California Isuzu Car Dealers

Speaking from experience, don't ever put off changing your timing belt when the time comes. Last year, my '90 Toyota Corolla died on the freeway when the second timing belt gave out at 123k miles (just 3k miles past when I should have changed it). I never could find a straight answer on whether the 1.8L engine was an "interference" engine or not, but the bottom line was that I had to get a valve job that cost me over a grand to repair. The poor car never ran the same after the valve job (silver lining--it forced me into the new car market--I ended up leasing an Audi A4--great car). I would recommend changing the water pump at the same time for no other reason than it will save you money. From what I remember, the part itself is only about $20--the rest of the price tag for replacing the water pump is labor. Since the mechanic has already done the same labor taking apart the engine to get at the timing belt, it makes sense to replace the water pump at the same time (even if the pump is working just fine). Trust me, you will pull your hair out if you have to pay for the labor in replacing the water pump a couple of months later... From what I've seen on the internet, I believe both the 3.2L and 3.5L are not interference engines. But why risk a total breakdown when you least expect it? Just my .02 cents