Have 2002 Santa Fe V6 coming up on 60K miles. Am in sticker shock over dealer quote of $995 to replace timing belt. Am second owner so this ends warranty- However, second-hand info says I should use OEM Hyundai Timing belt and not use a quality 3rd party belt. Anybody able to verify this suggestion?

 

My guess is a good belt is a good belt.Your warenty is gone,its your car and your call.

 

Wow. My wife has an 02 Santa Fe too (AWD model). I'm familiar with my old Accent and my new(er) Elantra where the timing belt is done with the water pump...etc which pushes the price up.

Since I have been very lazy to say the least hers is now at 90k so I checked with my mechanic who does my work. I asked him how much he would charge so he called the Hyundai dealer (which surprised me) and asked their price with parts. They told him 375 with partsso he told me he would do it for 275 with parts. I'm actually heading to the dealer in a few hours to check their price on the belt itself since I am considering doing this on my own. He did tell me the H20 pump is not needed unless you find signs of leaking.

On another note and your question...I'm no mechanic but I think I have more skills than your normal person with cars (hence why I want to start doing my own timing). I will go to the local auto zone or advance auto parts and buy certain accessories, but when I comes to really important things like belts that I don't want to fail me at all, I only buy from Napa. Napa seems to be the place all true mechanics buy from in my area so if it is good enough for them it is good enough for me. So if I were you and you did not want to buy Hyundai, I would buy nothing less than Napa.

Dave

 

Iam a mechanic by trade and a Tafe teacher and I have fitted many non genuine timing belts and as long as they are of a reputable make , Gates G.M.B,Daycoor the like you will have no problems with them. Most of the modern engines have timing marks and as long as you start with the engine on TDC 1 ,Valves on the back or base circleof the cams on the front no1cylinderand the nose or lift of the lobes on rock onthe back cylinder, you will have no worries doing it yourself