93 saturn where is timing belt located and how much can I expect to pay to have it replaced?

Crankshaft Position Sensor Replacement

Remove the engine front cover . Refer to Timing Belt Cover Replacement in Engine Mechanical - 3.5L.

Remove the timing belt guide (703).
Remove the crank sensor and harness.


Timing Belt Cover Replacement
Removal Procedure
Remove the engine drive belt. Refer to Drive Belt Replacement .
Remove the right splash shield. Refer to Engine Splash Shield Replacement in Body Front End.
Remove the engine balancer using the EN 46337 .

Remove the timing belt cover bolts (8).
Remove the timing belt cover (7).

The timing belt should be replaced every 60,000 miles, this is very important because this engine is not free wheeling if the belt fails, this means the engines valves hit the pistons. The cost to replace the timing belt is about $300 but varies with local labor rates, the rate where I live is $100.00 per hour.

Timing belts are best left to the experts. You can expect to pay in area of $500 - $600 or more. It is common when belts break to bend a valve in the process, if this happens, expect to pay several hundred more.

The timing belt is not the big cost,if the belt has broken while you where driving the car the you may need to spend up to $3000 dollars to repair the damage caused by a broken belt.If your belt is not broke and you have over 50000 miles then get it replaced,expect to pay about $600-$900.This is dependant of labour rates and problems occurred during the repair,your price may be lower.

No the Saturn S-series all use a timing chain. The chain is expected to outlive the car given the proper maintenance of oil changes and the proper level is maintained.

I'd expect to pay anywhere from 8-12 hours of labor. A head gasket is a tremendously time-consuming job and takes a lot of work. You'll also be paying for other parts (intake and exhaust manifold gaskets have to be replaced, new coolant, new oil since both are drained before the job starts), and if you're doing a water pump, bite the bullet and do the timing belt, timing belt tensioner, accessory belt(s), and thermostat as well - those are normally done with the water pump and there's no sense in paying the labor twice.

Check out this site and it will give you an idea of what he should expect to pay: http://repairpal.com/ if he can find a local mechanic that he can trust it should be quite a bit cheaper than the dealer. On this website just put in his zip code, make, year, model of vehicle and then what he needs to get fixed and it will give you a range of what he should expect to pay. It should normally fall in the middle to lower part of that range at a local mechanic where the dealer is always at the highest point. Let me know if you have questions about the site. Thanks for using FixYa!

Here's some very good information on that subject:

http://www.costhelper.com/cost/cars/timing-belt.html

Try pulling the engine coolant temp sensor, They often crack not sure why but the ceramic tip cracks makes the car hard to start, the car's idle may race while shifting gears, and often smokes. The sensor is on the right side of the engine when looking at it on the head. Easy to change and get too

Usually you're looking at $900-1100 at a dealership for parts and labor. If you can take the car to an independent Euro shop, expect more like $700-850 for the same job. If you're in range of upstate NY, I can do it for you for about $650 p/l (I do it in my own garage - no overhead:) ).