Timing belt years vs miles

Hey everyone I need some help deciding. My first gen has a leaking crankshaft oil seal and need to get it replaced. I was quoted 980$ at Toyota dealer. They said they might as well change timing belt water pump etc, because they have to take it off to get to the seal. The belt was last changed in 2015, 75,000 miles. I’m at 127k miles now so I still have until 155k miles supposedly. I was quoted about 2,600$ for TB water pump and leaking seal. Should I just do the seal or should I do it all? Would I be saving money by doing it all together or waiting longer? Thanks!

 

Well it is a 10 year old belt at this point and many manufactures specify time vs miles, such as Honda = 7 years. Parts have to come off anyway so I would personally change the timing belt and waterpump.

My opinion- Not replacing cant be saving you that much and if you pass now and have an issue with either in the next couple years, you will be sick about it.

 

It seems reasonable to do the TB and water pump at the same time, but the extra $1620.00 seems ridiculous, but I don't know much about dealer prices. Shouldn't they just charge parts (TB kit and H20 pump) at that point? Maybe I'm missing something.

 

Find a good quality automotive repair shop in your area, not shade tree mechanic. Should not be to hard in California finding a repair shop . Get a quote for the entire job
I am confident you will be shocked how much cheaper than Toyota.
Paul

 

Find a good independent shop or maybe consider DIY if you’re handy.

 

The timing belt change interval is 9yrs / 90k miles. You are at 9 years. I would get a new quote for the TB replacement and ask them to change the crankshaft seal while they are in there. This shop seems to be double charging you.

 

I work at a Toyota dealer in parts. We quote 2UZ timing belt replacements at 7.5 hours of labor plus parts and we include the crankshaft oil pump seal/water pump with the job at no additional labor.

At my dealer you’d get everything for around $1,500.

 

Thanks for all the help. I’m going to get another quote somewhere else

 

That's not terrible. I paid $900 in 2017 at my local dealership. Pretty sure they didn't touch the oil pump seal.

One thing I wanted to call out is that I think the timing belt tensioner is probably as important as the belt. That's why the Aisin kit is so nice.

 

mid you can afford to have the truck down for like 3-4 days. And you know how to turn a wrench/torque them properly. The job is very SIMPLE, there’s just a lot to it. I quoted around $6-700 if I provided the parts and the guy would NOT warranty anything if it wasn’t OEM Toyota or AISIN. I decided to use that $$$ towards my bilsteins/OME kit

So I did it myself in a weekend; to each their own.

 

Just for fun and why not, I put together a parts list for what you should see on a timing belt job (using the VIN of my 04).
Very basic list, not including any idlers. Most of the time, we will not replace any of the idlers/tensioners etc, though we do stock them and include them in the repair if the tech finds them to be damaged/failing. The customers are aware of the potential upcharge beforehand though.

 

I would do the job yourself. It is very simple as previously said. All you need is a socket set and an impact (crank pulley). Front crank seal comes out easy and unless you live in the rust belt your crank sprocket will come off with a pry bar (BE GENTLE). $190 Aisin timing belt kit $2 front seal, 4-10 hours of your time (depending on the amount of beer you consume). Have fun!

 

I think they may be SRT Stacking. Many Dealerships/Stealerships and Repair shops "Stack" labor times. If a Timing Belt SRT Code is for 4 hours as an example, the Water Pump SRT Code might call out 3 hours. An "Uneducated" Shop and/or Service Writer might use BOTH codes to get the job billed (7 hours vs 4.5 or 5 hours if the Water Pump was additional to the Timing Belt Repair - everything is apart for the belt....) as they are replacing both items. Here's the Rub, if the Timing Belt R&R requires the removal of the Water Pump OR it is on the way to the Timing Belt, they should NOT be "Stacking" SRT Codes. Basically, you are being DOUBLE BILLED if they are doing this practice.

Willie

 

Add in the fact that, good Technicians can, and do beat the SRT times for the actual repair(s). They are making out like bandits when they stack the SRT Labor Codes/Times!

I actually called out our Toyota Dealer for this. They reduced my bill accordingly.

Willie