? cost to do timing belt and water pump at dealer on '97 Camry 2.2?

Hi everyone, My brother is moving to Los Angeles and we need to replace the timing belt and water pump on our '97 Camry 2.2 that has 70k miles. We're shipping it from NJ to California. I'm trying to figure out where to get it done.

I called a couple Toyota dealerships in the LA area to get an estimate and here's what they told me:

Miller Toyota has a $169 timing belt special on their website. When I called the service department though, they said "$680 for timing belt and water pump replacement. It's 6 hours labor." They also said that replacing the drive belts at the same time is "an additional 2 hours labor" on top of the $680 (though I'm aware in actuality it's not an extra 2 hours labor on top of the timing belt/water pump job). What they said doesn't sound very honest, so I will not be calling them again... The gentleman I spoke to on the phone told me to go look for him by name when I go to the service dept so that he can "give me a good deal." There must be some sort of commission factored into salaries there, for him to be quoting $800+ for timing belt/water pump/ drive belts...

Carson Toyota in LA said $195 for timing belt replacement, $127 labor for water pump replacement, plus parts cost for a water pump. The parts dept told me $100.95 parts cost for a water pump. They said that they would replace drive belts at no additional labor and also recommended changing the thermostat.

Another option is that my dad has a trusted mechanic who said he would do the job for about $312 labor plus parts. He said we're free to supply our own OEM parts. After speaking to the dealership today that is quoting 8 hours labor for the job, I'm tempted to go with the route of my dad's mechanic. In that case, which parts should I order for the job? At the minimum I need: Timing belt $27 Water pump $77 (parts from exas Toyota of Grapevine, have bought from them before, great service) water pump gasket thermostat drive belts Are there also "camshaft seals" or "crankshaft seals" that should be replaced at the same time?

I am fine with the prices quoted from Carson Toyota, but after what I heard from Miller Toyota, I'm afraid of my non-car-savvy brother going to the service dept by himself and then ending up with a bill much higher than what was quoted. Or can I be reasonably confident that the price you get from the service dept on the phone is usually close to your actual bill?

Appreciate your thoughts, John

Reply to
johnyang97
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One place I'd never go would be Miller....LOL

Reply to
Scott in Florida

Use your dad's trusted mechanic.

The thermostat normally does not have to be changed when replacing the timing belt or water pump so I would pass on the thermostat unless the car is overheating or not warming up properly. If you do go with the thermostat, add a thermostat housing gasket.

If the coolant in the car is red or pink, add genuine Toyota coolant. If the coolant is green, add name-brand coolant like Prestone or Peak.

At only 70,000 miles, the camshaft seals and crankshaft seal should be OK, unless there is oil leaking or weeping past them, as evidenced by oil near the timing cover on the passenger side of the engine.

At that mileage, if the spark plugs are original, I would replace them with OEM spark plugs.

Reply to
Ray O

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I know it is common practice to change the water pump at the same time that the timing belts are replaced but I must say that the three Toyotas I've had that have had timing belts replaced twice each have not had their water pumps replaced. Each time I have gone to the dealer to have the belt replaced they have inspected the pump (however they do that) and told me it looks fine. I am currently at 156K miles on my 97 Camry and the 94 Camry had 162K miles when I sold it. My Sienna van is at 120K miles and it is still OEM pump.

If you do end up having the work done by your trusty mechanic make sure you have those bearings and tensioners that the timing belt rides on looked at carefully or also replaced.

Reply to
badgolferman

Good point. Water pump life is in the neighborhood of 150K miles, the OP's Camry probably does not need it at this time.

Reply to
Ray O

Hi Ray, As always, thanks for the great advice. Since it only costs $77 to purchase an OEM water pump I might go ahead and replace it anyways if we get the timing belt done at my dad's mechanic's place.

Now my question for everyone is this: Re. those $169 or $199 or $249 dealership timing belt specials, if we were to bring the Camry to a Toyota dealership, will they be willing to just replace the timing belt, or will they likely insist on doing a lot more? $169 is the timing belt replacement special being advertised by the same dealership that's telling me $680 for the timing belt + water pump. If timing belt replacement is 4 hours' labor then there'd be no profit in doing the job for $169.

Also want to thank "badgolferman" for his advice as well too. Incidentally when I bought my '89 Corolla with 94k miles in '99, the original owner had replaced the timing belt at the dealership at 90k miles but didn't replace the water pump. I worried a lot about the water pump initially then forgot about it. I remembered about it a couple months ago when at 148k miles the pump seized and I had to get the car towed. So, the original water pump lasted 18 years/148k miles. The mechanic ended up replacing the timing belt and installing a non-OEM water pump. Hopefully the non-OEM pump is good for at least

50k-60k miles.

Thanks, John

Reply to
johnyang97

Uh, Ray, I guess I'm living on borrowed time, because my '97 Camry now has

137,200 miles as of this week, and I'm still using the original spark plugs and wires. I've never even had them out to look at them! And the car runs perfectly, starts instantly, etc. I don't expect the "J" in front of the VIN number has anything to do with it, do you? (Yeah, I'm one of those rascals who has the creed "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" and so far it has worked for me, although I have replaced the timing belt and water pump.) But as far as 'tuneups' go, with replacing parts in the ignition system, I say "why?"
Reply to
mack

That sounds about right. It's not more than four hours of labor. Order the parts on-line from "

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". However if it's really a trusted mechanic, he can get the OEM parts from a dealer for not much more.

Reply to
SMS

You can tell the dealer EXACTLY what you want done. $169 for a timing belt replacement is a good price. Around here the dealer charges ~$199 for the four-cylinder and ~$249 for the six-cylinder. They have had mine done in less than two hours. Those times for labor are book times and they cannot charge more than that amount of time.

In my area there are two dealerships. One less than two miles from me and one fifteen miles away. Guess which one I get my cars fixed at. A good mechanic/dealership that you can trust is worth its weight in gold. There have been several times I have been told by the service writer the noise that I hear isn't worth fixing yet and I should wait until it gets worse. I haven't been steered wrong yet and have come to trust them for the quality and advice they give.

Reply to
badgolferman

1988 Supra calipers: $285 ?!?!?! Fuel Tank: $339

The tank is a real good price. A lot of dealers wanted $450^ for the tank. I got it for $275 after doing some 'shopping'. But the calipers? They must be brand new, and I mean NEW! Even the place I was working at that only gave us a 5% discount (I was having the guy I worked for before order the parts...they gave him 25%!!!) wanted $75 for Toyota reman'd, and they said new wasn't available.

Reply to
Hachiroku

The recommended spark plug replacement interval is 60,000 miles for the 1997 Camry. Spark plug performance tends to deteriorate gradually so there is little, if any noticeable change in engine starting and drivability, although emissions performance can deteriorate after 60,000 miles, making the catalytic converter do more work.

That said, I don't practice what I preach and stretch a lot of maintenance items by 25 to 50% on our vehicles. I try not to go further than that on maintenance items because that stuff will if all of these conditions exist: A) my wife is driving the vehicle, B) outside temps are below 0 degrees, C) it is dark outside, D) at least 40 miles from home, E) on a holiday or Sunday when the dealer parts department is closed, F) my wife or I have to be someplace to be when the part fails. ;-)

Reply to
Ray O

This mechanic would have earned that trust. Why not just tell him to use OEM parts and let him do his job the way he earned the trust.

If you supply your own parts chances are your effort, extra and missing parts and his labor will make the bottom line more expensive anyway. Not to mention a defective or incorrect part become your problem.

Dan

Reply to
Danny G.

eek! Sure hope its not somehow normal wear and you need 4.

Dont even think about using non OEM brake parts though because they are what our Supra's do best performance wise.

Looking at rotors with grooves grinding them down like that sure took some getting used to though.

Dan

Reply to
Danny G.

I agree. If he supplies the parts, then it's his responsibility if something goes wrong, but by the sound of it, the car will be gone from the location where the repairs will take place.

My trusted mechanic owns shops in San Francisco and New York, but I doubt that anyone ever tried to get something fixed at one location that broke in another.

Reply to
SMS

If he takes it to a chain store (monro, NAPA-affiliated centers, American Car Car Centers -

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and others), he can get a warranty.

If he takes it to a Toyota dealer, there is a warranty, too

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Jeff

Reply to
Jeff

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I apologise for not adding: All the above warranties should be valid affiliated places accross the nation, not just the store where the work was done. But, of course, you need to double check.

Jeff

Reply to
Jeff

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I had my muffler replaced at 70K miles at one dealer and had it replaced free of charge at another dealer at 204K miles.

Parts and Labor free....

Reply to
Scott in Florida

Hi Dan, Good points. BTW, the mechanic had suggested using non-OEM parts for $400 out the door for parts and labor, so it does cost more if I were to supply OEM parts.

Almost all of the independent shops I've dealt with before (and I hunt around for ones with good reputations, even those that are more expensive) are not using OEM parts (I'm in the Northeast if that makes a difference). One shop owner told me that he couldn't get better than 10% off list from a dealership. Since most independent shops mark up parts about 100%, my guess is there's more profit to be made using non-OEM than OEM parts, since customers may balk at the cost of

2x list on OEM parts. Plus if the customer sees a lower parts cost, he may be willing to pay a higher labor fee, if the main thing on his mind's the bottom line out the door. The only independent shop I've found that consistently uses OEM parts is a Honda shop where the guys who work there used to be all be Honda dealership mechanics.

My dad's mechanic probably figures non-OEM parts may well last the 60k mile recommended interval until the timing belt+water pump are replaced next.

My bias is to do the job at a Toyota dealership for their nationwide warranty, but have been afraid to send my brother there (it'll be his car and thus his warranty) since he's not mechanically savvy, and I don't want him to run into a situation like where I called a dealership yesterday and they told me $680 for 6 hours parts + labor for the timing belt + water pump, plus 2 hours additional labor for the drive belts, making it about $900 out the door...

Thanks aga> > Another option is that my dad has a trusted mechanic who said he would

Reply to
johnyang97

Interesting. Where are you? Now, before it became Lia Toyota, Northampton (MA) Toyota used to give the guy I was working for 25% off list. And he didn't do that much business with them! If he presses the issue, he can get a better discount. There are enough Toy dealers around now, not only will one a little further give a better discount, but also deliver the parts as well.

Reply to
Hachiroku

I used AutoZone remans for one of them. Since both Toy dealers now are owned by someone else, I don't get the discount I was. I was getting remans from the dealer anyway, and AZ's prices are cheaper for the same item!

Reply to
Hachiroku

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