Originally Posted by
MontuckyFried
It's mostly preference. They're pretty much exactly the same functionally. I wanted the Toughbook because my uninsulated garage gets hot as balls most the year but of course chilly in the winter, and I know that laptop is built for extreme conditions. It's what we used in the military and if it's good enough for desert duty, it's good enough for my use. Haha. If you won't be working in 120+ degree heat like I usually get stuck doing, then you'll be fine with the cheapest one available. That guy guarantees them all either way.
Having done two of them now, I'm pretty familiar and know all the tricks, BUT the job's no joke and requires some special tools like this camshaft locking tool, VVT seal installation tool, etc. You can absolutely do it, but no shame in having a shop do it either if you don't feel comfortable with the possibility of screwing things up. But make sure it's a shop who REALLY knows the platform. Do NOT leave it to Joe Blow shadetree guy.
That all said, I felt the S60 (P3 platform) timing belt was WAY easier than the same motor on my C30 (P1). Tons more room to work with on the belt side. Still a pretty big job, though. Especially with all the odds and ends of "while you're in there" bits, ie water pump, all new hoses, misc. seals, etc. Perhaps I went overboard but I did EVERYTHING I could while I was in there since while I had it torn down to that level, all those things are much easier to get to AND makes for only 1 trip diving in there for the next 100K or so. YMMV.