I have a '95 Eclipse GSX that broke down last week. I know hardly anything about cars but am pretty comfortable with the repair shop where the car was towed to. Here's the thing -- I'm in Spain (DH is in the military) and I think it will work out a lot better if I buy the parts myself. The repair shop gave me a list and recommended that I take it to the shop on base and have them buy me the parts. I don't really trust the shop on base; they gave me a list with prices and while some seem about right, others seem out of wack. So, how do I figure out a good place to buy parts online? And how do I know which ones to buy (like, I looked at one website and they had 3 different water pumps for my car)? Do I want OEM stuff to the extent it's available or not? Like I said, I'm pretty clueless.

Here's my list and the part numbers and prices the shop on base gave me:

Water pump, #96118, $68
Timing belt, #MD326059, $122
Timing belt tensioner, #MD308587, $141
Timing belt idler pulley, #MD182537, $50
A/C belt, #MR148271, $29
Alt belt, #MD310616, $15
P/S belt, #MD310617, $16

If it's relevant, the car has just under 100K miles, and all the above parts (except the tensioner and pulley) were replaced around 60K miles.

TIA!

 

try slowboyracing.com they have some pretty good stuff and they'll give you a good price.. Don't buy anything from the shop on base.... Just like the PX.. while some stuff may be a little cheaper.. the majority of it is overly priced

the waterpump price is pretty good
you can find the timing belt, tensioner, idler pully and tensioner here
http://www.slowboyracing.com/shop.php?sid=&cat=71
for 220 bucks all together

as for the belts... they would be cheaper going through a parts store like autozone
http://www.autozone.com/servlet/UiBr...K+UP%7C%7EBelt

 

Ok i dont see why you are having to replace the timing belt again 20 thou miles early than the recomended safe 60 thou mark. Regardless, to answer your question there are many places you can get those from. You can PM a guy on here called UltimatePartsGuy i have gotten things from him before and he offers a great, simple and reliable service. Alternativly you can get things from slowboyracing or any of the following i believe: www.buschurracing.com , www.amsperformance.com , www.extremepsi.com and you can also check out other DSM websites like www.DSMTuners.com or www.DSMTalk.com . The options are endless.

 

I know it's early on the timing belt, but I was told (actually, shown by pantomime as my Spanish isn't great) that something is wobbly and it would be good to replace the timing belt at this point. I need the car to run for at least another two years, but we drive it only locally, so I don't mind doing this repair a bit early.

Slow Boy Racing was great and even put my order in the mail today! Now, a couple questions about those belts. I looked at Autozone and saw 2 choices for the a/c and p/s belts -- they have Gatorback and Duralast. Is it worth spending twice as much (I know, small change here) for the Gatorback? And for the really dumb question, each brand says "P/S and A/C." Does this mean that two belts come in the package or are they interchangeable and I have to order two? Yes, I really am that clueless.

I'd love to know more about cars. Any good recommendations on where to start? The acronyms here are way beyond me. Even some of the parts websites were tough because I didn't know what area the parts I need even related too. It's probably hard for you to believe people actually know this little about cars.

 

Ok i knew absolutly nothing about most cars before i came here. All i did was stick around and read things that people post and absorb information.

As for your question 1) i dont think there is a point in spending more for the belt because they last a long time anyway and you wont need to replace it before the car is junk anyway lol.

2) I believe this means that you can use them on either. I could be wrong but im fairly sure.

 

Sebba is exactly right, the belt can be used for both. However in the case of Duralast vs. Gatorback. I would go for the gatorback. It has different ribbing that makes it stronger and less likely to slip. I work at AutoZone and when it comes to belts, I never suggest anything but the gatorbacks.

 

but what about "built to last---duralast" jk

 

hahaha they're not bad, they;re just not as good as gatorback

 

Well when i was getting rid of my talon i had to replace the brakes and rotors and i just bought the awesome valucraft ones . Didnt feel like spending any money