Hi,

I am getting a quote of $2500 (includes tax) for the following on a 1995 ES300 with 155,000 miles:

-new radiator and hoses
-new timing belt, tensioners, covers, gaskets, hoses, serpentine belt, cam seal, crank seal
-new water pump
-new valve cover gasket, plenum gasket, valve
-new front drive axle

This includes parts and labor. I am also getting a quote for $400 to install a new harmonic balancer assembly (the existing one is blistering out and nearly hitting the timing belt).

I would hope that this service would extend the life of my car to 200,000 miles (I drive 10,000 miles per year).

Are these quotes reasonable?

Thanks,
HB

 

HOLY CRAP! I can do all that in a day in my garage......Wait, I have done it all in my garage, lol. I did a T-Belt, water pump, seals last week in the cold. Was not fun!

Everything there is under $1k in parts. So your paying around $1500 labor. Radiator/Hoses, T-Belt, Water pump, and the rest listed, valve cover gaskets, are all normally an easy job. The axle can be a pain.

For the valve cover's, I recommend also replacing the spark plug tube grommets and the 16 crush washers ont he valve cover bolts, since it;s all going to be apart already.

 

Thanks ASG. The quote is from Craig's Autometrics in Rochester, NY. Your estimate for the parts matches theirs, and your guess on the labor also matches theirs. So, I guess their labor costs are high!

 

Is this qoute from a shop that will guarantee the work? For how long? The only thing that stands out as odd is. $400 to install the harmonic balancer. ??? If they do the timming belt and crank seal, they will have to remove and install the harmonic balancer. It sounds like they are double charging that one. I would think that they should just charge for the balancer and do the installation for free when the do the other work.

 

Yes, they guarantee the work for one year.

The $400 charge for the harmonic balancer includes the assembly that holds the balancer (or maybe I don't understand what the mechanic was telling me).

 

Do you have a breakdown of the bill and prices for everything that you can post?

 

Other than the balancer, I do not see any issue.

Perhaps the balancer has already damaged the timing cover, and that is part of the $400. Otherwise that part is excessive. You may want to get that clarified, because when you replace the timing belt, one of the first steps is removing the harmonic balancer. So installing a new balancer when changing a timing belt is just a matter of putting a different balancer back on when you re-assemble it.

 

I can't get the balancer done at the same time as the rest of the work. So, I am incurring duplicate labor to take things apart. This is not the fault of the shop, of course. It has more to do with timing of getting parts in and when I need the car. Yes, the balancer has damaged the timing cover.

 

Replace radiator and hoses:
radiator $249
upper radiator hose $25.01
radiator hose $23.65
labor $267

Replace timing belt, etc.
cover gasket $13.11
lower timing belt cover $50.15
cover gasket $13.11
pulley $73.22
belt tensioner pulley $58.80
belt tensioner $88.94
intake hose $80.80
continental serp belt $25.20
belt $25.20
cam seal $12
crank seal $10.74
water pump $115.25
antifreez $24.74
hose clamps $6.00
steering fluid $3.95
timing belt $57.20
labor $462.80

Replace valve cover gaskets and degrease area:
valve cover gasket kit $57.10
upper plenum gasket $15.46
PCV valve $20.35
labor $338.20

Replace right front drive shaft assembly:
drive axle $141.35
labor $178

 

WOW! Ok, those prices are way too high for my liking......Some of the OEM from the dealer parts are cheaper.....The PCV Valve is under $10 from the dealer I think.
And $88 for the timing belt tensioner? Sheesh. I think the dealer is under $65.

$267 labor to change the radiator? The coolant will already be drained when changing the water pump. So It;s just a 1h job to replace the radiator at that point.

 

first impression first post, that price is like 400 dollars off.

i read more, and i see i am not wrong. i am pretty right.

if you really have good experiences there compared to other places, what can you do, but pay for the quality? if you don't care, then definetely get another place's quote [like a toyota dealer and a lexus dealer OR a guy who specializes in lexuses or foreign cars]

i am personally curious to how you have all that work to do on the car all at once / what you use the car for that it would jumble up like that

I think asg and I could knock your car out [working together] in about 3 hours flat and we would charge you for good parts but CHEAPER from places like rockauto [not horrible quality parts like ebay sometimes has or the cheap part vs the quality part at parts stores like autozone]. you should really have us do it we will charge you less labor total,while you know we know what we're doing. he can do the axle though, ill do the timing belt stuff . lol anyway, good luck


wow i could be on here all day, but let me just add some things i dont like:
hose clamps $6.00
belt tensioner $88.94 ==== this is hopefully the "hydraulic tensioner"
pulley $73.22 =======this is hopefully the harmonic balancer/crankpulley
radiator $249 ===WOW way over charged
upper plenum gasket $15.46 === doesn't need to be changed, its steel, reusable but you might not have any choice if they demand it, but remind them that you found that out
pcv valve == are you for serious, that's pricey, i hope they're going to change the hoses and grommet for it as well
continental serp belt $25.20 == you shouldn't just do one of the accessory belts, you should do both.

the list is missing the timing belt pulleys[I am not referring to the cam sprockets]
and
the Thermostat [make sure its the OEM style!!]


intake hose $80.80 == what happened, cracked?
make sure they change the hose for the pcv that goes from the intake hose to the valve cover while they're in there. well make sure, as in, if you can afford it and also the factory part is shaped a certain way so the factory parts price is the real thing. if its not leaking , then i wouldn't prioritize it high.

if the fuel filter has never been changed, you should do it now, too. same goes for the trans fluid / filter [pan drop job, NOT flush].

steering fluid -- is that for any that leaks out the side of the transmission while removing the axle? or is that for changing the power steering fluid? if for the power steering, that can't be right. so, now would be smart time to do the power steering fluid too since you're essentially getting all this stuff done.

the axle better be BRAND NEW PART with a LONG WARRANTY like Lifetime! you don't want the headaches of it vibrating [or premature fail] from being cheapo . remember a lot of the part prices have been inflated by the shop. you can get a top quality OEM or Raxles.com p/s axle for less than that, and the shop wouldn't mind since both are such excellent quality sources.

 

^ HAHA! If it was not for the fact he's in upstate NY it would have been a fairly easy day job for both of us to knock out together, make $, and still save him a lot using OEM Factory parts.

 

...and I would have thrown in the beer.... (thanks for all the help)

 

By the way, not to get off on a tangent, but I asked the shop to figure out why my exhaust seems to have gotten a bit louder over the years. I suspected a pinhole or so. They looked and said that the flange area is corroded. I'm not exactly sure what they meant, but I was figuring that there is a flange on the exhaust assembly that mates with a matching flange on the body and that there must be corrosion that has eaten into the exhaust. Anyway, they said that I'd have to change everything behind the catalytic converter. Do they mean I need this part:
http://www.theautopartsshop.com/Sear...nd+PartDetails

Is there is "good" brand for this part? What should the labor cost be to install the part?

 

I'd almost say go to the dealer and ask for a quote for the hell of it. It may end up being almost the same, plus you;d get OEM parts. Any car friends there you have that know car repair?