I brought my 03 350z touring 6spd in to the dealer at around 46k miles. They are saying that the drive belt needs to be replaced. I talked to a couple other car guys and they said that they were surprised.

Is it time to have it changed? How much does it usually cost?

Also, there is a high pitched whine coming from the engine at idle. I don't notice it as much as the engine rev's. Is this related?

 

Just check the belt for wear and go from there.

 

I don't remember exactly how much it cost.. But its damn expensive.. All I remember is that I was walking a little funny afterwards..

As for timeframe.. I believe its 60K? 47K does sound early..

 

I believe the standard maintenance at 30K miles calls for the replacement of the belts. Mine have 24K on them and I already notice some cracking of the ribs so I'll probably do it in the next month or so.

 

The belts themselves cost about $30 for the pair. It's not that hard to change them yourself. The dealer shouldn't charge for more than an hour ($75) of labor.

 

Belts are EXTREMLY easy to change yourself!! If I were in your area, i'd do them both for you for a few beers and BBQ. Badda Bing.

 

Wow! I must have been taken! It was on my last car, an acura Type-R and I could have sworn that it cost something like $500-$800! Or maybe that's what it came out to be in addition to the stuff I was already having done? It was a while ago.. The car was stolen and that's when I met the new love of my life.. The FairLady!

 

No way in hell regular drive belts can cost that much. Even the timing belt comes out cheaper. You must have had other things done to it.

 

You're thinking of a timing belt. The Z doesn't have a timing belt, they went back to the old-style timing chain that doesn't require replacement.

 

+1 i just checked the maintenance guide it says change every 30K miles.

 

Changing my belts today....seems easy enough. 30 bucks for the belts. Not bad.

57K miles...I see cracking.

 

sounds like a good DIY write-up

 

ne1 in san diego can show me how to do this? what else needs to be done at 30k? i have 20k miles and a lot of them are hard track miles. i want to stay on top of the maintenance schedule

 

you can take a look at your maintenance guide booklet

 

Is there a write up for this? I've searched but didn't find anything

 

loosen only four little bolts to remove the old belts, install new belts and adjust tension. Not too tight, just tight enough so that its not making any noise. Re-adjust tension in a week or so as needed.

 

do you have to lift the car to loosen the bolts, or can I do it from the top?

 

There is NO WAY you can looses those bolts from up top. Jack it up. It will only take a few minutes.