Timing belt/ water pump replacement quote

Local shop quoted me $1925 for the timing belt and water pump on my 2003 Tacoma. This isn’t a dealership, but a local shop that does good work. Have the cost of these gone up that much? I was expecting $1000-12000 at the most. Should I get a quote from a different shop or does that sound about right? The good thing is they offer a warranty for 12 months on everything they do and it’s legit. They put in a new power steering pump for me in March and it was still
Leaking power steering fluid, turned out to be the crush washers needed replacing and they covered everything under their warranty. I didn’t pay anything.

 

Labor rates have gone up. Parts have gone up. Everything has gone up except my paycheck

sidenote: mitsuboshi is the brand of the timing timing belt, sounds like some knock-off but indeed factory OE

 

You can get a box of aluminum and copper crush washers at Harbor Freight for a few dollars, I keep them in my toolbox because the dealer never seems to have them or they are special order. Everything has gotten more expensive, the liability insurance "only" went up 75% in the last 3 years. Health insurance premiums etc etc. So, looking at $1900 seems like alot until you look at what the guys that are doing the job have to pay. Ill bet there is some wiggle room in that quote.

There is a horror story on this forum where the truck was taken to a shop that had a good reputation to do a timing belt replace and they made a mistake, cost the guy a motor.

 

Post the itemized estimate so we can see whats on there

Things like hydraulic tensioner, cam seals, etc will affect the price

Some shops are quoting bare-bones timing belt jobs, other shops wanna do more stuff while they're in there

 

When I pick my truck up this afternoon or tomorrow I’ll get them to print out an itemized quote for me and I’ll pass along what it says. He just quoted me over the phone when I asked him yesterday when I dropped off my truck.

 

Excellant call, if this is just a belt and water pump that is one thing, if the seals are weepy and they were replaced that is another.

 

Agreed... just spent 15 minutes with a file and a straight edge "massaging" the front and rear diff covers on my buddies Dodge diesel. The last shop hammered a screwdriver between the machined surface on the housing and cover and left some raised material on the covers, no wonder they leak. The written quote says that they replaced the cover gaskets and I showed him where they just used grey RTV over the rear paper gasket and no gasket on the front. In a kind of defense of the shop there are multiple gaskets for this depending on appplication and Ill bet they got the wrong gaskets and to ship the job they did what they did. This job is 2 years old so there is no go backs

 

Assuming you're not physically handicapped, I think its time to start DIY-ing your vehicle repairs OP.

At today's shop rates, its about the only way 20+ year old vehicles make financial sense to own and drive.

 

I do about 80% of my own maintenance to it but some stuff is beyond my capabilities and don’t have the right tools or proper space to do them. Like I recently changed out the radiator, thermostat, and I do my own oil changes and flushes. The power steering pump and timing belt is a bit above my capabilities though so I know I’m going to have to bite the bullet.

 

I got a quote recently from my local shop in upstate NY for $1k new TB and WP all in. They do good work. I also tried Toyota dealer for a quote and was $1600 for the same. The quote you got sounds high. I'd shop around.

 

Like so many things, get 3 different detailed quotes from 3 different shops before pulling the trigger.

My go to shop is 25 miles away. Worth every minute and mile.

 

After just doing this job recently, I'd say if they are replacing all the seals, belts, tensioneer etc etc, that sounds about right. I can tell you one thing for sure, my water pump I took off was the original (270k), and it was on there so long the area of the block behind the water pump was so pitted (and yes it's only had the proper fluid and changed regularly) it took me an extra weekend of prepping that surface and also applying permatex along with the supplied metal/rubber gasket so it wouldn't leak, I started wondering if it would have been worth it to pay someone. That being said, I just don't trust anyone to work on my vehicle, there are things that I found and learned doing this job that were important. I do understand your situation however if you don't have a solid place to work on the vehicle, that's a huge factor.

I too would like to see a breakdown of that estimate...one thing for sure for the love of God, make sure the water pump and the timing belt are from Toyota, and also make sure they're replacing that crankshaft bolt at it's a "one-time" use. Also, one thing to maybe consider replacing while you're in there, is the A/C pulley/bearing and the oil cooler hose that runs off the side of the water pump, it would be the time to do it.

 

Picked up my truck and double checked and got the printout, it included all of those things you mentioned in your post and it said “oem belt and water pump kit” They quoted me tax too so the real quote was 1875.

 

I had mine done at the dealership in 2019 for $850. It’s absolutely insane that it’s doubled or more. I will be doing it myself next time for those highway robbery prices but with cost of everything going up up and up it’s the way she goes I guess.

 

OP
need to know what you shops labor rate is.

 

general idea of book labor hours

 

those are some common labor hours for typical labor hours
im adding 7.7hrs

now need to see exactly what they are doing...........besides labor rate
(estimated hrs bc of overlap)
cam seals? additional 2hrs
thermostat? additional 1hr

are they Evac/Recharging AC? additional 2hrs*****shop can 'hang' compressor and not open up system*****
oil change?
spark plugs?

for Tbelt $1900 way high
for everything on their estimate? might be spot on but need to see quote
if they wrote on a post it note $1900.....run

 

Agree with all of this. Just a clarification, you can do a complete timing belt job (along with all the ancillaries - cam seals, crank seal) without having to touch the compressor.

 

Agreed 120%^^^^^

nice lil $280-$300 cushion for shop
Meh
Happens all the time unfortunately
And if shop charges for Freon….ugh.

 

Good point. What a sneaky little scam