Thanks for all the comments fellas…got some good advice on here and im most definitely gonna put the timing belt on the top of the list…not something i would even attempt to do myself as my sn impies lol…im just starting to do all this vehicle maintenance on my own…i just did the spark plugs and air filter today and everything turned out ok but a timing belt change im gonna leave to the professionals for now…i talked to my mechanic today and he said its gonna be around $600…I wont have the $ to do it for another month so hopefully ill be good until then
I have one last piece of advice. Before you commission this job, make sure you have a little extra money on hand. Sometimes, after getting everything opened up, the mechanic can discover a seal leaking oil (like the crankshaft seal, for example). I usually tell my mechanic that if he finds any leaky seals in there, he has my permission to replace/repair them. In fact, I ask for both prices (the cost of a timing belt/water pump job versus the timing belt/water pump/crankshaft seal job), to make sure I have what it will cost to do the whole job.
Do we need to start calling you “The Rider” now . . . ?
I assume you disagreed with me because paying for my timing belt job at a shop wouldn’t have been pricey?
FYI . . . I ordered most of the parts online. They were all high quality (aisin, gates, koyo, mitsuboshi, etc., plus felpro seals). I bought the thermostat and coolant from the local Toyota dealer. I easily spent over $300 on parts.
Another FYI . . . I didn’t call around for quotes, because I knew I was going to do it myself.
@db4690, hmmm, I don’t remember disagreeing with your post, I can’t think why I would because there’s nothing in there that I disagree with. I know you’re a professional mechanic and would do your own work, and I don’t disagree with someone price-shopping a repeatable procedure like a timing belt.
I generally disagree with many people’s perception of “pricey” because they base it on what they feel they can afford vs. what it should actually cost, but that has nothing to do with your post.
I can only assume that my fat thumbs accidentally hit “disagree” when I was surfing here using my phone rather than at the computer. I regularly inadvertently re-direct or open another site when using my phone. I guess my calloused thumbs are not easily compatible with touch-screen smart phones. Texting can be a mess too.
Never meant to disagree, is there an “undo” for that? I’d hate to throw your customer satisfaction index out of whack.
Thank you for your response
If you want to help out my CSI (boy, that term brings back some memories), I suppose you could click on “like” or “agree” instead
CSI can be a tough row to hoe as a mechanic, huh?
It’s right up there with Feedback ratings on eBay… 
My CSI was always pretty good at the dealership
As you all know, though, a guy could be the best mechanic in the world and it don’t mean squat if the service advisor doesn’t pucker up to the customers (free car washes, free detailing, free LOF, 10% off the bill, etc.). And if the porter doesn’t wash the car fast enough, you can kiss that CSI goodbye. All in all, CSI isn’t very representative of how good a job an individual, or a dealership, is doing. It is representative of how much . . . fill in the blank . . . is being . . . fill in the blank
Yeah, I had a pretty good writer. He could sell ice to eskimos and lie like a rug
I only buy on ebay. But my feedback rating is 100%, probably because I pay promptly, no payment has ever bounced, and I don’t complain about the vendors . . . even if they deserve it. I know darn well that if a buyer complains, the vendor will slam him
I’ve been lucky enough I suppose to have been around a great bunch of factory zone reps and a few good service writers along the way. The zone rep guys were always standup people and knew that any problems were often traceable to the service desk, not the shop. The zone reps don’t trust the dealers or service managers one inch either…
I was a long time seller and buyer on eBay with 100% positive Feedback, but quit selling a few years back due to perpetual fee increases and eBay dictating my terms of sale, payment methods, shipping, and so on.
EBay also changed their Feedback policy a few years ago and a seller cannot leave a negative for a buyer; no matter if the buyer is a scam artist, parts pirate, or whatever.
Needless to say, that opened the door for that number of people who will buy an item, claim that they never got it or it’s damaged, and then get a refund.
In one case, a buyer sent the “defective” item back, got a full refund through Paypal, and the seller discovered when the return box was opened there was nothing but a brick in there.
In another case, a seller discovered a number of pairs of used underwear…
Time to plan the summer vacation…
I’ll go a bit off-topic here . . .
I have noticed a LOT of ebay items that I’m watching mysteriously disappear soon before the bidding is over. The pattern seems to be that the items have no reserve, there are few bids, and the “price” is still very low. I suspect that the seller decides he doesn’t want to accept $10, because he thought people would bid it up to $50. So he just removes the item.
I actually contacted ebay a few times to inquire what happened to item number such-and-such. One time I was given a lame explanation . . . the seller couldn’t find the item, so therefore he can’t offer it for sale anymore.