4.9k stealership estimate

Here are the Issues the stealership found with my truck, $4.9k in total.
I knew that the sway bar bushings were bad and my shocks looked old but they found a couple other issues i need your advice about.

First line is for replacing LCA's $1406.
The bushings are shot for sure, but does that really require LCA replacement?
pics below



sway links $599.74



front shocks $870.90


replacement of driveshaft assembly $1,466.68


Service expert stated i have some leakage @ housings and carrier bearing cushion cracked. Said need to replace the whole shaft and assembly. Shaft also?

Finally transmission mount replacement $206.62

He said it was collapsed.

To be honest i do not feel any odd vibrations or shaking nor hear any noises ...yet.

I Certainly cant afford $5k at this time. I am committed to this truck for the long term. How much of this can be done by myself easily? does the entire driveshaft and LCA need replacement or not?

Your expert advice and help is always appreciated.

 

I'm doing some errands at the moment but I will take a better look later today.
The suspension and sway bar links price is just outright crazy.

 

I think it depends on how the rest of the truck is. The underside looks pretty worn out, (high miles?), but if it is good on the motor, transmission, cosmetics, etc, then a 5k investment to bring it "up to snuff" is way cheaper than a new or near new truck. Independent suspension shops might be a cheaper option, you might take the truck to a couple of those shops for their evaluation and prices. Good luck.

 

Here is how I’d tackle this:

1) Let a shop (your stealer or 4wheel place) do the shocks, LCA’s (yes you need new) for a better price, and the High Dolla Alignment.

2) You can DIY the Carrier Shaft Bushing ($70), Sway Links ($150), and Transmission Mounts ($68?).

@empty_lord how easy is the Trans Mount Replace for a DIY’er?

 

Agreed... I understand that not everyone is in a position to work on their own truck, but good lord! 4900 bucks? Please, for the love of all that is good, shop around... Hand model's suggestion is what I would suggest as well.

 

Super easy. 4 bolts hold the mount to the crossmember, 4 bolts attach the mount to the trans. Jack up the trans a bit to take the weight off and start removing the bolts.

 

You don't have to do it all at once, either.

I can't vote in the poll 'cuz I have never been to the dealership--yet.
Mine has an airbag recall that I've yet to schedule, so I look forward hearing about all the things that need fixin'.

 

How do you know when they are ‘bad’?

 

too much $, I am confident another shop could do it for much cheaper. Dealerships are going to be top dollar for parts and labor.

 

Absolutely no way should you pay that. I would assume going to a decent shop with not giving you a break they would charge 3-3500. Shop around. Most of that I would try to do my self. The lcas are and shocks are insane what they charge at dealer

 

The amount of labor they calculated for that job is absolutely ridiculous. Hell, all of that estimate is insane. I feel bad for people that just pay that without even shopping around. Now that I've gained a bit more skill and confidence in my abilities I can't see myself paying to do any of that job except for the alignment.

We have a member that replaced his front struts with the wheels still on the truck. It's 3 bolts on top and one below.

I would never step foot in that dealership again. As my stepdad says in his Tennessee accent "THAT'S HIGHWAY ROBBERY"!

 

Those are definitely "Vegas" priced quotes.

 

This doesn't make sense. If that rubber boot on the carrier bearing is toast that's not a big deal. Just buy the Spicer replacement(OEM equivalent) and do it yourself. I don't understand why they are saying you need to replace your driveshaft. Honestly, I wouldn't even worry about your lower control arms. My bushings look like that too and it's not causing any issues. I asked our Toyota mechanic about it and he rarely sees a bad set. Here is that post, #662

I will eventually replace my LCA's but I don't think it's that time sensitive.

 

Just another point of view.... Dealer total cost in parts is $2728.12. Using my 2002 2WD Tundra as an example, I made a cart in Rock Auto for the parts you listed. I used the most expensive parts listed in every case. The total came out to $1204.53. If you purchased those parts and did the work yourself you save thousands. If you went to a local shop and had them do the work it would still be much less money than the dealership.



In the above example I'd personally go a different route with the shocks, I would opt to replace all 4 shocks with Bilstein 5100's which are currently about $420 on Amazon right now. That would come to roughly $1287 in parts but would mean you'd have to reuse the stock springs instead of swapping a complete assembly.

Oh, forgot to mention that instead of replacing the entire driveshaft, the center bearing is replaceable for about $77.

 

In all honesty I do standard maintenance at the dealership where I purchased and some minor repairs because it’s extremely convenient and not that expensive for smaller jobs. Then if they hand me an estimate that big I have a private shop I take it to in that scenario.

The shop I normally take my expensive out of warranty work to wanted less than half price for almost a complete brake revamp including new
front calipers on my 09.

A private shop only has to make money fixing your car. They do not have a money losing new car business and the other overhead normally associated with dealer service that they have to charge you extra to make up for.

 

for that price, go Kings and Total Chaos..

 

Fix in phases. Do the easy stuff first and make sure you don’t mangle things. If we sense you are a mangler, we will adjust accordingly.

Cutting off those LCA’s is a lot of work. Compressing the springs requires a special tool for the Billy if you go up in notches. You need new Cams Bolts $100-200. Lots of schtuff goes into the front end and the labor might be a bit high on the stealer but its worth it if they get it right the first time.

You should shop around at some 4Wheel Specialists. 4wheel Parts price matches and you can show them the Special Stealer Programme Prices. Their labor is a little less than stealer in my area, but they get it right without Mangling.

Good thing is you can still drive your truck and you have time to do the job in phases to keep it as a daily driver. Shop had my truck for 2 days on the front rebuild. Start doing the little stuff and saving for the big stuff.

 

“Island Prices”.

 

I would go to a small shop/ mechanic that does work on Toyotas. Even worth the drive to Southern California. We have plenty of good mechanics here. Buy the parts ahead (upgrade if wanted) and have the mechanic install them if you want.

 

https://suspensionmaxx.com/product/SMX-122270T
Bilstein 5100 will run about $450 for all 4

Look around wheelers, fill in all you need and see where you're at $$$

 

If you're comfortable learning and do it a little at time do it yourself first. You'll be amazed at what you can do.

 

Also most pepboys offer a lifetime alignment for around 190.

 

I did not know that

 

Those prices are absolutely insane!

If you're not noticing any issues, none of that has to be done. You can wait on all of it. Also, none of that is very hard if you want to tackle it yourself.

Buy moog lower control arms for half the price of the Toyota, replace the shocks with bilstein, eibach or old man emu for less than that quote and get better shocks. You can buy them fully assembled so you don't even have to mess with a spring compreser. Pick a lift or stock height for the same price. If you do the lower control arms and suspension at the same time, it's even easier to do.

The carrier bearing can easily be replaced without replacing the whole driveshaft.

Sway bar links are roughly $100 and soooo easy to replace.

If you're interested I can add links to YouTube videos for each of those things, and I've personally done all of them except the carrier bearing

 

I'm going with "Prudhoe Bay" prices

 

I’ll throw “Disneyland” in the mix - can’t wait to see what lunch and a beer costs when they finally reopen.

 

$48 for a 12oz pour. $34 Hot Dogs (Vegan). I banned that place years ago for certain reasons. Recco others to do the same.

 

Run like hell.

$600 for swaybar links is fawking ludicrous. You can buy better links for $90 and do it yourself without even jacking up the truck.

Lower arms theyll never press put bushings because it's more work. The OEM bushings are damn near as expensive as the arms anyway. Thats still high, go to an independent shop and use aftermarket arms you'll be looking at $250 parts and about the same or less for labor.

Shocks isn't too bad of a price. *edit* I read the shock labor only, didn't notice they want $800+ run like hell man.

I don't see why they would replace the driveshaft, the carrier can be replaced in its own for far cheaper.

 

I was just about to call you crazy. $500 in labor to replace the front shocks. The tech will do that job in 30 minutes once it's up in a rack.

 

These prices are like if there was a movie theater inside of Disneyland.