he didnt tell me about the t-stat or what hes using. Doesn't the underdrive pulley have to be removed to take the covers off to access the water pump. thats my understanding. and No he has never worked on a Z before (from my understanding) but he said he has experience with timing belts and jap cars.

[Zwicked]

Even if the covers come off, that in itself is not reason to change the T-Belt but 60,000 miles is the right time to do it so that is a good move.I would most definitley replace the tensioner and idler pulleys if they have 180k on them. If the tensioner fails, the belt can jump and destroy the engine. If an idler fails they usually get noisy first, but in the end they seize up causing the belt to destruct and again, the engine is damaged. Valve and piston collision is what happens.

[grk nickafis]

Hm. thats good to know. I would do it but i didnt have 900 dollars to spend. i only had 400 and i saved up another 106 dollars to pay this off. It's hard to save money without a job.

[Zwicked]

I would at least follow up and drop in daily to keep the pressure on the guy to finish it, unless he's turned out to be a dud. Then I'd remove the car SAP and find someone to help put the parts on you already paid for.The worst think that can happen is if he isn't competent and it's not done right...or not at all.

[grk nickafis]

I was looking at my engine trying to find some problems that ive had since i got it from the shop. They half assed everything. the belts are still making noises, my intake wasnt on properly and idk why they took it off, my fuel lines were loose... i called to complain and they went out of business. new management, and they said they would fix all the old peoples mistakes for free.

[zxFarside]

What a deal! Good luck with the new guys.

[Ghut300zx]

i hate crap like that. good luck though

[evildky]

.........................because no one answered my forum posts on how to do itand I can't search or dl the fsm) .................................................

fixed

[grk nickafis]

cool thanks, maybe i dont have time to sit down search maybe i have a job and school to do and all my other free time i work on the car or sleep.

besides ive done searches and found nothing that helps me. i need TOOLS to do the timing belt and pulleys and unless i can Download physical tools, then searching doesn't help.