johnsenpa

I took my toyota into the dealership in lombard yesterday and they took about an hour and a half to quote me on

PS gearbox repair and pump repair = 3500$
Timing belt and other belts= 450$
New battery and positive terminal= 126$
New thermal resistor(for the radiator fan)= 101$
New plugs and wires= 350$

Total = WAY TOO MUCH

Background Info: I bought this 1990 4runner from a great guy in Norfolk, a year and a half ago, who restores cars for hobbies and was looking to get rid of this to free up space. It was in immaculate condition. 52,000 miles and bought it for 4,300 dollars! IT was an incredible deal because he new my extended family. I have been extremely obsessed with staying on top of everything. Yes I have been doing a bit of wheeling with it here and there, but holy crap. I could by a another one of these 4runners for that price. I was planning on using my money i had saved up for rocksliders, but I think now I have my work cut out for me.....

I told him to do the belts and thats it.
Now it looks like I get to learn how to do all that stuff. Which is a good thing, but ever since I bought it I have been oogling over sliders and exo because I am sick of ginding out dents and painting. It is a waist of time when you can just get armor. But anyways some advise could be used from all you tech masters on what I should do. I am a novice so I think with doing all the mechanical repairs because I have never done them but love to do them if I have to despite all the cursing, I dont stop till I get it right... I could just use some help because the frustration is huge right now and that toyota place is synonymous with hell and that service rep i think has horns.

me -> <- dealership service center

johnsenpa

anybody?

ovrrdrive

And hence the reason this forum even exists.

Btw, $4300 for a '90 runner is just an OK deal, but at least you didn't get ripped off.

ChickenLover

Jesus, dude.. Believe it or not, it might take more than two minutes for a response. Have a little patience.

First off, your truck isn't even worth 4,500 bucks. Secondly, the dealer will ALWAYS screw you. No matter what. Avoid them. Learn to do the work yourself.

BLKNBLU

iTrader: (1)

Thirdly, what leads you to believe there is anything wrong with those items in the first place? Post some symptoms or reasons for those items to need attention please.

TORTIS

iTrader: (1)

dealership=stealership
post up some of your problems.

MMA_Alex

hahahaha you're serious? I'll do your plugs and wires for a mere $325

its a decent price on the truck. I dont know what they go for around there. but it sounds about right for around here considering the low mileage.

olharleyman

ebay for parts = couple hundred bucks and a few days for shipping
weekend for you to install = lost party day or two
learning your truck and how it works = PRICELESS


Drive to Maryland Ill help ya for dinner and a few beers

infiltrator

i am an amateur and i could show you how to do the plugs and wires its just about as easy as plugging in a vaccuum...

johnsenpa

symptoms is that my driver side engine bay is permanently wet due to both things losing the ATF bad. I top off about once a week in the reservoir. I new I was gonna have to change my battery when it was frying the day I was dropping my radiator. Took it out and brushed it and cleaned it up and it fired up but there was corrosion on lower hoses due to acid dripping down.

Would my best bet be to get replacement pump and gearbox from yotayard and go over those and then swap those in. Or is there another route which would further delay the ps problems

Elvota

Seems like you are fairly new at all this, so I don't think going used is going to be your best bet. For simplicity sake, just by a new gearbox and pump from your local auto supplier... like NAPA or Autozone. Both will offer lifetime warranties.

It will cost more than used, but way less than the dealer quote. A guess would be $275 for the gearbox and $100 for the pump. I'd love to see a breakdown on the dealer quote for the steering fix. Maybe they are replacing everything with forged platinum parts?

Both the box and pump can be rebuilt, but I have heard it is difficult and easy to damage a seal on the way back together which would leave you back at square one.

Radiator hose, spark plugs/ wires and battery replacement are all well within reach of the beginner mechanic with a few tools. Get a Haynes manual from your auto store for the year 4Runner you have... that will help you a lot.

Wondering what the "thermal resistor" is? Maybe the fan clutch... thermostat??

apalmer1

I wouldnt even allow the dealership to do the belts for that price, especially since if your doing the power steering pump yourself your gona have to take that belt off again anyway... those are the easiest things. I would just get a good service manual and start reading, you will be suprised on how easy a lot of that stuff is.

The battery will take you a whole 10 minutes, there is litteraly nothing to instlaling a new terminal you just remove the old one and secure the new one onto the wire.

The plug wires you just pull off, and plug new ones on. As for the spark plugs all you do is unscrew them and screw in new ones.

I duno what the thermal resistor applies to but i would just figure out which one it is with an ETM then test the resistance with an ohmetter (10bucks at any autoparts store) then if its bad solder a new one in.

As far as the PS pump and the gearbox. Remove the lowest hose or fitting and drain all the PS fluid out by turning the front tires side to side while they are lifted in the air. Just replace the gearbox, make sure you set the new one in the exact same orientation as the old one with the splines lining up the same way (a repair manual will give you a more detailed procedure) Then remove the belt and the pump, install a new pump, put the belt back on, fill it up and bleed it and off you go.

Its really not gona be hard, and for comfort sake think about the fact that you could easily break the new parts 3 times in a row untill you get it right, and you would still spend less money then you would to have the dealership do it.

b.miller123

dude, don't even give any of your business to that dealership........ever,

I know that alot of people like to generalize things (dealership=stealership) but there are some dealers that will purposely try to rip you off, and then there are some that wont, in my opinion, you found the first kind. I know that there are bad dealerships around, and I know that people have had bad dealings with them before, but that doesn't mean that every dealership is trying to rip everyone off, most people think that they are rip offs because of the prices for new oem parts compaired to parts store rebuilds, and that isn't a fair comparison, usually most of the seemingly inflated repair bills are due to the prices for the parts (I know that most dealerships do have higher hourly rates, but that is justifiable)

timing belt and "other" belts for $450??? that is way more than it should be, I got a quote about six months ago for a timing belt and it was $200 at the Toyota dealership,

they actually have to take all the belts off to get to the timing belt, so why would they charge you more to put new ones on instead of old ones? is it really that hard to open the packages? I hope that quote included the water pump and some other crazy stuff they are going to do while they are in there, then it might be close to $450

Plugs and wires for $350? I know that you didn't ask them how much that was, please tell me you didn't ask............... if you have been pounding out dents and painting them like you say, then you should be able to do that your self

The steering pump and box for $3500, that seems a little steep compared to doing it yourself with parts store rebuilds. As for the dealership......... I can tell you that those parts are going to expensive because they are replacing them with brand new Toyota parts, I believe the pump is like $500-$1000 or something crazy like that (on a V6 anyways) and I am guessing that the box is more expensive, so figure anywhere from $1000 -$2500 worth of labor that doesn't seem too far off, and there are still things to think about like are they going to replace all of the lines too??? AND: what kind of engine do you have? is it a V6 or a 22-RE? if it is a V6 your pump should be on the passenger side, if it isn't then you have bigger problems, and if it is on your passenger side (on the 4cyl? I don't know?) then why would it be spraying fluid all over the driver side? Are you absolutely sure that BOTH parts are bad or going bad? have you phisically/actually seen both of them leaking? I have never heard or seen a pump or box leak that bad, usually loose or broken lines are the culprit in big messes like that, if you look closer and it is actually something little like that, I would take your written quote from the dealership (you did get a written breakdown of the work they were going to do and all costs involved right???) to the service manager and show him your truck and ask him to have the technician come out and explain to you why he was trying to get you to do more work than was required, and if the service manager is a jerk, then talk to the general manager, and if he is a jerk, the talk to the regional manager and so on, that kind of stuff is just bs


Anyways, yes you did get a good deal on your 4runner (52k miles, holy moo-cow ) I don't care what anybody says, up here that thing would be for sale for $6000 to $9000, and it would sell fast (esp if it's a 4cyl) as long as it was clean and rust free

yes you should just fix all of these problems with parts from the parts store (if you actually need them) and do it all yourself, and you should be able to get all of that work done for under $1000,

and if you run into any troubles along the way, this is a great place to get help, sorry I wrote so much, I hate long posts too

SEAIRESCUE

When sales are slow, the dealer's service fees go up. Freaking dealers must think people are completely stoopid. Once in a while some Doctor or Lawyer will spend that kind of money to fix the teenage daughters ride. You were tested.

You could easily go to a local garage and have used parts installed from the bone yard for a fraction of what was quoted by the robbers. Pick a few from the yellow pages, call the BBB to check on complaints, and get a written estimate from the garage of choice. It should look much better.

As suggested, you can fix some of this yourself. 3.0's die when overheated. The cluprit is often the thermal clutch on the fan assembly. Trash that MF and install a flex fan....cheap and highly reliable.

My $0.02

GV27

I'm always amazed when people take their old vehicle to a stealership. Some will say "I'm afraid I'll get ripped off going to an independent". Well, I guess there's some chance of that. But you'll for sure get ripped off at the dealership!

ernest t bass

the dealer was hoping you would just trade it in on a new one. 4500 would make a nice down payment.

get a few more quotes from other mechanics.

b.miller123

I'm not trolling here or anything,

but have you people been ripped off at absolutely every single dealership that you have been to??? It sounds like alot of people are just jumping on a bandwagon

If not, then please don't assume that every dealership is "out to get your money" (technically they are out to get your money, that is how they stay in business)

I understand that things are expensive there, and that sometimes (like this guys experience) things don't seem right, but you are just as likely to get ripped off or get a bad deal from the guy down at the local shop,

You don't think that they have the right to charge people more for one "product" (service) when they aren't selling much of the other (vehicles)? I'm sorry but that is just good business sense (I do think that there are other ways to make up for the loss, like laying off sales people) When they start to lose money in one area, they have to make it up in another otherwise the business will close, and faster than you think, then you will whine about how far you have to drive to get parts

I am not trying to defend any place that intentionally rips people off, but I think that some people need to look at the other side of the counter once and a while,

And, yes, I have worked at a dealership (it was a motorcycle dealership) and you would be suprised by some of the jokers that walk in the doors sometimes, you get guys that have a honda that was made in 1972, and has been sitting in some guys yard for two years, then he brings it to a dealership and wants it to get fixed for under a few hundred dollars, and wants it fixed in a week. I am sorry, but fully diagnosing any uncommon problem is going to cost at least $80-$170, and fixing it more, and I am really sorry, but it's not the dealership's fault that they haven't stocked parts for your bike since the first Bush was president

sorry, I'll stop now

please feel free to share your own personal experience

Targetnut

dealership aside, I'd be interested to know what is actually wrong with your truck.

You say you bought it from someone who kept it immaculate. did this fellow change the timing belt before you bought it?

What on earth is or could be wrong with your power steering at that low mileage? there are folks on this forum with 300K miles that have not had a problem with there steering box or pump.

the battery and tuneup stuff is certainly something most DIYers can tackle.

At some dealers and independent shops you will find a system of "rubber stamping" where a particular vehicle of a given age or mileage always has "certain things" wrong. It is interesting if you check into it these are almost always the things that the technicians and shop owners find most profitable. After all you wouldn't want to sell somebody something that was a PITA.

TORTIS

iTrader: (1)

2500 bucks for the dealership to rebuild/replace all the bearings and seals in the rearend. yea. i got screwed. i was out of town and the bastards new it. i just had ZUK rebuild with new gears and lockers both diff's and it was much cheaper. yes, i had to pull and replace, but that was only a couple of hours of labor. so yes, i hate the freakin dealerships.

sorry, i still get pissed when i think about the screwing i got from them.

YotaJunky

I had ATF leaking out of my power steering gear box and it was because the adjustment nut was loose. Check that, along with the P/S hoses for leaks. Also, learning how to change your drive belts is a good way to start learning about your 4Runner.