Hi all,

I just acquired a 1995 Toyota Celica GT






The selling dealer told me that I need to have the timing belt checked out. It has 103000 mi. and there is no writing of any sort on the timing belt cover indicating that it's been replaced. The car however runs really well. The engine idles really smooth (relatively...), makes good power, no funny noises or anything.

The dealer wants $280 to do the t-belt ONLY.. and some indepent shops want $350+!! and they already talked to me about water pump, drivebelts, etc...

is there anything that I can do to check the t-belt to see if it needs to be replaced or not?

I'm gonna pick up a Haynes manual tomorrow or something.

one shop told me "oh.. so it hasn't snapped? just wait til it starts making noise"

can I just take off the timing belt cover and inspect the belt visually? or do I have to check for stretch too?


another question is that the transmission grinds going into third unless I match the revs correctly (quite a learning curve). Would going to a syncromesh manual transmission fluid at least help?

*this car makes me realize just how bad I am with a standard shift...*

other than that it's a great car! Handles nice.. fun to drive...except for the very rough 5sfe engine...

Thanks
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2008 BMW 335i Coupe