Timing Belt & Water Pump Maintenance

[glock56534]

I need to get my timing belt changed soon (2005 V8 2UZ-FE @ 98K miles and about to go on a 4,000 mile road trip) and am weighing my options and had a few questions for y'all:

1. What is a reasonable price I should pay at the dealership to have the full timing belt/water pump/thermostat maintenance done? The prices I have seen people paying are anywhere from $750 to $1,550, which seems like a pretty wide gap and probably includes different things.

2. What are the chances that the dealership will allow me to purchase all of the parts elsewhere (probably one of the kits off of eBay, like this) and have them install all of it?

3. Is it worth it to have it done at the dealership? The reason I ask this is because if there happens to be a small leak in the water pump when they get everything off, then all of the labor associated with replacing the water pump will be covered under my warranty (i.e., all I will have to pay for is the parts). If I get it done at an independent shop, then I lose the possibility of my warranty saving my ass. But, my warranty is only good for another 2,000 miles anyways.

4. If my water pump isn't leaking at all, should I have it replaced while they are in there or just leave the current one in there?

5. Would it be a waste of time/money to change my plugs now? I'm thinking about changing out my spark plugs before the trip, but Toyota doesn't recommend that I change for another 30,000.

6. Is there anything else I should do while the truck is in for service and/or before I go on this trip? I recently changed the oil and oil filter, flushed the brake fluid and coolant, cleaned the MAF sensor, cleaned the throttle body, Seafoamed the crank case/oil/gas, and changed the fluids in my diffs and transfer case.​

Thanks in advance for your help.

 

[Zuke]

4- Yes. Water pumps fail far more often than timing belts.

 

[zerowkul98]

Here's my 2 cents:

1.) CALL AROUND!
I am in the same boat, and have called around to the 3-4 dealerships that are within reasonable driving distance, and i pit them against each other for my business. Be sure to check the dealer website and look at "service specials". Most, if not all, offer 10% off the major services (30k, 60k, 90k and 120k).

2.) I havent heard of a dealership that wont do work just due to your procuring of the parts elsewhere. I ordered ALL of my 90k service's parts from Conicelli's ($110 for the water pump, dealer wanted $180!!) and i plan on going the day b4 the service with the box of OEM parts. That way, if i missed something like a gasket or something, they can get it.

3.) I say YES, but im biased. Ive gotten crap from people in here because i prefer to have the dealership do the maintenance to my 4Runners. I will say this....i might have paid a little more, but i have NEVER had a problem afterwards. Ever.

4.) YES! REPLACE THE WATER PUMP!
It's going to be taken off anyways, so you might as well just put a new one on!

5.) The plugs are not an expensive piece, so I see no reason why you wouldnt want to have the replaced. Im impartial on this one.

6.) This is going to be "overkill", but i NEED this 2003 rig to last a while longer for my wife, so here's my list of all thats planned on being replaced:

Timing belt, 4-runner - 4.7l - 4.7L

Idler pulley, 4-runner - 4.7l - 4.7L

Idler pulley - 4.7 liter - 4.7 liter

Tensioner, 4-runner - 4.7l - 4.7L

Serpentine belt - 4.7 liter - 4.7 liter

Water pump, 4-runner, 8 cylinder

Cooling system, Thermostat, Thermostat, 4-runner, 8 cylinder

Cooling system, Radiator, Upper hose, Upper hose, 4-runner, 8 cylinder

Cooling system, Radiator, Lower hose, Lower hose, 4-runner, 8 cylinder

Gasket - 4.7 liter - 4.7 liter

Pcv valve, 4-runner, 4.7l

GOOD LUCK!

 

[glock56534]

Thanks for your input, guys.

Here's my 2 cents:
1.) CALL AROUND!
I am in the same boat, and have called around to the 3-4 dealerships that are within reasonable driving distance, and i pit them against each other for my business. Be sure to check the dealer website and look at "service specials". Most, if not all, offer 10% off the major services (30k, 60k, 90k and 120k).

What prices have they been quoting you for the full service (everything described in #6)?.

2.) I havent heard of a dealership that wont do work just due to your procuring of the parts elsewhere. I ordered ALL of my 90k service's parts from Conicelli's ($110 for the water pump, dealer wanted $180!!) and i plan on going the day b4 the service with the box of OEM parts. That way, if i missed something like a gasket or something, they can get it.

I have heard that some dealerships won't install parts that you procured elsewhere. I'm going to have to call around to see if my local dealership will do it. The description of the kit that I plan to buy states that it is all Toyota OEM parts, so I don't see why they will have a problem with it.

3.) I say YES, but im biased. Ive gotten crap from people in here because i prefer to have the dealership do the maintenance to my 4Runners. I will say this....i might have paid a little more, but i have NEVER had a problem afterwards. Ever.

I feel the same way, although there are 3 or 4 very reputable Toyota/Lexus shops somewhat close to me. I also know that, in the event something does get screwed up, the dealership is more likely to make things right.

4.) YES! REPLACE THE WATER PUMP!
It's going to be taken off anyways, so you might as well just put a new one on!

I have read some places that a perfectly good water pump might end up being replaced with one that will die out faster.

5.) The plugs are not an expensive piece, so I see no reason why you wouldnt want to have the replaced. Im impartial on this one.

Yeah, I should probably inspect my plugs to see if they need to be replaced.

6.) This is going to be "overkill", but i NEED this 2003 rig to last a while longer for my wife, so here's my list of all thats planned on being replaced:

Timing belt, 4-runner - 4.7l - 4.7L

Idler pulley, 4-runner - 4.7l - 4.7L

Idler pulley - 4.7 liter - 4.7 liter

Tensioner, 4-runner - 4.7l - 4.7L

Serpentine belt - 4.7 liter - 4.7 liter

Water pump, 4-runner, 8 cylinder

Cooling system, Thermostat, Thermostat, 4-runner, 8 cylinder

Cooling system, Radiator, Upper hose, Upper hose, 4-runner, 8 cylinder

Cooling system, Radiator, Lower hose, Lower hose, 4-runner, 8 cylinder

Gasket - 4.7 liter - 4.7 liter

Pcv valve, 4-runner, 4.7l

I planned on doing the same service. It definitely isn't overkill if you're planning on keeping the rig for another 90K-100K miles!

 

[zerowkul98]

What prices have they been quoting you for the full service (everything described in #6)?.

Ive been quoted as much as $1700 (i laughed in the tech's face on that one) and the cheapest I got was $1024, but i think i could talk em down if i tell them i could be a repeat customer, own 2 4Runners and ONLY have Toyota dealerships do my maintenance.

I have heard that some dealerships won't install parts that you procured elsewhere. I'm going to have to call around to see if my local dealership will do it. The description of the kit that I plan to buy states that it is all Toyota OEM parts, so I don't see why they will have a problem with it.

Good point...i'll have to call 1st before i place that order to Conicelli's.

I have read some places that a perfectly good water pump might end up being replaced with one that will die out faster.

Ive also read that graham crackers were invented to make people stop masturbating. Moral: Dont believe everything you read! :banana:

 

[glock56534]

Wow, $1,700 is steep.

About getting the parts elsewhere, my local dealership will install them. However, they can't warrant the parts if they end up failing prematurely (which they will do if I buy the parts from them).

Ive also read that graham crackers were invented to make people stop masturbating. Moral: Dont believe everything you read! :banana:

Haha. That's why I come here for answers. I'm pretty skeptical about things that I read from one questionably reliable source on the internet.

But, for the record, the guy at the dealer told me that its true, but there's no way to tell whether yours will crap out at 100K miles or 200K miles. So, it just matters whether I am willing to roll the dice...

 

[glock56534]

After calling around and pitting the dealerships against eachother, I got a final price ($775) and am going to go with my local dealer to do it all. I think that is a pretty decent price for parts and labor to do the serpentine belt, timing belt, water pump, gasket, thermostat, and coolant flush.

 

[zerowkul98]

That's an AWESOME price!

Wish there was one like that up here in Western Mass.

 

[JB.]

After calling around and pitting the dealerships against eachother, I got a final price ($775) and am going to go with my local dealer to do it all. I think that is a pretty decent price for parts and labor to do the serpentine belt, timing belt, water pump, gasket, thermostat, and coolant flush.

Sounds like you got a good price.

Might as well play it safe and leave a box of graham crackers on the seat when you drop it off.:

 

[glock56534]

Yeah, $775 was THE BEST they could possibly do and it definitely took some calling around and negotiating. The thing that really brought my dealership down was me telling him that an independent Toyota shop (with an unbelievable reputation) was willing to do it all for $662 (that was with 20% off) with all OEM parts.

I'm scheduling an appointment for later on this week, will keep y'all posted on how everything goes.

 

[gwlgis]

FWIW, I just called my 'local' dealer in Puyallup, WA. I'm looking at $961.90 including the waterpump, but if I need the idler, tensioners, Cam and crank seals, I'm looking at $1213.80.

This is for my 97 SR5 V6 4Runner w/ 260K miles!

I'm also getting an oil change (I know, I should do it myself), and after 1 more (5K mile oil change), I get one free. (Maybe after that, I'll start doing my own)

 

[ur7x]

4.) WATER PUMP!
It's going to be taken off anyways, so you might as well just put a new one on!

Really?
Are you sure?
It is not at all necessary to remove the water pump to replace the belt (at least not on the 4.7L V8s).

There is an advantage since you have easy access to it, now is a good time to consider replacement, but there is no mandatory re&re water pump step on a timing belt job.

 

[gwlgis]

FWIW, I just called my 'local' dealer in Puyallup, WA. I'm looking at $961.90 including the waterpump, but if I need the idler, tensioners, Cam and crank seals, I'm looking at $1213.80.

This is for my 97 SR5 V6 4Runner w/ 260K miles!

I'm also getting an oil change (I know, I should do it myself), and after 1 more (5K mile oil change), I get one free. (Maybe after that, I'll start doing my own)

Of course the cam and crankshaft seals were required, and of course they discovered that my power steering, brake and transmission should be flushed. Is "sucker" written across my forehead? :dammit:

 

[blaniac22]

Of course the cam and crankshaft seals were required, and of course they discovered that my power steering, brake and transmission should be flushed. Is "sucker" written across my forehead? :dammit:

Honestly, with 260K miles on it, if you're not sure of the condition or they haven't been changed out, I'd probably spend the extra money anyway. But that's just me....I'm a cheapskate in some areas, and probably throw it away in others. I like to think it balances out.:driving:

 

[chimpy]

I just had the timing belt, water pump, thermostat, tensioner and idler pulley replaced along with the antifreeze flushed/refilled for $650 by my ASE certified mechanic buddy last week. My 4runner has 156000 on it and there was no indication that the timing belt had been changed. I had noticed there was a slight grinding noise coming from the front of the engine and found that the tensioner pulley was going bad so while it was all apart my mechanic and I decided to just go ahead and do all of it. Now for another 156000:bluejump:

 

[gwlgis]

Honestly, with 260K miles on it, if you're not sure of the condition or they haven't been changed out, I'd probably spend the extra money anyway. But that's just me....I'm a cheapskate in some areas, and probably throw it away in others. I like to think it balances out.:driving:

Good point(s). I am more at ease now, and hopefully it won't stall and not start again. (never figured out why that happened.)

Now for another 260K miles!

 

[dbfoerster]

After calling around and pitting the dealerships against eachother, I got a final price ($775) and am going to go with my local dealer to do it all. I think that is a pretty decent price for parts and labor to do the serpentine belt, timing belt, water pump, gasket, thermostat, and coolant flush.

Holy crap that is an awesome price! I live in the Denver area and need to do this job this summer. What dealer did you go to? Any issues with them?


David

 

[dbfoerster]

Any of you do this job yourself? How long did it take? Was it worth it?


David

 

[HOJeepster]

FWIW, I just called my 'local' dealer in Puyallup, WA. I'm looking at $961.90 including the waterpump, but if I need the idler, tensioners, Cam and crank seals, I'm looking at $1213.80.

This is for my 97 SR5 V6 4Runner w/ 260K miles!

I'm also getting an oil change (I know, I should do it myself), and after 1 more (5K mile oil change), I get one free. (Maybe after that, I'll start doing my own)

I was quoted $1400 for Timing Belt/Water pump/etc from Seattle Toyota...fyi I thought that was expensive considering Missoula Toyota quoted me $660

 

[gwlgis]

I was quoted $1400 for Timing Belt/Water pump/etc from Seattle Toyota...fyi I thought that was expensive considering Missoula Toyota quoted me $660

I should have called around and specified, cuz I think they screwed me on the idler and tensioners.
And, I asked them if all my coupons were figured in ($40 off plus 10%) and they said yes, turns out, they were NOT. I called today and was told they'd call me back in the afternoon.

At 6 PM I called them back and was told, "oh, Laurie and Rich didn't get back to you?, I guess they will tomorrow."

I am not pleased. According to my figures, they owe me $40 and about $160 off (10% of the balance).

If they balk, I am going to raise wholly hell, and "Get Jessie Jones" on their arse.

My guess is, they bump up the prices during write up so that the coupon 'takes 10%' off but really, there is no discount.

We'll see what happens.

For now, I'd hold off on going to Puyallup Toyota!

btw, my 'free' rental car was $3 and they tried to yank me into insurance, etc. etc.

Greg