Q: timing belt and tensioner replacement

Hello. All noises have to be diagnosed and confirmed so that you don’t needlessly spend money on repairs. In your circumstance, your particular car model does require a new timing belt every 60,000 miles anyway, so if the timing belt has not been replaced during the past 60,000 miles it would be reasonable to do it anyway.

The noise you are hearing could very well be from the timing belt pulley bearings. When you replace the timing belt, those bearings should be replaced regardless of inspection results (i.e., automatically) and indeed, the kits sold on the market (by Dayco for example) include those bearings.

Do NOT replace the timing belt alone; the bearings have grease in them that oxidizes due to the high engine heat, they can dry out, and the rotating assembly inevitably makes NOISE. IF the water pump is adjacent to (often behind) the timing belt on your engine, you would be wise to replace that, as well as the engine cooling thermostat while you have things opened up and already accessible. This is the old "penny wise, pound foolish" maxim. On my car (a 1991 Camry V-6), for instance I would never even think of replacing a timing belt without at the same time putting in a brand new water pump and thermostat due to the amount of work involved in getting to them "again" if they happen to fail AFTER the timing belt job is done. It is just good insurance and cost effective, too.

It takes about an hour and twenty minutes, on "average" conditions, to replace the timing belt on your car. You mention the tensioner. That is not a failure prone part and there is a test protocol in the FSM that can be used to reliably test the component. You probably will not need a tensioner.

Again, however, grease filled bearings are a different matter and they should be replaced no matter what. Parts prices vary depending on who the manufacturer of the parts is. You are always safest with the dealer supplied OEM parts because they will fit in your car exactly. In this circumstance though, due to the huge volume of timing replacement parts that are vended for your vehicle, you are probably safe buying a Dayco kit which includes the bearings and belt for roughly $225. The water pump and thermostat cost extra. Be sure to use widely recognized brand names for those parts as well. Indeed, in the case of the thermostat, since it is so critical, I would buy an OEM part from the dealer.

If you would like to have all of this taken care of, YourMechanic will be able to find the correct parts for you, and can perform these repairs (timing belt, water pump, and thermostat), as well as fully diagnose the engine noise for you at your home or office.