'08 V8 Timing Belt Quote

[GoBucks!]

I have 100K on the 4Runner and emailed the local Burlington dealership for a quote for timing belt service, along with replacement of related parts. Below is their response. Maybe I don't know what I'm talking about, but shouldn't the labor for the timing belt and water pump cover most, if not all, of the labor for the other parts? It certainly shouldn't be 4-5 additional hours, right?

"To have the Timing Belt and Water Pump replaced for your 4 Runner it will cost $850.00 and that price includes parts/labor. The Coolant Flush is $129.95. Here are the parts pricing for the following: Thermostat is $39.39 and the gasket for it is $4.96. The Tensioner is $89.81 and the Serpentine Belt is $97.90. For those we would estimate a 4-5 hour repair and we would charge our hourly flat labor rate of $89.99."

He didn't address the idler/tensioners I also asked to be replaced. Are those typically included in the timing belt/water pump job?

Also, perhaps I can scrap the coolant flush since they'll at least have to partially drain/fill to do the timing belt water pump job?

Thanks!

 

[Bob J]

I have 100K on the 4Runner and emailed the local Burlington dealership for a quote for timing belt service, along with replacement of related parts. Below is their response. Maybe I don't know what I'm talking about, but shouldn't the labor for the timing belt and water pump cover most, if not all, of the labor for the other parts? It certainly shouldn't be 4-5 additional hours, right?

"To have the Timing Belt and Water Pump replaced for your 4 Runner it will cost $850.00 and that price includes parts/labor. The Coolant Flush is $129.95. Here are the parts pricing for the following: Thermostat is $39.39 and the gasket for it is $4.96. The Tensioner is $89.81 and the Serpentine Belt is $97.90. For those we would estimate a 4-5 hour repair and we would charge our hourly flat labor rate of $89.99."

He didn't address the idler/tensioners I also asked to be replaced. Are those typically included in the timing belt/water pump job?

Also, perhaps I can scrap the coolant flush since they'll at least have to partially drain/fill to do the timing belt water pump job?

Thanks!

You are right..... The primary labor for this job is to get access to the timing belt/water pump.... Once you do that everything else is immediately accessible.... Idler/tensioner is simply unbolt the old and bolt the new.... On a bad day you are looking at no more than an additional half hour or so....

 

[470SNC]

That's actually a decent price for the timing belt work, I've seen quotes around 1000-1500, so thats pretty fair considering usually labor is 100 a hour, and it will take 4-5 hours to remove everything to access the timing belt.

 

[GoBucks!]

I called them out and they responded appropriately:

"I apologize for my mistake, you are certainly correct about that. The labor costs for the Timing Belt and Water Pump Replacement would cover most of the labor cost to do the other repairs as well. We would need to add about 1 hour of labor time with the other repairs making your total cost for parts and labor around 1302.00 not including tax."

I'm still thinking I don't really need the coolant flush, so I could bring it all down to $1,173. Does that seem like a "fair" price?

 

[GoBucks!]

Bonus: I just found out I get 15% off of parts and labor at this dealership through my Costco membership!

 

[Bob J]

I called them out and they responded appropriately:

"I apologize for my mistake, you are certainly correct about that. The labor costs for the Timing Belt and Water Pump Replacement would cover most of the labor cost to do the other repairs as well. We would need to add about 1 hour of labor time with the other repairs making your total cost for parts and labor around 1302.00 not including tax."

I'm still thinking I don't really need the coolant flush, so I could bring it all down to $1,173. Does that seem like a "fair" price?

Definitely a fair price.... As has been mentioned in another post, this work is often priced well over that at most dealers.... As for the flush I would agree that the coolant drain down associated with this work will do pretty much the same thing as the flush....

 

[GoBucks!]

Thanks for the help! The only other parts I considered replacing were the cam and crank seals, but from what I've read they fail so infrequently that it isn't worth it at this mileage on this engine. I'll save that for when I'm doing the 200K service.

It's hard to feel good about "only" paying the dealership $1000 for service!

 

[Bob J]

Thanks for the help! The only other parts I considered replacing were the cam and crank seals, but from what I've read they fail so infrequently that it isn't worth it at this mileage on this engine. I'll save that for when I'm doing the 200K service.

It's hard to feel good about "only" paying the dealership $1000 for service!

Definitely know what you mean.... I had the dealer do mine but my son and I ended up doing his in my driveway one weekend.... Total cost for parts was just under $300 or so IIRC but what a royal PIA... The mechanics at the dealer really earn their money on these jobs.....;- )