SolaraGuy.com

Alright so I went to get my oil changed yesterday and the service writer told me that is recommended that I get my timing belt changed and my drive belt changed. The price for the timing belt installation what they want is 399$ and the drive belt install is 39.99$. Miles on my car right now is 84,590.

I honestly think that the timing belt price is waaaaay over priced! What do you all think? You think I'm getting BS prices? Or does it sound legit? Thanks for your input.

thats about rite, they have to take it apart, dont know about water pump, but on gen 1-1.5's its a good idea to replace the water pump also............................

Phuck!! That's super expensive. Right now I'm getting new tires put on that's costing me about 550$ damn and another five something to spend. One thing I dread about getting high miles on a car.

That's right about average, I got quotes $25-$50 higher than yours (I'm at 90k miles). Remember, it's not the parts, it's the labor that kills your wallet. Unless Lexus is dropping their LS600h by $75,000 it's worth the investment for me.

I would suggest changing the water pump and the other belts while you are at it. Otherwise, you will end up paying for the labor a second time if your water pump fails.

I just got a quote on the phone from my toyota dealer (Poway, CA) for $350 + $40 for the drive belt. Then I got a mailed coupon for the same service for $250. Ask them about coupons/mailers.
I'm set to get mine done this week but i'm on the fence about the water pump.

^^ yeah now that I recall I get coupons in the mail for the t belt. And I know I need to get it changed. I am going to do the water pump as well. Although I know they might try and say I don't need to do the water pump but I'm not that dumb. Plus I gotta replace spark plugs soon too. I know those can be tricky too!

It is not that bad, considering what it will cost if the belt breaks. And you should also change all the insides as well, water pump, rolls, water seals, etc. In my wifeys highlander, Toyota Stealership charged me 900.00 for all, parts and labor. This is a heck of a job so they will charge a lot for it.

Thanks for your input. It's greatly appreciated. Still on the lookout for coupons. Tough economy these days damn!

I just got quoted 325 at the dealer for the t-belt with installation. I did the drive belts myself a while back and they were pretty easy, but they said if they did install new drive belts it wouldn't add to the labor cost. However the water pump was quoted another 300+, which I am on the fence about as well. Spark plugs were quoted $210. I'll probably take a crack at those myself, even though it looks relatively difficult.

Update from the timing belt job. I tried to do it myself, got the instructions from the manual and found some message board tips. I bought the timing belt, drive belts and a seal for $80 at the dealer, and got a water pump from Autozone for $55. I chose one the hottest day of the year so far in AZ, it was about 106, so already I was off to a good start. Autozone had loaned me a crankshaft pulley puller, shich I could use to remove the pulley. I started early, at 8 while it was in the low 90s. I was feeling confident, had done all the work on my Solara since new, and had good sets of tools.

Everything went pretty smoothly at first, I got the engine mount pieces, brive belts and timing belt covers off. I even got the crankshaft bolt off easily using my impact gun and air compressor. But the pulley puller didn't fit quite right and it chipped off a large piece of the pulley. I found one online next day air for $135 including shipping. Dealer wanted $350. Make sure you use a puller that threads into the bolt holes on the pulley, not the ones with the little fingers that grab the edges. So already, I'm 4 hours in and down some money. I got the crankshaft and cams lined up TDC, which was hard because I didn't remove the spark plugs. The last thing I had to do to get the timing belt off was remove the tensioner pin. That was a total bastard, and the bolts were shrouded by things that even a 3 year old child's hand couldn't have fit around. I spent another hour and called it quits for the day.

I decided to read some more posts from message boards to see if anyone had some tips, especially with the tensioner pin. I found was that after over 5 hours I was about a third of the way done. The water pump requires removing the camshaft pulleys, which based on my experience with the crankshaft one, was probably not going to go well. So like a true hero, I decided to quit. I called the dealership and had AAA tow the car for them to finish. Put all the pieces into the trunk in ziplock bags. So in total, I spent slightly more than if I had just dropped it off to begin with. I paid $760 including the new pulley, the dealer quoted $690 including the drive belts, water pump and seal. In order to salvage my morale for wasting 5 hours of my Saturday and missing a pool party, I treated myself to an 18oz bone in filet with lobster mashed potatoes and snow crab claws...and some wine... and a little bourbon for good measure.

Lessons learned:
Don't wait until summer in Phoenix to do major car repair.
Get the right pulley puller.
Know the limits of your mechanical ability and patience.
Take the tensioner pin off both bolts gradually, not one bolt at a time. I may be buying a new one of those too.

^^^ Damn no offense but that hella sucks! You missed a pool party?!? Man sorry for your troubles...

Update on my end: I ended up getting the parts i needed for 250$ at the dealer OEM everything and I actually took my car with the parts to my local mechanic i looked up and got great ratings and this guy has 16+ years of experience with cars. Anyway he is doing the job (labor only) for 500$. Includes t.belt,drive belts,water pump,auto tensioner,spark plugs and coolant. Gonna pick her up today after i get off work and boy she will ride like a brand new car!

that actually sounds like a pretty good idea. you're right about the damned economy! i was prepared to shell out a grand for all this maintenance. tell me how she rides and pm me the info bout the shop when you get a chance. good lookin out man.

Yeah man save some money and use it for something else. I know I would!

NightRider wrote:Yeah man save some money and use it for something else. I know I would!

Like JPP