Timing belt cost for 1998 Grand Am- Brother refuses responsibility?

I just got a new car spent my savings on it-a four door for my new daughter it was working mint driving perfect until i went to my brothers house and he parked the car but he reversed and while doing so changed to drive while the car was moving and now it won't start.20 hrs of trouble shooting we know it is the timing belt. is it his fault like i presume (cause he refuses to help fix or pay for the belt), how much does the belt cost and how hard will it be to change it on my driveway-by my boyfriend.And if anyone knows how much it would be to get done at a shop that would be nice. And is it possible the guy I bought the car from knew it was going to break so he sold it? the car is automatic transmissionTiming belt cost for 1998 Grand Am- Brother refuses responsibility?The previous owner was innocent. Does the car have over 100K miles on it? (probably quite a bit more than that...if I'm right). Replacing the timing belt IS NOT EASY. You've got to take off the whole front of the engine. Radiator, Water pump, on and on. Then you've got to put it on right, put it all together, then start it up. It's pretty labor intensive. Unless your boyfriend is very good, I wouldn't have him attempt it. You'll be down for a long time. LONG TIME. It could end your relationship.

It's best to take it to a garage. Call around. Best to use the small independent garages. Look around. The best independents are like good restaurants...lots of cars in the lot. OKAY...the part you want to know and should be afraid to hear the answer of...you'll be about $800-$900 for that one. Independents are generally a little cheaper v. some of the big garages that one have one real mechanic and a bunch of guys that just got out tech school. Good luck kid. Tough break.

Mustafa- aka. (Moose)
Timing belt cost for 1998 Grand Am- Brother refuses responsibility?
that is a fairly normal repair for a car depending on now many miles are on it. It will be a few hundered dollars. Your brother is not really at fault for it because it would have happened inevitably. He just happened to be the one driving.
Timing belt cost for 1998 Grand Am- Brother refuses responsibility?
1.your.bro.didnt.wreck.it

he.only.couldve.messed.up.the.tranny



2.timing.belt.costs.30.bucks

and.how.hard?

very..



3.shop.to.have.it.done

500.bucks



4.possibly,all.you.have.to.do

is.look.at.the.belt.to.see.how.good.it鈥?br>
and.any.car.that.old.that.has

never.had.the.belt.replaced

thats.a.warning.sign..



5.grand.ams.are.junk
On most vehicles it's recommended to change the timing belt at approx 60 - 75000 miles, so it was about due anyway. Average price for replacement (in So. Calif) is $ 125 parts %26amp; labor. Shop around if you are going to buy just the belt for the best price. Time ways may be 1 1/2 to 3 hours for a DIY
yes timing belts have a scheduled service life. its part of a cars overall maintainence. it was just due. If ur boyfriend is mechanically incline or has a couple buddies to help. its not a huge undertaking HE would probably want to purchase a service manual though... i would.
The seller could only have guessed that it was %26quot;time%26quot; for the belt to go, I doubt anyone could have known. They just %26quot;do%26quot;.

I'd think twice about letting your brother drive your car if he shifts forward to reverse without stopping, or vice/versa.

Boyfriend could do timing belt change if he's reasonably competent, and I'd say brother should help, just for his carelessness.

It's an all-day (or three) job, so go and buy a Chilton's or Hayne's to prepare for the job, and follow step-by-step.
If it was a simple reverse to drive change, I doubt it was a fault of the driver. The engine doesn't go backwards just because the cars in reverse. Its more likely to damage the transmission. As for the timing belt, that depends in the type of engine you have. If you have a 6 cyl, 3100 engine, it has gears and a chain. If you have the dual overhead cam engine, you have a belt and that could be about a 8 out of 10 to fix in a driveway. Special alignment tools needed to keep cams straight while setting belt to proper alignment. Now if he floored it from reverse to drive, it may have taken the belt out. Tough call on that one.
GM uses timing chains, not belts so that is not your problem. Even if it had a belt there is no way you can cause it to fail doing what you described. That an only be a transmission problem.