Q: My car has an oil leak, and might need a new timing belt and new water pump

asked by on May 13, 2016

My car has an oil leak, and I can't find where it's coming from. It looks like it's coming from the oil pan, but it could also be a leaky oil seal. I took the top of the timing cover off, but it looked clean. Also, the owner's manual says that I should replace the timing belt (based on mileage; the car has about 87,000 miles), but I am afraid of that doing that. The tech at the auto parts store said I should I replace the water pump as well but that seems very expensive. So, how do I find the source of this oil leak? And once I do, I will change the oil; is it okay to switch to synthetic oil if the car has always used regular oil? Lastly, do I really need to replace the timing belt and water pump?

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