I bought a used 2003 Eclipse GS, 4-cylinder, 5-speed with 85237 miles. I knew purchasing the car I would need to replace the timing belt and drive belts - had budgeted $400. I had an O2 sensor issue (unknown) that I fixed myself in about 15 minutes. I'm having some conflicting "repair issues" from a local automotive mechanic and the Mitsubishi Service Department on other issues:
1. System Coolant Leak - Mitsubishi says the radiator is cracked on the top. The automotive mechanic did a pressure test and said there is a crack on the thermostat housing. They said they could not properly pressure test the rest of the system without fixing this first. The visual that substantiates their claim is the corrosion build-up at the housing inlet at the end of the upper radiator hose. Their cost to fix it is $462 (includes tax). Question - how difficult is it to drain, remove hoses (thsoe don't look so bad) and replace the housing inlet? Is this something I could do in a few hours?

2. I bought it knowing I needed to replace the timing belt and the drive belts. I have a price of $400 from Mitsubishi. The automotive mechanic agees the belt should be changed, but stated the camshaft cover is seeping oil, not sure if its the timing belt wi seals. Their recommendation is to replace the timing belt, timing belt adjuster, timing belt tensioner, timing belt idler, two - timing cover gaskets, camshaft seal, f / crankshaft seal, oil pump seal. Their cost is $774.58 ($368 labor $406.58 materials). They stated they were more than Mitsubishi as Mitsubish will only replace the timing belt and drive belts. My question - who's right? I know the timing and drive belts need to be done...that cost I'm cool with.

3. The automotive mechanic also higly recommends I replace the water pump while I do the timing and drive belt work. He states at 85K it could fail anytime (the sky is falling mentality) and that if I don't do it know I'll have to remove and replace a lot of the same gaskets and the labor all over again. I had a Chevy Cavalier that I put 117K on and never replace the timing chain or water pump. So the question - should I replace the water pump while doing this. The water pump replacement cost is $228.99...double plus if I wait.

4. The valve cover gasket is starting to leak (normal from what I heard with a four banger with this many miles). The plugs and wires are also original (85K). I figure I can do the valve cover gasket and other tune up stuff myself. Is the valve cover gasket that difficult?

Thanks for the help / feedback.

if it was up to me i would not have purchased a car that would need all the work done, im sure u could have looked around a little bit better to find a better deal. how much did u pay for the car??

Advice on what I should and shouldn't buy is not what I'm looking for as it is a moot point. Thanks, but Im looking for guidance not critiqueing.

ok good luck with getting help on this topic.

radiator problem: go to http://www.radiator.com and buy a new lifetime warrantied radiator. yours will cost you $120 + shipping. its easy to replace doesn't take very long to do the whole dang thing. its like empty fluid, one electrical plug, 4 bolts, pull out fan, 6 bolts pull out old radiator. put in the new one, 6 bolts, put in fan, 4 bolts, one electrical plug, and refill.

as far as thermostat housing goes. http://www.car-part.com try to find one there, if you can't find one there. go to a local salvage yard that has a 00-05 eclipse RS/GS and take a used one off. should cost you about 20 bucks or so.

now with the question as of who is right. who cares thats a awesome price for all the work they will have to do. most shops will quote 1000 or more for the same deal the dealership is offering to do for 400, and to offer to do what the other shop is for 774 bucks i'm surprised you don't live in Detroit. just make sure you only allow them to do the work for that price amount. do not let them pad the bill, i would also ask if you could watch some of the process being done. some shops will let their customers see what they are doing to your car. as long as you have safety goggles on.

water pump: what the mechanic said as far as labor is true. double if you do it later. i know when a water pump comes to mind your thinking big money to buy one. i just did a 30 minute check on google here is a brand new water pump for your car for only $32.95 + shipping of course. http://www.google.com/product_url?q=http:/...&hl=en&sa=title
i don't think thats too far out of your wallets reach.

valve covers are just a pain in the ***, because digging all of the old gasket out is a *****! if you have a small dremel tool, (used mostly for arts and crafts) or know someone who does. i would get a tiny wood cutting wheel for it and you can dremel out the rest. since it is meant for wood you don't have to worry too much if it touches your valve cover metal, but still try to be cautious. a new valve cover gasket and spark plug tube seals cost 30 bucks from autozone. and for spark plugs get NGK iridium plugs they are known to last for over 100,000 miles. spark plug wires you will have to make your own if you want 8.5 MM as your car is a distributorless motor.

i think thats all the answers i can give you, i hope you get everything fixed.
sorry if this reply was too long, you had a lot of information to cover and i prefer to specifically answer each one. i hope this helps you as much as it can.

He's right, whenever you replace the timing belt you always want to replace the water pump at the same time. Because if you don't and the water pump goes bad after you get the timing belt replaced, they just gotta take everything back off to get to it anyways, so why not just knock out 2 birds with one stone. Not to mention I've heard of people that just did the timing belt and not too long after, the water pump blew up and damaged their timing belt(don't know exactly how it worked but it wasn't pretty) and they had to get a new one again. So it's up to you, but I and almost every mechanic you talk to would recommend getting them both done at the same time.

Thanks guys! This is what I was looking for. I think I'll pay for the timing belt repair but do the thermostat housing myself.

I do suggest the water pump, because it is driven by the timing belt and the T-belt will need to come off if the water pump fails.