Advice on Shop Findings

Hello!

I have some work to do on my truck! I took her into the shop last year and had them run an inspection to let me know of maintenance I should expect over the next few years. So far I've replaced the tires, the radiator (it literally exploded) and hoses, the battery, the spark plugs and wires, and two of the freeze plugs. I think the next big things I'd like to do are the upper and lower control arms, the carrier bearing, brake pads and the remaining freeze plugs.

I have found a few guides on how to do the upper and lower control arms, but I'm unsure of what I need to buy. A friend referred me to rockauto and recommended some moog arms. I got this far:
https://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog/toyota,2003,tacoma,3.4l+v6,1418453,suspension,control+arm,10401

The truck is my daily driver and I occasionally go camping and drive around on forest roads. Would moog arms fit that task well, or should I spend a little more and get something stronger? Thoughts? I should probably replace the shocks while I'm in there anyway since they're allegedly bad (Replaced them in 2012).

I've attached page one of the report the shop gave me. I think their prices are a little high, so I'm tackling as much of this as I can.



Edit: April 2019
All of the work has been completed! Spent around $1000 on the parts listed above and splurged another $1200 on the OME kit. Maybe $100 - $200 on tools, but I still came out ahead! Took a full week with both weekends on either end and a ton of work outside of my day job. Pics in my build thread!

 

Oh my god... did I read that right? $750 for the carrier bearing?

I hope that’s a 1.

 

Holy hell, I'm in the wrong business.

First things first, is this shop using Factory Toyota Genuine parts?

I cant fathom a "Fuel System Service" of any kind Costing $150. Or Plugs at $300 unless those include new coils. The 3.4L is seriously one of the easiest V6 engines to change plugs on. $240 for brake hoses.... Hahahahaha

 

It looks like a 7 to me. Needless to say I was happy to see there's a write-up for that one!

 

Sometimes they'll quote me at aftermarket prices, but I always ask them to use genuine toyota for everything so far.

Not even sure what that fuel service is tbh

 

wow, yes, it is. You better do it yourself and you'll save a bunch of $$$. Toyotas are easy to work on, so If you're willing to learn how to do it yourself, you can easily do it.

what? 49 bucks for licence bulbs?!?! It takes under 5 mins and no tools at all to replace...

I think this shop is taking you for a ride.... and/or charging you for nothing on some stuff

Allegedly...yeah.... Did you do some crazy extreme offroading? If no, you most probably didn't bust a shock, like that, out of the blue.

Get under the truck and check if your shocks are leaking. Also, if you push down on the truck, near the shocks, can you feel it lower without any resistance?? if yes, shocks are bad...

 

Some of the bigger jobs I could see the prices... Still steep as hell but reasonable for a very expensive shop.

Some shops have a machine which will "Clean" a return EFI system. More than likely they pour a can of seafoam in the tank and call it a day. I'd love to see how they determine how a car needs a fuel system clean.

 

Based on your username, I imagine you plan on doing the work yourself?

 

Dude find a different mechanic.
1. Lower control arms almost never need replaced, just the bushings.
2. Radiator hoses for $239? Their like $50 for both at Napa. Maybe an hour for install.
3. Carrier bearing for $750? Grab a Spicer bearing for $80 and DIY. 2 hour job if you dont take breaks like me.
4. Most dealers will do an alignment for less than $100. My Toyota dealer does it for $80, one next town over will do it for $65 or $70.
5. $300 for spark plugs!!?? Thats like $20 for plugs and 30 mins of your life.

I would take this list with you to another shop, see what they say.

 

Yeah, I've been learning a ton and it's been fun aside from those damned freeze plugs. So far I've saved $550 on doing the work myself, which is cool. I'm good with a wrench, but want to wait until I find someone who will pull the engine with me to get to those harder to reach freeze plugs.

I did take a heavily eroded trail a few years ago that really worked the suspension and messed with the steering. Which reminds me, I need to work on the intermediate steering shaft as well. Sometimes the steering binds when I'm turning which is a little frightening. Same shop said they "see a lot of play in the lower knuckle" and that they wanted ~$700 ($140 for labor, $500 for the replacement shaft) to fix it. I said no and have been using the truck less while I get a plan together on how to fix all of the things on the list.

When it rains it pours!

 

The carrier bearing is the worse one. I did that job in about half an hour. $750 is just wrong.

 

Yikes. Sounds like I'm on the right path then by doing this on my own!

Not a bad idea on checking out other shops. I've heard its easier to replace the arms instead of dealing with the bushings. Is that not the case? It looks like you need a press to get those suckers out.

 

I had my timing belt and water pump done for 400. 950 seems a bit steep.

 

Bushings shouldn’t be that hard.

 

Burn em out. Replacing bushings versus $1300 for new arms. Easy choice for me.

 

Definitely willing to give the bushings a shot, can anyone recommend a kit/brand?

That shop said the ball joints were bad in the report though. Any way to tell by looking at them? I googled the symptoms, I don't have a clunking noise (that I'm aware of), but they did mention my tires are wearing unevenly. Braking is a pretty awful experience. It's like driving on a dirt road with that washboard effect when I exit the freeway and come to a stop. Shop says that's because the arms have too much lateral movement, but it sounds like replacing the bushing would be the way to go to fix it.

 

Jack up the front and start shaking the wheel. Look if the boots are torn.

 

My priority would be stashing cash for a new daily driver. This one is ready to be retired for a 2nd vehicle/tinker.

Have the cash on the side for the replacemenf car before throwing $$$ into this one.

I’d replace the entire suspension to include lower control arms and buy new tires and align soon.
Your suspension is causing wear issues with the tires which is not good.

I would Dx the oil leak first. Get that fixed. Doesn’t look like they are charging too much for that.

How are all your fluids?

 

RockAuto has decent prices on both upper and lower control arms that come with bushings, which may make it easier to swap out. Moog should be fine. Burning them out and pressing new ones in can be a pain, but is a little bit cheaper. For me, not cheaper enough to make me hassle with it, though. Upper arms don't appear to come with a ball joint, so you'll need those and you can have a shop press them into the arms for probably $20.

When I have a vehicle that gets to this point and needs bushings and struts, I typically just do everything -- control arm bushings/arms, ball joints, tie rod ends, new shocks, sway bar bushings. Get it aligned and it should drive great. Once things get sloppy, it wears everything else. Those parts are cheap, so worth it while you have things torn down.

Carrier bearing isn't hard, SKF or Timken are good choices.

 

You must be new to the 1st gen section....