Cost to replace Galant timing belt etc. .....

[les1]

I have 2000 Galant with 58,800 miles so shortly it will need timing belt replacement. Mitsubishi want $575.00 to replace including seals etc. Is that reasonable price....it sounds expensive to me. They told me that when they do it they also replace seals etc. What exactly do they replace & how much could it be done for? I see online replacement kits run around $70-$80 dollars. I am from UK & not familiar with the pricing over here (Orlando, Florida).

Any help would be appreciated....thanks. Les

[RahX]

They are probably talking about the cam and crank seals that are behind the timing belt. In order to replace either by itself requires the removal of the timing belt anyway. Doesn't sound like too bad of a price. The belt and seals probably run near 100$ from Mitsubishi.

[les1]

Thanks RahX...............it gives me some idea.

[Inman Lanier]

You have to work them over on this price. They started high then came down. My 03 Galant was done at the Mitsubishi dealership in Feb 06 for $365 at 60K miles. I only did the belt - no water pump, no seals, etc. If you only have $60K miles chances are very slim you need more than just the belt. The belt that was removed was in such excellent shape that I will not do the next one until $90K more miles (~150K miles). Anyone notice you're only required to change the belto for California cars at 90K miles, vs. 60K miles for other states? Think Mitsubishi installed California belts at the factory ?

[les1]

Thanks Inman,

I will check the California rule out etc. but that's very interesting. I have knowledge of the Auto Industry in Uk & quite frankly do not always believe what they tell you. That's why I posted my message but with the timing belt on this car I didn't want to get caught unawares. It's so easy to pay out hundreds of dollars unecessarily. I had a quote from Tuffy's which was around the figure you mentioned but I didn't know if the same amount of work was involved. They are not going to tell you if your belt is OK anyway.

[RahX]

It is rare for those seals to leak and the water pump can go the life of the car. I really didn't pay attention to the mileage you had on your car. At 60k i'd just worry about the belt. I've seen those break from 70K-90k miles and I wouldn't really push it for the simple fact that if you break the belt, there is a 98% chance you are going to bend some valves. If you have an impact, a floor jack and mechanical ability the timing belt is very very easy.

[les1]

RahX, Thanks for your imput I will check it out.

[les1]

Originally Posted by RahX

It is rare for those seals to leak and the water pump can go the life of the car. I really didn't pay attention to the mileage you had on your car. At 60k i'd just worry about the belt. I've seen those break from 70K-90k miles and I wouldn't really push it for the simple fact that if you break the belt, there is a 98% chance you are going to bend some valves. If you have an impact, a floor jack and mechanical ability the timing belt is very very easy.

RahX. Les again on the timing belt. Took my 2000 Galant to "Tuffy's" for the timing belt they quoted quite reasonable however they told me that there were 2 belts on the 4cyl model. Surely there can only be one timing belt. Any idea which other belt they were talking about? I have been trying to find online any diagrams of the set up but no luck yet. Any suggestions would be gratefuly received. Thanks.

[RahX]

That is pretty much what your setup looks like with the exception of the crank sensor isn't there and the timing mark for the crank is about 90' clockwise of where it is on yours. Its for the balance shaft, its the tiny thing behind the cam timing belt. You can see that you have to remove the one for the cam, the crank sensor and the crank t-belt pulley to get to it.

[les1]

Hi again RahX,

Have the car back but not happy. there seems to be some excessive vibration & the car sounds tight if that is the word. You can feel the vibration on the steering wheel while driving & when standing still its running through the car. Seems as if something is tight somewhere. Couldn't be the belt being new could it? Any ideas. I really do appreciate your information & help.

[RahX]

the oil pump/other balance shaft might not be where it should. Does it feel like a sharp/hard vibration at a certain rpm that has an exhaust heat shield kind of noise? The pulley on the bottom right of that photo I posted is the oil pump/counter balance shaft and that thing is so easy to get wrong. The oil pump sprocket drives the counter balance shaft off of another gear so the balance shaft turns at half speed I think. There are two ways to time it correctly, #1 involves experience and feel, it should 'fall' to the mark. The shaft is like a cylinder cut in half so it counters the vibration from the engine. When it 'falls' the weighted half is facing downward and the mark is lined up. The other way involves removing a bolt behind the manifold in line with the shaft and inserting a screwdriver to make sure the shaft is down position. Both are easy. If that thing isn't in time it can cause some mean vibration.

[les1]

Hi Rahx & thank you. I didn't get the email telling me that you hasd posted a reply for me, good thing I decided to check it out.

You have described the feeling with the car to a "T". I am taking it back on Tuesday for him to check it out. A friend of mine this morning works for Porche heard me telling another friend about the problem. He though it might actually be the balance shaft belt out a tooth. Would that make sense? Does the guy working on the car have to touch the balance shaft belt to change the timing belt or set the timing?

Les..

[RahX]

Well there are two balance shafts, one is driven by a dedicated belt which needs to be changed at the same time as the cam timing belt. The other is driven off of the cam timing belt. The one with the dedicated belt is straight forward, easy to time. I'm 99% sure the other is a turn off from being in time. It is easy, i've done it several times and unfortunately the only way to fix it is to take the cam timing belt back off and do it again. As far as timing belts go, the 2.4l is probably one of the easiest to do. I can whip one out in about an hour and a half normally. An hour if I hustle. It is a simple mistake.

[les1]

Thanks again this is invaluable information. I had no idea that the dedicated belt should be changed at the same time.

[les1]

Hi RahX,

Thanks a lot for your help with my motor problems. All is resolved & the car is running fine now.

One minor problem. Someone scraped the car front bumper while it was in the repair shop. Guess we won't be going there again. Cheers...................