96 Saturn, need change Belt/Gaskets now?

Hi, I recently have my 96 Saturn(80k mileage) changed oil in Firestone.

And they did a free check on it, the report recommends:
1. 755K5 Poly-rib belt, remove/replace, Part cost $31.99, Labor $50
2. Gaskets, VS50218 Valve Cover Gaskets Set, Part cost $64.24, Labor
$180

I think Gaskets change is due to some leakage issue(which is always
there). For the belt, is it critical? And can I change it by myself?
Can I buy the parts from Autozone?

Any suggestion? I spent $600 couple of months back to solve the coil
issue which triggered the SES light. So I want to save cost on these
two issues.

Thanks a lot!

 

Yes. Unless being stranded isn't a big deal.

Most likely. Depends on if you have the tools and aptitude.

Yes, but I try to buy most of my parts from a local independent. Do
some price comparisons.

Ken

 

Depending on your mechanical ability and assuming you have access to tools
and a service manual, you can probably accomplish all these yourself and
save the cost of labor. The belt is now 9 years old so if it has not been
replaced, consider yourself lucky and get this done. Leaking valve cover is
not a major thing assuming it is only a small leak and you keep the oil
level up/full.

Good luck. Shop around on the parts as these prices are likely high from
Firestone.

Bob

 

I'm sorry, you must have made a typo there. Labor to replace Valve cover
gaskets for $180??

Napaonline.com lists the gasket kit for $39.

I've replaced the valve cover gasket on many cars, never my Saturn, but I
can't believe it takes more than 30 minutes.

Personally, I would stay as far as possible from any franchise auto repair
place.

-David

 

No I am not kidding. Firestone is asking for $180 for replacing the
Gaskets.

So changing Gaskets is a simple task? Then I will borrow service manual
from library (hope I can find it), and order the parts from
Napaonline.com.

For the belt, I guess I will seek a cheap local mechanic shop for the
service.

Thanks a lot for the tips/suggestions!

 

Look in the manual for the procedure to replace the belt. It isn't
difficult. If you can afford it, $15-$20 for a manual can be money
well spent.

Ken

 

For the belt, I searched in Autozone.com. The closest one comes out as
KELLY_SPRINGFIELD BELT for a 1996 SATURN SL2
Unit Price: $9.99 Core
Value*: $0.00
Part No.: 780K5
Weight: 0.45 lbs.

On Firestone's sheet, it is 755K5 Poly-Rib belt, is this the same item?

Their quote is $31.99, this is way off $9.99 price on Autozone.

Anybody did belt replacement before? This is just regular belt, right?

 

On napaonline.com, the closest one for belt comes out as:
tem#: NBH25050778
Price: $ 21.49
Attributes: Belt - Serpentine
Imperial Length: 78 3/8''
Top Width: 11/16''
# of Ribs: 5
Angle Degree: 40 Degrees

Confused now with which belt the Firestone is referring to...

 

"Poly Rib" is probably the same as "Serpentine"

 

Yeah, Poly Rib is Serpentine, it is fan belt. Looks complex, I will ask
for service then.

 

About $20 at the dealer. Firestone is trying to rip you off.

Replacement:

Jack up right front.
Remove wheel.
Remove plastic splash guards.
Use a 14 mm wrench to turn tensioner clockwise and remove tension from old
belt.
Remove old belt.
Put new belt in.
Replace splash guards
Replace wheel
Lower car.

It's about a 20 minute job with relatively simple tools. Use a jack stand to
ensure that you don't drop the car on yourself.

$50 is a rip-off for labor for that job.

I don't know if the valve cover on a 96 is composite. If it is, buy the
gasket kit at the dealer. Replacing that is about a 45 minute job.

For $180, does Firestone throw in free KY jelly?

 

"Kirk Kohnen" <> typed until their fingers bled,
and came up with:

it is.

 

Is there a motor mount in the middle of that belt somewhere? That's the only
thing I could possibly think of that may make it more difficult. I remember
replacing an alternator but all I had to do was to pull it off the tensioner
pulley (which is great, by the way, takes all of the thinking out of it).
Anyway, even if there is a motor mount, I still don't think it'd be that
difficult of a task.

I replaced the valve cover gasket on my 1994 Saturn a few years back and I
was initially a little nervous about it but looking back, I'd do it again.
It's no big deal.

Get a Haynes Manual for the Saturn. They're pretty handy for these tasks
(it's something like $10). You can find them at most auto parts stores.

Good luck.

Brad

 

Not really very complex. Remove the right front tire, take out the
inner fender, hold the tensioner back, and replace the belt. Other
than common tools, a belt routing diagram would be useful.

Ken

 

Anybody knows if Autozone may provide all these tools (incl. jack)?
Thinking of buy the belt/manual from dealer and go Autozone to fix the
belt then.

 

Autozone rents 'special' tools, such as ball joint presses, tubing benders,
things that even a well equiped tool box might not have. They have a tool
which will pull back the spring tensioner when replacing the belt, but I
found that a socket on a long breaker bar worked just fine. Autozone does
not rent common tools such as wrenches or jacks.

BTW, the rental is 'free'. Put down a deposit, and you get the deposit back
when you return the tool.

-David

 

The Chilton manual is about twice as thick. I have both, use both, no
clear-cut best.

Get a second opinion as to belt service condition. A garage short of work
will tell everyone they need a belt replacement. If you are inexperienced
you can often be sold a belt you do not need and for more money than you
should pay.

Most serviceable belts show some cracking across the face of the Vs. You
really need to remove the belt to do a proper inspection and to see how deep
the cracking is. (at that point you may want to install a new belt because
of labor involved) I have not yet changed the original factory belt on my
96 sw1 with 230,000km. If you replace the belt keep the old one in the
spare tire for a spare.

Make sure the new belt is not shorter than the old belt, as shorter will
increase the tensioner loading on the alternator bearings. Some replacement
belts are made longer to reduce the side loading and reduce alternator
failure. I suspect there is a tension indicator on the tensioner. I tried
several different belts trying to get the tension UP to what the indicator
required on my Corvette, all the replacement belts were slightly longer.
After finding a belt that got the indicated tension right I was happy for
about two months until the alternator bearings failed. Replaced the
alternator and used longer belt, end of problem, (8 yrs. ago).

When my car had about 75,000km, I had an ses light and an OBDII code that
the Saturn dealer said was a common problem that would require two new
ignition spark coils for about $300ea. I checked the spark plug wires with
an ohm meter and replaced one obvious bad one. I was advised to clean the
plate under the coils (and engine block) and remount them with clean bolts
using dielectric grease on all (ground and hot) connections. Cost about $35
(dielectric grease is expensive and I also installed new platinum spark
plugs), end of problem (6 yrs ago).

YMMV

 

I had Jiffy Lube change my dual-cam belt out. Cost was $49.95 (incl. labor)
and they did it in less than 10 minutes. No need to dismantle anything it
seemed.

The valve cover gasket (aka a bead od expensive silicon on a sheet of
cardboard) was around $65. I changed mine out at home in maybe less than an
hour. Cleaning it all up was the hardest and most time consuming part. It
also has the 4 silicon sparkplug gaskets which seem to be the biggest
problem for leaks.

B~

 

You should be able to do both yourself. IIRC the last belt I bought for my
95 SC2(which should be the same belt) was around $20 at NAPA. Its easiest to
do if you jack it up and pull the right front wheel off and the
splashguards, but it can be done with the car on the ground from the
top(although its tough to get the new belt around the crank pulley doing it
this way).

Last I knew a valve cover gasket from Saturn for my 95(which is a different
gasket then your 96 if you have the composite(black) valve cover) was like
$32 and that's easily done by yourself. The big thing is to make sure both
mating surfaces are clean. The gasket itself is really a joke, you can make
your own if you want. Its just a preformed piece of RTV on a piece of
cardboard.

Jamie