Timing belt changed today - good deal?

[mtnracer]

Hi all,

Had the timing belt on my 2003 V8 4R changed today. Total package included the following:

Timing belt
Water pump
Crank and cam seals (I think that's what they are called)
Antifreeze

That part was $979

Since the drive belt was due soon as well they changed that too for another $55 (no labor charge).

Including an oil / filter change my total came to $1150 after tax.

What do you guys think about the price?

Thanks.

 

[RamThis]

Sounds fair to me. I was about to spend about 1100-1200 to have basically the exact same thing done to my 96 Integra GSR, but with a new exhaust Y-pipe installed. Never actually had it doen though because of a hail storm that totaled the car, hence the new 4Runner in my driveway lol.

But yeah I think you did allright, sounds fairly average....

 

[03 Limited]

That sounds a bit expensive, how much were the part prices? I normally do all my maintenance things myself and it doesnt look all that difficult to do the 4runner, my Z looks to be harder to do then the 4runner, and i did the one on my Z like several months ago, it is fairly easy task.

It cant be any harder to do then this considering the engine bay of a 4runner is soo much roomier then im used to:

 

[p nut]

That sounds normal. I was quoted the same by my Toyota dealership for my 2002.

Sounds fair to me. I was about to spend about 1100-1200 to have basically the exact same thing done to my 96 Integra GSR, but with a new exhaust Y-pipe installed. Never actually had it doen though because of a hail storm that totaled the car, hence the new 4Runner in my driveway lol.

That sucks that your GSR got totalled. I had a 95 LS and a 98 ITR. I was looking for a GSR for a more gas friendly daily driver (I love and will always love DC's ), but gave up, because they're getting so hard to find. I settled for an RSX-S.

 

[centxrunner]

That sounds normal. I was quoted the same by my Toyota dealership for my 2002.

I've never priced the belt and pump replacement for a 4th gen V8. For my 99 SR5 I paid $600 at my local dealership for time belt,waterpump and accesory belt replacement. That was spring of 06, I don't think prices have doubled in 15 months.

 

[p nut]

I've never priced the belt and pump replacement for a 4th gen V8. For my 99 SR5 I paid $600 at my local dealership for time belt,waterpump and accesory belt replacement. That was spring of 06, I don't think prices have doubled in 15 months.

All the dealerships around me wanted $900 for water pump and timing belt. The OP had some other work done, which brought his total up to $1200.

 

[JP4RNR]

I would think it's a good deal if they included new idler pullies and tensioners

 

[03 Limited]

excuse my ignorance, but what is the interval on the 03 T4R? every 100K? My 4runner did not come with a owners manual.

 

[JP4RNR]

excuse my ignorance, but what is the interval on the 03 T4R? every 100K? My 4runner did not come with a owners manual.

90,000 miles

 

[greasefingers]

This is what I came up with investigating it last year.
Labor is around 5.5 hours at the dealership, but I would think that it would take at a minimum of a full day for a DYI with common tools and a couple trips to the store for tools that you need. It involves removing a butt-load of stuff.

Therefore depending on what you replace and estimating $ 89/hour for labor at a dealer, that would be $ 490+$ parts. This means something over $ 1,000 USD.

The prices for parts below are what I found at Partznet. I feel that the water pump should come from the dealer but not necessarily anything else. I buy most of my parts from Napa for my vehicles. I stay away from autozone, pepboys, advance, etc.

Parts:
Timing belt $ 53
Timing belt tensioner $ 60
Timing belt idler#1 $ 61
Timing betl idler#2 $ 61
Timing cover seal $ 4
Water pump $ 100
Coolant $ 15
Subtotal $ 400 (if you do it yourself minus any pullers or special tools needed)

 

[03 Limited]

90,000 miles

dammit, im due in 27K miles, im not looking forward to it.

 

[greasefingers]

Yea well I got 6k miles to look forward to before I hot 90,000. I am thinking of waiting until I hit at least 100,000 miles. I am sure that on one has ever broken a timing belt before 100k.

 

[Ghostface80]

Yea well I got 6k miles to look forward to before I hot 90,000. I am thinking of waiting until I hit at least 100,000 miles. I am sure that on one has ever broken a timing belt before 100k.

Are you really willing to take that chance? You're going to have to do it in less than a year anyways.


I got 10,400 to go and I'm going to do it 90K on the dot.

 

[03 Limited]

Are you really willing to take that chance? You're going to have to do it in less than a year anyways.


I got 10,400 to go and I'm going to do it 90K on the dot.

Toyata uses 90K as a "recommended interval", it doesnt neccesarily mean the belt will break if you went beyond that, heck i remember my dad drove his Mitsubishi truck 102K miles on his original timing belt that is supposed to be changed out every 60K before he finally decided to change it out. He had the truck till it got to 238K miles, and he only changed the belt once, then traded it in for a new car. Although i do think that doing your maintenance in a timely manner is a good regimen, i doubt it will break before it gets to 100K. Its probably one of those belts, that use kevlar cords which is very durable, unlike the nylon corded belt on my Z.

 

[NCSCOTT]

excuse my ignorance, but what is the interval on the 03 T4R? every 100K? My 4runner did not come with a owners manual.

Just to clarify for anyone reading this thread that might not know. ONLY the V-8 requires a timing belt change. The 4th Gen V-6 has a Timing Chain. It "should" last the life of the engine.

I have seen a 1997 civic go 127k on a timing belt without a problem when they are due at 90k. I would guess Toyota has taken the conservative route with 90k.

 

[JungleJim]

Just to clarify for anyone reading this thread that might not know. ONLY the V-8 requires a timing belt change. The 4th Gen V-6 has a Timing Chain. It "should" last the life of the engine.

Good point about the timing belt vs. the timing chain. But lasting the life of the engine depends on how long you mean by life.
Timing chains can stretch over time. Doesn't Toyota recommend timing chain replacement somewhere around 120,000 miles?

 

[mtnracer]

On the invoice the labor charge is listed as $700. The rest is parts.

I thought about doing it myself but looking at the front of the V8 it looked like a big PITA.

I guess I'm pretty happy with everything and it seems to run a bit more quiet as well.

 

[p nut]

I have seen a 1997 civic go 127k on a timing belt without a problem when they are due at 90k. I would guess Toyota has taken the conservative route with 90k.

Well, it's like my mama used to say, "better to be safe than sorry."

 

[Bouncnb]

Don't take that as the norm. I had a 91 CRX, had it scheduled to get the timing belt changed on a Wed. The timing belt broke on the Sunday before. It sucked. It had 94k on it. Good thing is it gave me an excuse to send it to JGEngine Dynamics.

Ever since then, when it comes to "recommended intervals", I try to stick to them.

 

[RickyCRX]

A couple months ago I had the t-belt, water pump, idler and tensioner pulleys, cam seals, and serpentine belt replaced by a local Toyota/Lexus exclusive shop. The entire cost out-the-door including taxes was $825 and they even threw in a new set of spark plugs for me for no additional labor -- they said just bring them in and they'd install them for me.

They also gave me all of the old parts in a box so that I could look at them. I was surprised how soft and flexible the old timing belt was at that point. I've always had Hondas and when it comes time to replace the belts, they're usually pretty stiff... I think next time around, I will probably go another 100-110k miles before replacing it... Either that or do it at the 6-7 year mark since rubber tends to wear out more due to age than anything in situations like that.

The place that did the work for me was called "The Dealer Alternative" in San Antonio, TX. They are favtory trained Lexus and Toyota techs that broke off from several local dealerships and started their own shop. They were very friendly, quick, and I've had no problems since they did the work.

Ricky