Timing belt change @ 22 years old & 46k miles

I called Modern Toyota of Boone today about having the timing belt done. I was set to bring it in on Monday for the appointment. After the initial shock by service guy of mileage of my truck and asking me to do a trade in...he gave me a quote out the door of $1641, that's about what I expected. That included the cam seals, water pump, belt, new coolant and serpentine belt. He said they typically don't do the idler pulley or tensioner unless they get in there and it needs it.
I asked for a quote to include the tensioner and idler pulley, why not your already there but he never called me back but I called him after work. He then gave me an out the door price of $2500!

I told him that was ridiculous. another $900 for literally 3 bolts and maaaybe extra 30 minutes??!! I canceled my appointment because I smelled something fishy. I don't like stealerships or shops in general but don't feel like doing the belt out in the cold. Suddenly it doesn't seem so bad now.

Anyone else think that was crazy? I'm going to do it myself now.

 

My local dealer was around $1200 give or take. With tensioner and idler. I should have brought my own parts they said I could have just didn't realize it.


If you're on the original belt at that age you're running on borrowed time. I'm surprised you went that long.

Edit: I did not have cam seals done

 

Cam seals aren't fun based on what I've seen from others and aren't to be taken lightly. I can link you to a 24-page post outlining a misfire condition and hundreds of dollars spent, showing what happens if you miss one crucial step.

Many stealerships concatenate hours on stuff. It's how they make money. That's probably what happened here. Yes it's screwed up, but sometimes it's just how their systems work. I can't speak for Toyota specifically, but there's at least one or two on this forum that probably can.

I'm conflicted. $1,600 is actually a good price on all the stuff listed. But adding another $900 is bizarre, considering.

 

While somewhat subjective, I'd be fine with those prices but I would have to at least speak to Mgr and request a review, with a possible price haggle.
Had mine done by dealer 4 yrs ago, replaced everything but kitchen sink....out door $2200 including tax amd never looked back.

If you indeed choose that route, make your Grand Dad proud. At a young 40ish, you'll be able to pass it on to another family member before it's even broke in good.

 

When you do decide to get it done, ask for the old timing belt and please post pics. I’d be good to know what a 22yr old original timing belt looks like.

 

If you are going to tackle this job yourself I would suggest putting down a THIN bead of gasket maker on the water pump and then spread that nice and evenly don’t leave it as a bead and put it on so it squeezes out. Use your finger and spread it so it’s flat and even, once you’ve done that you can put the prefab gasket on top and then install the water pump. That’s one thing I wish I would have done to avoid the leak I had, luckily it stopped leaking on its own within a day so it must not have been too bad. But definitely keep that in mind.

 

Im going to buy the Aisin kit that has the tensioner and idler. I figure if I can set up rear axles, I can do a timing belt.

 

Can we see pics of the two tone? We like pics, like a lot
@bmf4069

 

Two tone pics

 

her you go

 

Timing belt out of a 2008 Toyota tundra with 145,000 kms

 

It's easy...just allow plenty of time so there's no pressure (I budgeted 3 days, and finished in 2 ~6 hr days). There are a bunch of youtubes out there that are very helpful and informative. Watch one before you start so you know what to expect. There are some special tools that you'll want to make sure to have before you get started. Lay the parts out in the order you remove them so it's easier to put it all back together again.

 

Here you go.

https://www.tundras.com/threads/timing-belt-master-thread-sticky.107240/

Spend some time reading a few threads and watching a few vids. It really isn't that hard. Keep track of the hardware you remove, make sure it all goes back on as it should and you'll be good.

 

I paid 700 for the entire job including tensioner and idler pulley. That was from an excellent shop owned by a former Toyota Tech that specializes in Toyota. He also happens to own the exact same truck as me. I had mine done at around 140k and he said it my belt was in rough shape, but he has seen them with 200k or more and look basically like new. Anyway… yes, shop around or do it yourself.

 

I'm also fortunate to have a shop like that just down the road from me. Ex-Toyota Master tech turned shop owner and he's gotta 1st & 2nd gen Tundra along with an older land cruiser.

 

$700 is a crazy low price.

 

Make sure to double-check the crank position sensor wiring to confirm it was routed out of danger's way correctly all the same

Right? If I could find that price for parts and labor I'd be all over it.

 

I had mine done it was 1500 in parts all Toyota here in Canada. Replaced the water pump and everything the timing belt has contact with, as I didn’t want to chance having to go back in there. Also replaced serpentine belt, and the ect sensor and thermostat as the coolant was drained. I find the truck starts better and idles way different, not getting any engine codes now on start.

 

Same. Wouldn't even think twice about it.

 

You're thinking of the cam seals on the 05 and up 4.7 with VVT. Yes, they are a super pain and myself having done 6 timing belt changes on Toyotas and Hondas I would not attempt a cam seal change on the VVT. Just way too many moving parts for my skillset. The seals on non-vvt are super simple. below is a screen shot from Otramm video where walks you through a belt replacement.

 

Otramm Video link

Toyota 4.7 Cam and Crankshaft Seals - YouTube

 

What??? 145km is like 90k miles. Where was that truck driven, planet Mercury!?

 

Did the '08s even have timing belts? I thought that was 06 and prior.

 

Some second gens still had the 4.7

 

Yup, mostly speaking about my specific case.

 

That was the original belt, 14500 kms but the belt is 14 years old, first belt change. It’s + 30 degrees in summer -30 in the winter.

 

Update:

I ended up taking it to a shop that was opened by a veteran Toyota tech. They gave me a good price and used all OEM parts. He forgot to save the belt but said there were small cracks showing about every 6 inches but he said he has seen way worse. Sorry I don't have a pic of the belt. Shop offers 2 year/24k mile warranty on all work performed which I was surprised, and he made the joke that the truck will finally hit 24k more miles in 10-12 years. He also asked if I was interested in selling it...no.

 

This reminds me, I just hit 42,500 miles on mine and had the TB done but never uploaded the pic of the old belt. It's in damn-near perfect condition so it doesn't surprise me at all that yours had very little issues. Need to get a pic of mine.... I actually have all my old parts so will get pictures of all that stuff just for reference photos of a high-years/low-miles part.