Changing timing belt and water pump....

[missingwhatsnear]

throughout researching changing the water pump and timing belt, i came across some information saying to discharge the a/c system and disconnect the a/c lines at the coupling block. is it necessary to disconnect the a/c system at all? can i just move to the side or something without disconnecting?

[slartyblarfast]

You don't have to discharge the system but it makes it a LOT easier.

[missingwhatsnear]

Page 2A-8 Timing belt - removal, inspection, and installation
After the Caution sections, step one says: "Have the refrigerant discharged and recovered by an air conditioning technician."
Does this mean taking off the a/c unit, and taking it separately to get recharged?

[CREWZIN]

NO, it means once you get the timing belt and everything else including the A/C lines back together, you drive to the shop of your choice and they refill the system for you. It's the only way to recharge the system, when it's all back together.

Please remember what I told you in your Private Message, the discharged refrigerant must be recovered and not be allowed to be let out in the open air, by law.

[missingwhatsnear]

well, i called a local shop and got a price of around $480 to replace water pump and timing belt if i buy the parts myself. sound decent? some shops wouldn't even give me price quote for that option.

[CREWZIN]

I went to two places because I have my own parts. My mechanic wants $550 and the dealer wants $776, so consider your price very good.

[crusierdad76]

Agreed tell us where you found this ( AFTER he does the work) it will be way cheaper than most i have found

[missingwhatsnear]

so made an appointment to drop it off tomorrow. thank god. im just tired of having car problems.

[dpcac07]

Have a question?? My 2002 PT dreamer just had timing belt and water bump and all belts replaced in my car and since then my air condition compresor want kick on anymore and cool... Not sure whats going on? But before the timing belt was changed it worked fine.. The Mechanic who worked on it is 3 hrs away from me.. When the timing belt broke i was 3 hrs away so its kinda hard to take it back to the mechanic who worked on it right now.. But my A/C isnt working and not sure whats going on..

[CREWZIN]

Welcome to the forum.

He didn't have to but changing the timing belt is a lot easier to do by discharging the A/C and moving the lines to give more clearance. Apparently when he was done, something wasn't put back together the right way. Maybe one of the lines weren't tightened and you lost the R134 on the way home, maybe it wasn't even re-charged correctly. Whatever it was, if you don't want to take it back 3 hours away, you'll have to stop by a nearby shop and have it diagnosed to find out what the problem is.

If it was working as you say, it shouldn't be too much to find out the problem and re-charge the system.