Should I spend $1300 or not? Opinions please!

[Nachtjager]

Got my '99 4Runner a couple weeks back - love it. Original owner truck, 120,000 miles, lady did nothing but an alternator about a year ago and VERY occasional oil changes, but it runs good, been using it daily. Just put some 31" AT tires on it (15" rims for now) and planning on other mods, but wanted to get some preventative stuff done to ensure the truck lives a long life as I plan on keeping this one. It is the 3400 V6, not the four cylinder.

Bought a B&M trans cooler last week, took the truck to my local mechanic shop with my laundry list of "wants" and was told this morning it would cost $1300 to do what I wanted. Question to you guys, is this price out of line for what's being done? I don't have the tools or time anymore for diving into the engine, so doing most of this myself isn't an option, but here's what I'd be getting for the money.

New timing belt and water pump.
Installation of the trans cooler.
New valve cover gaskets (they both leak and definitely need replacing).
New plugs and plug wires.
Cleaning out the fuel injectors.
Basic lube job all around.

I figured with that basis, I could at least sleep easier that the engine and mechanics would be in good order for a long time so I could concentrate on other things. Is $1300 out of line for that much work or am I over-reacting and doing too much? As I said, the truck runs good, but I'm certain it still has its original plugs, wires, timing belt, and virtually everything else - just want to give this thing coast-to-coast reliability without having to worry about much. :wave:

 

[4x4runner2002]

that seems like a reasonable price to me.
ive heard that much for just the timing belt and water pump because its so labor intensive. Now it would be high for just those two but your getting other stuff too.

 

[MONTYMTB]

If that quote includes the parts I would definitely say it's reasonable.

 

[Nachtjager]

Yep, that's parts included, and I've known these guys for years - they do great work and they've worked on my cars for the last half dozen years. Already have the trans cooler, bought it off Amazon. They did say if there were any "extra" charges they would probably be minimal and be due to having to buy anything they needed to install the cooler.

 

[downpour11]

x3 - if you really want to know for sure, look up the cost of all parts (i.e. timing belt kit, trans cooler, valve cover gasket & necessary parts, plugs, wires) and factor in a $90 an hour labor rate. For all that, including parts, I'd say it's pretty reasonable.

 

[jacob7071]

When I bought my B&M cooler, I discovered they didn't include enough transmission hose to run it from the tranny to the cooler (mounted in front of the radiator) and back to the tranny. Also, I believe they include 5/8" hose, which can be tight getting it on the transmission lines. I purchased about 8 feet or so of 3/4" transmission hose.

If the shop needs to use additional hose, make sure they use transmission hose and not fuel hose. Transmission hose can handle the higher fluid temperatures.

But like others have said, that quote doesn't look too high.

 

[02_SE_Runner]

Based off shop labor and parts I would say that is about a right quote, but I personally would do all the work on my truck myself if possible.

 

[BigSlim]

That sounds like a fair price. All of that being done will most definitely give you some peace of mind, and many more miles of dependability.

 

[jreask]

Like SE Runner said, you should do those items yourself. You'll get to know your truck in the meantime. If you aren't capable, that pricing looks reasonable to me. Theses trucks are good vehicles to learn on because most everything is easily accessible and easy to work on. Lots of room in the engine compartment compared to the newer SUV's. Perhaps a compression test is in order especially since the oil changes were infrequent? I'd hate to see you spend $1300 if the motor is in poor condition. Of course I think the 3.4L would probably last a long time even if the oil isn't changed according to schedule.

 

[blueblur1984]

I think some of it depends on how handy you are. If you're comfortable with working on your truck, a lot of what needs to be done is fairly easy. My 4runner was very similar to yours when I picked it up...120k miles, v6, 4x4 and in need of a lot of love. Here's a list of what I've done over the last month and ballpark what materials cost me:

Changed the transmission fluid
Changed front and rear diff fluid (needed to buy special sockets for this)
Changed oil and filter
Changed plugs and wires (not too difficult if you move some vacuum tubing)
Changed front brake pads and rotors
Replaced air filter (had a ghetto rigged cold air...fixed it up ok)
Sea Foamed intake (do this first as it can foul your plugs)
Put some fuel injector cleaner in
Pulled, sanded and painted skid plates with rubberized undercoating
Replaced the accessory belts (harder than they made it sound but doable)


Total cost was around $500-600 in fluids, parts and tools

I had to pay a mechanic to do my rear brakes and axle seal for $450 :violin:

See if your mechanic will split the difference. The fluids, plugs and front brakes are all really easy projects. If you need to have the timing belt done I would just have them include the accessory belts at the same time...not much more money and saves the headache. For some reason the idgit that owned my 4runner before me paid to have the timing belt done but not the accessory belts.

As far as the leaky valve cover and fuel injectors go, try sea foaming, fuel injector cleaner and slick50 high mileage first. I did these three and seem to have pretty good results from it. The idle is smoother and the valve cover gasket only leaks at high rpms now. Make sure to clean the engine cavity up so you can gauge how bad the leak is before and after the work you do. All said and done it was worth the work and now I'm getting a smidge over 20 mpg. arty:

Edit:

BTW here are the write ups I used to help me muddle through the tune up

http://www.4runners.org/writeups/sparkplugs/

http://www.4runners.org/writeups/difftsf/index.html

http://www.yotatech.com/f2/how-change-drive-belts-3-4-l-5vz-fe-216234/

and this one I recommend if you have dust vents like I did...actually that's a bit of an understatement. There was a bird nest in there >_<

http://www.4runners.org/writeups/fan/index.html

 

[SamSter0077]

Got my '99 4Runner a couple weeks back - love it. Original owner truck, 120,000 miles, lady did nothing but an alternator about a year ago and VERY occasional oil changes, but it runs good, been using it daily. Just put some 31" AT tires on it (15" rims for now) and planning on other mods, but wanted to get some preventative stuff done to ensure the truck lives a long life as I plan on keeping this one. It is the 3400 V6, not the four cylinder.

Bought a B&M trans cooler last week, took the truck to my local mechanic shop with my laundry list of "wants" and was told this morning it would cost $1300 to do what I wanted. Question to you guys, is this price out of line for what's being done? I don't have the tools or time anymore for diving into the engine, so doing most of this myself isn't an option, but here's what I'd be getting for the money.

New timing belt and water pump.
Installation of the trans cooler.
New valve cover gaskets (they both leak and definitely need replacing).
New plugs and plug wires.
Cleaning out the fuel injectors.
Basic lube job all around.

I figured with that basis, I could at least sleep easier that the engine and mechanics would be in good order for a long time so I could concentrate on other things. Is $1300 out of line for that much work or am I over-reacting and doing too much? As I said, the truck runs good, but I'm certain it still has its original plugs, wires, timing belt, and virtually everything else - just want to give this thing coast-to-coast reliability without having to worry about much. :wave:

1. I would also look at changing the lower ball joints if they haven't been.
2. Do the Cam plugs too when you do the valve cover gaskets!
3. If you are going to do the timing belt/water pump anyways.. change those two pulleys too!! (should be part of the kit..)

I had my Bearing on my AC Clutch seize up and destroy the compressor about a year after I bought it (97 w132k miles). It gave me lots of warning, made tons of noise (grinding/Screeching when A/C on).. even shredded several belts and like a dummy.. I just replaced the belt and moved on. Catch it early, and you just change the Bearing.. wait and it will destroy the shaft a replacement bearing would fit onto..

hope it helps, price seems legit if it includes all parts, fluid, labor..

 

[Nachtjager]

Thanks for all the advice - this is a great forum! Actually used to be a mechanic myself years ago, but that was twenty years ago when everything wasn't metric and carbs were still the norm! Biggest problem for doing any of this myself is simply time and lack of the right tools. Between work and kids' functions, there are NO weekends available for serious mechanic work.

I did already change the oil and filters myself, and I will say that oil filter is in a rotten place to get to! Other than light maintenance, I just don't have the time or tools to do heavy work myself.

The ball joints, springs, shocks, and everything under the truck looks and seems to be in excellent condition - doesn't look like it's ever been off-road before, original owner was a lady school teacher, looks like she just used it as a soccer mom vehicle.

And you guys are right, the valve cover leaks appear to only be happening while the truck's running down the road, there's old oil caked underneath in streaks behind the covers and the drippy stuff is everywhere down there. Bugs me that you can smell it a bit when driving. Yet, parked in the garage, it's only left two tiny spots on the concrete, so it's not leaking when it's not running.

Will go ahead and put it in the shop next week. Once all that's done, then I can start doing the fun stuff - planning on brush guard up front, light bar up top, moderate lift kit, bigger wheels and tires, roof basket carrier - the typical stuff. Truck's black, so just looking to make it look like a tough old beast and still be able to use it for getting around town - or mushing through a few muddy roads - we have a LOT of those down here in Louisiana!

Again, thanks to all, this is a fantastic place to learn. :wave:

 

[tek9]

try to find out if they're using OEM parts. non-OEM gaskets etc tend to be worse quality.