HELP ME What do I do

[adkinsadam1]

For those of you who saw my post on here about two weeks ago asking about the CV joints.... I finally got a list of things that must be handled from the car shop which inspected my car. My car has 250k miles on it. I can't afford this.

What should I do? What would you do? I really appreciate it. I have to let them know what I want today.

HERE (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3t8nVaEn2uU) is a link to the video I uploaded with my last post, a week prior to me dropping my car off at the shop. I included extensive footage of the undercarriage in the second half of the video. Perhaps this may be useful.


Thank you SO MUCH. I really appreciate the input here.

PS- I'm also a bit shocked because this place did a fuel injection service for me in July, and they're saying I need one again. Also, ALL of this stuff was not an issue in July. That is $8000 of new stuff in just a few months. I explained to the technician I spoke with that I felt it was strange and he says he's been a technician for 30 years and you can never predict when things break. They just do. What would you guys do if this were your rig? It's driving fine. Great even. There is some fluid leaking under the car though on the garage floor. ALSO, last time, they said I had an oil leak from the oil pan gasket (I think that's what it is), and they replaced that, and at that time there was no other leaking stuff. It's only been 3 months! I haven't driven the truck an abnormal amount or anything.

 

[adkinsadam1]

I'm also thinking, perhaps I could do something myself? I've never done car repairs before and have no tools. Maybe there's something on here that a novice can do if I bought a few tools? I don't know though.

 

[Brian.]

First, don't post "HELP ME What do I do" as a title. Completely worthless, doesn't give ANY indication as to the Kind of help. Most people will simply skip on by rather than click.... instant fail for you, you've lost the majority of eyes.

Next, get your vehicle out of that shop and get a second opinion.

Finally, learn to do the work yourself. That is the ONLY way you can guarantee the work is actually done. I may be jaded from decades as a mechanic, but the number of Good mechanics I'd trust to work on my stuff can be counted on 1 hand... even if I were missing fingers.

Even if you don't do the work yourself, knowing Exactly what's involved will give you a good idea as to why the cost is so high (lots of labor), or if someone's trying to rip you off (high price for something simple). But if you can't afford to pay someone else, then your only option is to do it yourself.... and that's Exactly where I started as a 20-nothing. Well, I guess you could simply not have the vehicle, or risk more damage (heard the saying "Ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure"? it's true, spending $100 on something that's just starting to fail vs waiting till it fails and needing to spend $1000).

 

[Bassturd]

Looking at the work order there’s a lot of suggested items there. When was the last time timing was done? As far as the control arm bushings go you can shake the front end down in your driveway and see for yourself how bad they really are or just peek under there and look at the rubber. Is it cracked, chunks missing, or even gone? Brakes are easy peazy the hard part is probably the flex line as it requires a bleed for the hydraulic system. All the flushes and fluid changes are suggested in my mind. Why do you only have until tonight to let them know? That’s a lot of money they are asking for and time is required to figure out a game plan! I would definitely take it to another reputable shop and get a second opinion or even take it to the dealer and see what kind of a work order they present. Working on your own car is fun and satisfying and can save you an insane amount of money but can be difficult at times. YouTube is a great place to get information Timmy the Toyota Toolman man on this forum is awesome and great resource for information! Good luck to you!!

 

[jgue467]

You need to decide which of those items are Must haves and Nice to haves.

Be prepared with the Must have list and find another mechanic you trust. None of those items are complex, just need experience know how and related tools/parts. A really good shade tree mechanic can do it, got any friends like that? You could learn from them to save even more down the road.

So tell us How the vehicle runs or what are the symptoms to help with the Must have list.

But I would have to say it most likely does not need all those items, they're piling it on and taking you for a dummy.

 

[adkinsadam1]

As far as the control arm bushings go you can shake the front end down in your driveway and see for yourself how bad they really are or just peek under there and look at the rubber. Is it cracked, chunks missing, or even gone?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=191&v=3t8nVaEn2uU&feature=youtu.be

I've linked the time stamp where I THINK you can see the control arm bushings. IDK for sure if you can, but give it a click and see. Should be right in your face. I don't have much experience evaluating them visually.

 

[Devbot]

Yet another case where someone takes their car in for very simple work and are desperately being sold thousands in "immediate" repairs - sounds like a classic scam to me. You can only trust mechanics as far as you can throw them. Toyota themselves adamantly told me valve cover gaskets are an $800 job - who would you believe?
If you're truck is REALLY in need of all these things, do them yourself (or at least what you can/are able to) and watch the bill be cut to a fraction of what it is. Bear in mind mechanic's almost always charge $100/hr or more.

 

[adkinsadam1]

As far as the control arm bushings go you can shake the front end down in your driveway and see for yourself how bad they really are or just peek under there and look at the rubber. Is it cracked, chunks missing, or even gone?

One thing I'll say about the control arm bushings, as far as a potential symptom... my tires have, for the past year, been wearing out on the outside and not the inside, despite frequent rotations. It got so bad that I had to replace the tires several months ago, and I got an alignment along with that replacement to ensure these would wear evenly. Well, fast forward a few months and I'm seeing the same wearing on the outside of these new tires! My guess is that the alignment isn't holding in place or something. Is that control arm related?

Thank you so much

 

[Bad Luck]

I'm also thinking, perhaps I could do something myself? I've never done car repairs before and have no tools. Maybe there's something on here that a novice can do if I bought a few tools? I don't know though.

Let me preface this with saying I'm a GM technician. Therefore I have all the tools, knowledge, and a shop/lift to do all my own maintenance on my vehicles.

With that being said I would take it to another shop to get another quote. They have a few optional things that would be a good idea to do, but are not critical such as the brake fluid flush and fuel injector service. If you had a fuel injector service in the last 30k miles then there is no point in getting another one.

A lot of the work they recommend has been documented by mtbtim on his youtube channel. You can find links on this thread to specific jobs: 3rd Gen T4R DIY Maintenance, Repair and Modification Videos I don't know how mechanically inclined you are but take a look at the videos relevant to the repairs before attempting anything.

In order to tell you if the mechanic is blowing smoke or there are legit problems we're going to need pictures of the timing belt, valve covers, radiator hoses, radiator, and the leaks. It's extremely unlikely that all of that suddenly became an issue since July. It's more likely that the mechanic in July missed those things/decided they weren't worth doing yet OR this mechanic is trying to sell you on things that don't necessarily need to be done yet.

With the very basics of tools you should be able to change your transfer case/front diff/rear diff fluids all on your own and that will save you a lot of money. I personally avoid all BG products like the plague. Also, it should be 75w90 fluid for the front diff and transfer case and 80w90 for the rear differential.

 

[adkinsadam1]

But I would have to say it most likely does not need all those items, they're piling it on and taking you for a dummy.

That's what I'm worried about, but I don't have the experience necessary to tell what is a must and what isn't. I was hoping some guys on here might be able to take a gander at the list and give me some advice on that regard.

I know the CV boot has been leaking, and so that needs to be done I'm pretty sure. And they said they can't replace just the boot, they HAVE to do the whole axle.

Brakes - I don't feel like they're ripping me off on that one; brakes wear out and need to be replaced. The vibrations I feel while braking are pretty severe, so I guess that one's a must.

Power steering - it's been leaking pretty bad, all over the garage. I think that's a must.

Radiator hose - a leak of coolant was noted there and I will say that my coolant reservoir has been empty every time I check it, and I'd say I do every 2 weeks. I fill it up with coolant but then in two weeks' time it's empty again. I can't discern a leak underneath the vehicle of coolant so maybe it's just leaking slowly and evaporating.... but I feel like if I'm losing most of my coolant from the radiator hose then I should probably consider that a must. But, there's also supposedly coolant leaking from the front crank case/timing belt area, and idk if that's where I'm losing most of the coolant or not.

I really don't know much about the leaks surrounding the engine more specifically. Is it a situation where a car with 250k+ miles is going to have leaks? Is that just a fact of the matter?

 

[adkinsadam1]

All these fluids... $150 each? Is that normal? Or $350 for an alignment?

 

[the_welfare_wagon]

All these fluids... $150 each? Is that normal? Or $350 for an alignment?

I know you said your not mechanically inclined but doing all the fluids myself cost me like 90 bucks for eveything. Not hard to do on these cars. Just drain until empty then fill until it comes out the fill hole.

And 350 for an alignment is literal robbery. 90-100 bucks max. The only adjustments are up front so it's basically only half the work of a normal alignment

Sent from my SM-G781U using Tapatalk

 

[T4topher]

Hard to tell what the squeak is.. As stated above check out Timmy the toolman on YouTube (aka mtbtim on here). He most likely has a step by step video on every item you need done. Time to get dirty, you might not think your mechanical but anyone can learn literally anything if they try and want it. By the time you buy the tools and genuine Toyota parts (best maintenance parts you can buy pretty much) you will still save a ton of $. Mcgeorge toyota parts has decently fast shipping and decent prices for most parts. If you did everything on their list yourself (probably don’t need 60% of the stuff they list) it would probably cost roughly 1300 in parts. Highly recommend doing the LBJ’s when you do the cv’s, very well known failure point on these trucks.

 

[SurferUK]

What on earth is a fuel injector 'service' (As opposed to full on refurbishment)? I have never heard of such a thing even on diesels.

 

[IsacFignewton]

Yet another case where someone takes their car in for very simple work and are desperately being sold thousands in "immediate" repairs - sounds like a classic scam to me. You can only trust mechanics as far as you can throw them. Toyota themselves adamantly told me valve cover gaskets are an $800 job - who would you believe?
If you're truck is REALLY in need of all these things, do them yourself (or at least what you can/are able to) and watch the bill be cut to a fraction of what it is. Bear in mind mechanic's almost always charge $100/hr or more.

Agreed 100%. Years ago I had an fd rx7 and left it at my parents house while I was on deplyment. I asked them to start it up every week and let it come up to temp. well anyway about three months into deplyment I talk to my parents and they say my car has developed a lumpy idle, so they took it to the mazda dealership. Guess what the dealership tells my parents? Sorry to have to tell you this but your car needs a new engine. Long story short I get back and find a disconnected vacuum line... The only time I ever take my vehicles in to the dealership is for recalls or warrenty coverages, and I still inspect everything they touched.

If you buy an older vehicle toyota or not you should have basic knowledge of how to do preventative maintenance at least. otherwise mechanics will take advantage of you.

 

[JustTroItIn]

Go to Harbor Freight and buy a metric tool set. As for the quote, I think this shop is ripping you off.

Lower Control Arm Bushings - You very well may need these. Watch a youtube. If you're not comfortable changing the bushings you can spend the money on new lower control arms (recommend OEM but you can always gamble on aftermarket and they just won't last as long).

Windshield Replacement - I'm cheap and drive with cracked windshields all the time but if it's really bad your insurance should cover this less deductable.

Wiper Blades & Brake Light Bulbs - Do them yourself.

Fluids - Watch a youtube and do it yourself. They are all very easy. Make sure to loosen the fill plug first so you know it's not seized before draining.

Radiator Hose - Easy. Do it yourself.

Fuel injection cleaning service - they are scamming you.

Timing Belt & Waterpump - This very well may need to be done. Especially if your water pump is already leaking. With your experience I wouldn't tackle this yourself. Find a shop.

Spark Plugs/Wires - If the truck is running fine push this off then do it yourself when you can afford it. Very easy job.

Valve Cover Gasket - Live with it and just keep an eye on the oil. Fix it when you have the scratch or just keep an eye on your oil level.

Brakes - Easy job. Watch a youtube and do it yourself.

Tire Rotation - Do it yourself

CV Axel assembly - Watch a youtube. See if you are comfortable tackling this job. If not, find a shop.

Power Steering Pump - I would live with it and keep it topped up until you have the extra scratch to properly repair.

Alignment - Don't do this until you have done all the work on the front end you plan to do. Take it to a Toyota dealer to do the actual alignment. They usually have deals for around $100.

Good luck.

 

[Bassturd]

The guy is trying to charge you over $1000 for those bushings they are probably bad at 250k miles but for my 4th gen I can get 2 new LCA’s at $300 a piece from the SLC dealership and spend a Saturday morning changing them out and getting a local alignment for $150. Anyone can be mechanical and do a lot of stuff on their own with the most basic of hand tools you just need to do your research and be brave!

 

[RandyBobandy]

Those prices are just insane, drive out to Pennsylvania for a few days with all your parts and I’ll show you how to do that stuff and you’ll probably be ahead 6k

 

[Endlessblockades]

A leaking CV boot used to freak me out a bit when I was unfamiliar with anything but a solid front axle, but it is by no means a "MUST DO!" You can drive it until there is zero grease left and then drive it some more. You're going to replace it eventually anyway, your boot is cracked. MUST DO things are lower ball joints and radiators.

Don't stress out - your truck is still running good. Start by getting a simple set of metric sockets and a ratchet and gently see if your valve cover bolts are snug. These can leak a lot and give unscrupulous mechanics an excuse to tell owners the sky is falling.

Have a look at the maintenance and repair thread here on T4R and Timmy the Toolman's videos when you pinpoint something you want to learn more about or repair yourself. It's gonna be OK. It's a Toyota.

 

[Romeo1]

You need more redneck friends bud…….

I guess the question here is do you want to learn how to do these things or not? You can literally YouTube how to do practically any of this stuff anymore. A lot easier than it used to be back in the day. Even a 25$ Haynes manual is a pretty solid resource. $500-$1000 pretty much let you on all the tools necessary to complete everything you’re talking about.

CVs are a 20 minute job, you probably spent more time making your video then the changing it out would’ve taken.

Joke back when I used to be a tech was we all became mechanics because we couldn’t afford to pay people to do the work for us…….

Seems like your options are FIO (figure it out)or get out go play the shop game. I don’t mean to come across as a hard ass here, but the only person stopping you is you at this point.

None of us were born knowing any of this happy stuff. Yeah sure, I did learn some things in tech school but 95% of my ability has been through experience, sometimes the hard way.

Get you some jack stands, a basic tool kit, a Breaker bar, a hammer and a pry bar. Those things alone cover 98% of all that is needed for most repairs.

Timmy the tool man has created the video bible of 3rd gen 4runner. Literally almost everything a guy needs to know to repair one of these rigs is on his videos, tools and specs included. Fo free… Thanks Timmy, you da man!

Git er’ done.