Originally posted by caltour: I just got back from the mechanic's shop. He took the top timing belt cover and middle timng belt cover off the motor, and found the problem: the timing belt idler pulley on the lower right side is disintegrating. It's missing large chunks! A fine quality part that lasted for 27,000 miles.
The mechanic wanted $400 to replace the pully. He said the pully costs $60 and the rest is labor. He said I really should also replace the belt, the tensioner and the other two idler pullies, and that would be an extra $200, for a total of $600.
I declined (too expensive). So I had the car towed home just now. I've got my repair manual and some hand tools, and I am going to try to replace the idler pully myself. yikes
Labor should be less than $200 for everything. You can usually get parts cheaper yourself from www.fordpartsonline.com If you don't think you can do it yourself, you can find a more reasonable mechanic and purchase the parts yourself. If you are just replacing the idler pulley and you have all the stuff to reset the tensioner, then it should be a fairly straight forward job, as long as you do everything just right.
Caltour, you can also try an Auto parts store like Napa, O' Reilly, etc...and I would suggest buying a kit. No need to put the old belt back on the new idler...just be asking for trouble, sooner than later.
And if you find another mechanic, be sure to ask permission about using your own parts before you schedule an appointment. He may say no, but if he stays within suggested retail on his parts [not much over $200.00 for the complete timing belt kit], he's committing no fouls.
