Barina Tk Timing Belt Change?  

felixbrisbane
  • felixbrisbane
  • Site Newbie
  • Member No.: 236,992
  • Joined: 24-December 11
  • Posts: 9
  • From: Sunnybank Hills
Post #1 post 24th December 2011 - 01:56 PM
Hi all - please don't bother telling me the Barina is sh*t and to get rid of it, it's super-cheap to own and operate, it's quite practical and it's never given me ANY grief hsdance.gif until now (potentially) mamoru.gif ...

Similar cars seem to need timing belt change around 100,000 km but THIS (Korean-made) model is supposed to be done at 60,000 km! Just checked with dealer and it's over $800 for belt, tensioner (and pulley if needed). That DOES include a minor service and is supposedly a significant discount to apologise for some grief the dealer gave me before.

Now, it can't be THAT hard to change a timing belt on a 4 cylinder car - but I don't have a harmonic balancer puller or any of that gear so I'd love to hear from someone who HAS DONE THIS, or a recommendation for a Gates kit or similar and some place that does this all the time.

Look forward to any sugggestions you can provide, thanks Felix smile.gif
Mongrel
Post #2

they are 60,000km because the engines are rubbish and the belt geometry is up shit creek, the water pump gets so much load on it they fail at the drop of a hat. They are a pain in the arse to do, they skip teeth rather easily and the cams roll and won't sit on there marks. It's not the sort of car I'd recommend trying changing the Tbelt yourself unless you've had a fair bit of experience, I've seen many qualified mechanic struggle with these.
You be much better paying for it to get done, at least that way if it fails.....someone else will cover it.

marco88
Post #3

ive done quite a few you need a special tool to turn the water pump, or make something up as the pump is your tensioner, i would also replace the pump as you have to crack the seal on the water pump to adjust tension, dont need a puller for the crank though. not that hard to do if you know what ur doing. i wouldnt attemp it unless you are confident, it can be a bit of a pain in the arse getting the tensoin correct, if you dont tension it properly it will rattle real bad and you risk bending/breaking valves if done incorectly.

felixbrisbane
Post #4

Many thanks for your comments and I'll certainly consider that.

Surely there's a place here in Brisbane that does this kind of work every day - and can beat the dealer's price? Last service they charged me $12 EACH for sparkplugs which I thought was a bit rich for a little runabout. When I asked if they were something special (dual electrode, platinum tip or something) they just laughed and said I was "lucky not to be driving a V8 Commodore".

I'm quite happy with the little car, but don't want to part with nearly $1,000 for a normal maintenance item so soon in its life (barely 70,000 km). Any other ideas dunno.gif ? Thanks in advance, Felix.

Mongrel
Post #5

hahaha, you're worried about $12 for a spark plug, a couple of weeks ago i fitted over $1200 worth of spark plugs alone in one day...and that was only two cars. Two LS460's, they each run 8 special triple electrode iridium plug to suit the dual injected engines (port and direct injection).

If you want some one in brisvagas that won't dick you around, go see Luke at Autoco Woolloongabba.

call him on 3891 2511 and tell him Benno sent you.

felixbrisbane
Post #6

QUOTE (Mongrel @ Dec 25 2011, 06:30 PM) *
hahaha, you're worried about $12 for a spark plug, a couple of weeks ago i fitted over $1200 worth of spark plugs alone in one day...and that was only two cars. Two LS460's, they each run 8 special triple electrode iridium plug to suit the dual injected engines (port and direct injection).



Yeah. Muscle cars get old after awhile and that's one of the reasons why. I'll call after the holiday thanks.

felixbrisbane
Post #7

Thanks to those who sent me suggestions of where I might get the timing belt done for a more reasonable price. What I've decided to do is:

List the car for sale (on Gumtree Brisbane) not hiding the fact that it's due for a minor service plus timing belt.

If it sells anywhere close to a good price great

If it doesn't then I'll pay to have it done professionally and keep the car longterm as it's giving me great service and costs nothing to run (until now).

Thanks sincerely for the good advice Boosters smile.gif

TwinCam16
Post #8

Yeh, those TK's are shit.

Best be getting a quality vehicle like a TS or AH Astra.

Dai.
Post #9

QUOTE (felixbrisbane @ Jan 7 2012, 11:20 AM) *
Thanks to those who sent me suggestions of where I might get the timing belt done for a more reasonable price. What I've decided to do is:

List the car for sale (on Gumtree Brisbane) not hiding the fact that it's due for a minor service plus timing belt.

If it sells anywhere close to a good price great

If it doesn't then I'll pay to have it done professionally and keep the car longterm as it's giving me great service and costs nothing to run (until now).

Thanks sincerely for the good advice Boosters smile.gif

Its better keeping the car you have now,the money you get for it,its not going to buy you another half decent car. Same as my daily,needs a service and the usual crap but if i was to sell it,the money wouldn't buy another car that doesn't require work.

Masdarati
Post #10

shop around, you will get it done cheaper then what holden has quoted you.

geoffrohde88480
Post #11

QUOTE (Mongrel @ Dec 24 2011, 03:07 PM) *
they are 60,000km because the engines are rubbish and the belt geometry is up shit creek, the water pump gets so much load on it they fail at the drop of a hat. They are a pain in the arse to do, they skip teeth rather easily and the cams roll and won't sit on there marks. It's not the sort of car I'd recommend trying changing the Tbelt yourself unless you've had a fair bit of experience, I've seen many qualified mechanic struggle with these.
You be much better paying for it to get done, at least that way if it fails.....someone else will cover it.


My son in law just fronted with a timing belt failure on his 1.3 barina combo van. Snapped cleanly, rest of belt did not look that bad( had done 200,000kms). I had a spare so we pulled it apart, fitted the replacement belt and re started it. Was noisy, so lifted the cam cover to find two broken rockers.

Had to pull the camshaft out to get to rocker on no 1 cylinder out and replaced. No 3 went in OK as you can lift the cam up a fair bit on the left hand side after you have loosened the head bolts off.
Then started it again after re-timing it all again. Ran rather roughly so did a comp test to find zero compression on no 1 and no 3 despite normal valve operation. Suspect that there may be two cracked pistons or two valves that are not seating properly. The water pump did not appear to be that worn.

Raul
Post #12

I have done it for mine in order to sell it.
No need to replace the pump all the time. I have replaced mine but it was still good.
A bit of a pain to set it back because of the reasons described here.
Just let me know if you want to do it and I can assist if you are located around Brisbane.

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