My friend is fixing his fixing his Z and tZ fever quoted him 2.3k for timing belt and some leaks....guy said he thinks its leaking from gasket valve????????? and some radiator fluid leaking from somewhere, he didnt know were, he thinks its leaking from the cap???? somewhere on the bottom of the car. this and their gonna put spark plugs and do a "tune up". Maybe im crazy and i dont know enough about what their doing, but 2300 seems like a crap load of money for that work. They are pulling the motor out tho, wich u pretty much have to do for anything on the Z

 

if they are pulling the motor, it seems fair.

have them check the muffler bearings, and flux capacitor also.

 

check the rotator splints too.... they go bad quick....

 

That price sounds about right. If i can find my invoices I'll scan them for you. The owner before me had about the same work done at Doc Z for ~2700. Yeah, its high but that what you get for not doing your own work.

 

Thanks for your input fellas. Hate to see that much money go into just some fix-it-ups. Guess i need to learn how to do my own wrench work. One other question, how can i learn all this stuff so that i can do my own stuff in the future, unlike my poor friend who has to fork out all those bucks?

 

Well I believe the best way to learn is to do. Almost everything I've learned has been through experience. The first time you rip apart your car it can be nerve racking, but when you get it back together the confidence you gain is invaluable.

My first guinea pig was a 93 Mazda MX-3 that I had to hot rod. I decided to go wit a BPT(turbo miata) motor and a complete Escort GT drivetrain. Running the whole thing was a Haltech E6k stand alone. When I started the project I didn't know anything about cars. Now I can do things from tearing down a motor to programming fuel and ignition maps. While I don't recommend doing this to your DD, I do feel it’s the best way to learn.

 

I think i could tear the car apart pretty easily, but getting it back together again...ill be having nightmares about were this F'ing bolt goes! Definatley not something i wanna try on my Z that has now been fully redone. Maybe on my Escort Station Wagon, I've never seen a fast one of those! Think ill just shop hop and hang out with the mehcanics when they work on my Z, maybe ill learn some from that. Now im trying to clean m garage out for the 430129412309th time and turn it into a decent area to work on my and my friends cars. Think me and my friend(s) will start out slow; doing cat-backs, intakes and such. Hopefully we can work our way up to Peon-Mechanic status Thanks for the advice. God, im gonna need some F'ing tools, that rusty socket set doesnt look like its gonna cut it anymore!

 

Ah yes, the most important thing... BUY GOOD TOOLS!
If your considering doing a lot of mechanic work start looking into air compressors and air tools. They are huge time savers.

Also check out twinturbo.net and read all the FAQ's and tech pages. The info on there will help you out a lot if you ever deside to take the plunge.

 

Cool man, thanks alot. Im goin to bed now cause i got school tommorow so peace ya'll.

 

damn 60K should only be about 800-1200 with parts. i usually do it for 300 + parts. but im just a shade tree Z mech. i get my parts from COZ www.CZP.us best prices on OEM stuff and you and any Z owner, MAINLY TT owners do NOT WANT ANY POS spark plug than OEM NGK pfr"X"b-11b.

but a valve cover gaskit leak sucks. if it's a TT do it in the car, NA pull it. but if it's just seeping slowly. screw it, and wait till the injectors are goign and need replacing or upgrading. and do then at the same time sense it's at the same level.

and more than likly the coolent is from the water pump or one of the 4 coolent line YOU SHOULD replace when doing a 60k. 2 bypass lines, or the 2 radiator hoses.