Timingbelt/waterpump Average Replacement Costs

[cityylightss]

hey everyone. i have a '90 LS400 and i need to do my timing belt and water pump replacement ASAP. i'm at 134k and i'm fairly certain the work has never been done on the car. i was just wondering if anyone could give me a range of prices for this service so i have something to reference. a high, low, and average number would really help. i know there are obviously a ton of factors that could influence the price, i'm just trying to a basic idea so i'm not completely lost when receiving quotes. any help is appreciated. thank you. B)

[curiousB]

I think you're looking at $1500-2000 for the 90k mile service (timing belt is major activity) at a Lexus dealer. Maybe a little less at an independant.

[blake918]

It amazes me how much prices vary from dealer to dealer. When I bought my '99, the previous owner gave me the receipt for the timing belt/water pump/ oil seals/ etc. at the local Lexus dealer, and it was only $1,300. The highest I've seen yet was when I went with a relative to buy a 95LS in Houston, and the receipt that came with the car for the timing belt work was $1,850. Wow!

[cityylightss]

so i after looking on craigslist.com i found a shop that specializes in asian cars and was boasting how great their quotes were on timing belt/water pump service. i called over the weekend and the lady got back to me today. she literally told me $550 would cover everything, including parts, labor, and tax. obviously i was both shocked and skeptical. is this just TOO good to be true? i am assuming it is, but at the same time...i know the economy is really *BLEEP*ty and i know there are tons of good deals to be found everywhere.

if anyone has any good questions for me to ask her to validate the offer...please let me know. and also please tell me if you think this is a complete scam. it seems like a legitimate shop...and she said they would need the whole day (i know the process DOES take awhile)...but i do realize this is way less than half of what everyone else seems to pay.

any comments are appreciated. thanks in advance.

[curiousB]

You probably want to know if they intend just change the belt and keep the existing idler pulley(s) and belt tensioner. If I were doing the job I would replace the idler pulleys as their bearings have a lot of wear at 90k miles. Also need to know if they intend to replace the main and camshaft oil seals. Not sure if dealers do this as a normal course with TB job but might be worthwhile since it’s such a big disassembly to get to TB. Also appears to be varied opinion on whether to change water pump. It’s about a $100 part from parts.com so if they were willing to do water pump too for say $150-200 more I’d probably take them up on it.

Otherwise it could just be the labor rate of a dealer >$100+/hr vs the low overhead of an indy $30/hr. It really has more to do with the talent of the specific mechanic than the place where he/she works anyway. A good indy with low overhead is hard to beat.

Maybe ask for returned parts upon completion so you keep them honest. If unsure you could pry open the timing belt cover and put a dab of paint or marker on the belt and then compare that to the returned part to be sure they return you the one in your car….(i.e. they actually do change your belt)

[TexasLexus94]

I paid too much-$1,300 at my indie. He had real trouble getting the crankshaft bolt out using a torch, then it took him a week to get a new bolt. Plus they had to replace the pulleys and idlers, too. And I also had him install new distributor caps and wires that I had, but was too stupid to install. The job took 2 weeks overall. But you know what? I had a backup car, so the delay was OK. And they did a great job. Runs like a top.

BTW-One week after getting the Lexi back, the place burned down to the ground, and they went out of business! So even though I took it in the shorts for the repair, it could have been much worse, since I don't carry comprehensive insurance on a 15 year old car.

Best of luck.

[Schnitz]

About $1000 is reasonable for the timing belt, water pump, idler pulley's and bearing. $550 is to good to be true. Don't even try to qualify their quote. It'll bite you in the end.

[curiousB]

He had real trouble getting the crankshaft bolt out using a torch,

A torch? That seems like a desperation move. That probably ruined the main crankshaft oil seal. Did he replace that?

[cityylightss]

alright so i gave the place a call back. i asked her about what was included and she said the pulleys, tensioner, and oil seals were NOT included but she recommended that i do them considering she charges relatively cheap for labor. she didn't know the exact quote but mentioned somewhere between $750-800 if i included those services. she also told me that she uses all OEM parts and that she will give me the old parts in the new part boxes. my confidence is considerably restored in this shop and i think i will go ahead with the services. she also mentioned that she'd do some inspections for me for free while my car was there (i told her my PS pump was leaking), and that if it came down to it...she'd have someone take me somewhere (ie work) after i dropped the car off. i did some research online and it seems they have pretty good reviews overall. hopefully it all goes well!

[pawan]

I have a 94 LS400 with 177K miles on it and runs good. I see a sticker on my engine saying the timing belt was changed in 1999 with 110K miles at that time, should I be considering replacing the TB as my PS is leaking and I got another one to be replaced, since, the mechanic is going to charge me anyway for the labour, I was curios whether I should get the TB with pulleys and idlers replaced too.

Any suggestions or comments?

Thanks in Advance.

[curiousB]

Based on mileage you're not due to timing belt until 200k miles (90k since last change). Based on age it sounds like it is due as that is almost 10 years.

I don't think PS or Alternator repair help you much towards a timing belt. Maybe a bit of labor saved but they're not a lot in common.

[pawan]

Thanks CuriousB.

I have decided to get timing belt changed along with the idlers pulley, hope everything goes well with it.

[johnhoward]

I've got a 99 ls, and had an independent shop do mine. The total job was $720 - new water pump, timing belt, serpentine belt, and thermostat. They spun my bearings and told me I didn't need to replace them and it was a waste of money.

(even though I asked them to include this in the job). They even gave me my old belt back, and it looked like-new.

My advice - call several established import repair shops and speak directly to the shop manager. Have him/her quote you the cost of the whole package (of above items). Let them know that you've talked with (competitor/s name - insert here). But, don't disclose the pricing. If they know your car, they'll already know its a fairly costly job and they'll tell you that on the phone. You should get an honest quote right away by doing this. This particular shop had been in business for at least a decade, and they guy knew my car.

My dealer wanted $1500, and a local Toyota dealer wanted $1300.

The independents wanted from $700-1000.

Good luck -

[Mike48]

Ive had dealers from differentcities bid against each other. As much as 400- diff on 2k of work

[90LS400Lexus]

The PO of my '91 paid the Lexus dealer in Atlanta $1500 to do mine, but when I had my '90 LS400, MY local Lexus dealer quoted me around $500. Bigger cities are alot higher. Also, I know a Toyota tech that does some work to my car... he did the fan bearing which almost takes it to the t-belt... he only charged $125 labor... he said for $150 labor he would have done the t-belt / water pump, but it was done only 20K ago, so he said it was not called for.

Good luck.

[amcdonal86]

Why is it so expensive on the Lexus? I've had shops replace my timing belt/water pump on other vehicles for only $600 including parts.

[90LS400Lexus]

Why is it so expensive on the Lexus?

Because its a Lexus. They think people with Lexus all still have money to burn. <_< Well, I can be the proof thats not true. ;)

[curiousB]

Well it is a Lexus. Dealer labor rates are pretty high. They usually bundle in a bunch of other tasks and wrap a blanket around it and call it the 90k mile service. By bundling they make it hard to decompose the pricing and hence less trouble to justify it. Marketing 101 I guess.

In fairness it is a good bit of work to do. The disassembly and removal of the harmonic balancer on the crankshaft is not simple. Some cars don't require that step so it is much easier to do a TB. I find the location of the water pump and starter motor questionable in these cars. The progressive assembly leads to very expensive repairs. Hopefully Lexus designed in the best components case so while expensive to repair the likelihood is much lower. In the end maybe total lifetime costs are about the same.

I guess with the interference engines of the last few years you don't want to play Russian roulette with a timing belt too long. The downside costs would be several thousand to repair if the belt breaks. You'll have to determine your own tolerance to risk.

[jainla]

I just went through this in LA. I shopped around; the Midas shop on the corner wanted $700 to replace the timing belt and water pump.

The indy shop I eventually went with charged me $850 to do the timing belt and water pump. They replaced both idlers, the seals, the pump, etc. They said they could do it for ~500 just replacing the seals but they strongly recommended against doing that. Since the car only has 85,000 miles on it I'm going to wait a couple of months and do the fluid flush which also comes with the 90,000 mile service.

FWIW the timing belt looked like it had been through the ringer; it wasn't fraying or anything but it definitely didn't look pristine. I sleep a little better at night knowing this is finally done.

FWIW Lexus of Riverside quoted me $2400 for the 90,000 mile service when I bought the car 4 years ago. It definitely pays to shop around.

Well it is a Lexus. Dealer labor rates are pretty high. They usually bundle in a bunch of other tasks and wrap a blanket around it and call it the 90k mile service. By bundling they make it hard to decompose the pricing and hence less trouble to justify it. Marketing 101 I guess.

In fairness it is a good bit of work to do. The disassembly and removal of the harmonic balancer on the crankshaft is not simple. Some cars don't require that step so it is much easier to do a TB. I find the location of the water pump and starter motor questionable in these cars. The progressive assembly leads to very expensive repairs. Hopefully Lexus designed in the best components case so while expensive to repair the likelihood is much lower. In the end maybe total lifetime costs are about the same.

I guess with the interference engines of the last few years you don't want to play Russian roulette with a timing belt too long. The downside costs would be several thousand to repair if the belt breaks. You'll have to determine your own tolerance to risk.

[id1]

Any one got a satisfactory job done TB in a non-dealer shop in North East?? I have a 1995 LS TB due in 3-4 months & a 2002 LS430 due in 1 yr. I live in CT and any info is appreciated.

I just went through this in LA. I shopped around; the Midas shop on the corner wanted $700 to replace the timing belt and water pump.

The indy shop I eventually went with charged me $850 to do the timing belt and water pump. They replaced both idlers, the seals, the pump, etc. They said they could do it for ~500 just replacing the seals but they strongly recommended against doing that. Since the car only has 85,000 miles on it I'm going to wait a couple of months and do the fluid flush which also comes with the 90,000 mile service.

FWIW the timing belt looked like it had been through the ringer; it wasn't fraying or anything but it definitely didn't look pristine. I sleep a little better at night knowing this is finally done.

FWIW Lexus of Riverside quoted me $2400 for the 90,000 mile service when I bought the car 4 years ago. It definitely pays to shop around.

Well it is a Lexus. Dealer labor rates are pretty high. They usually bundle in a bunch of other tasks and wrap a blanket around it and call it the 90k mile service. By bundling they make it hard to decompose the pricing and hence less trouble to justify it. Marketing 101 I guess.

In fairness it is a good bit of work to do. The disassembly and removal of the harmonic balancer on the crankshaft is not simple. Some cars don't require that step so it is much easier to do a TB. I find the location of the water pump and starter motor questionable in these cars. The progressive assembly leads to very expensive repairs. Hopefully Lexus designed in the best components case so while expensive to repair the likelihood is much lower. In the end maybe total lifetime costs are about the same.

I guess with the interference engines of the last few years you don't want to play Russian roulette with a timing belt too long. The downside costs would be several thousand to repair if the belt breaks. You'll have to determine your own tolerance to risk.

[blake918]

Why is it so expensive on the Lexus? I've had shops replace my timing belt/water pump on other vehicles for only $600 including parts.

The parts and labor are expensive. It's been many years since I've changed the LS's timing belt, but I recall the water pump, belt, idler pulleys, oil seals, tensioner, and coolant being in the $300 range when I changed mine in 2004 (I'm sure the parts have gone up since then). Then, it takes 7 or 8 hours to do the job if you've never done it before; someone who has done this before or does it on a regular basis can do it in 4 or 5 hours.

[GKLCPA]

I had mine done at my local dealer Toyota for $ 1039.12 which included everything. Lexus was wanting $ 1600. I'm due again in another 60K miles.

[jainla]

Definitely ask a Toyota dealer; the V8s in the LS are similar to the I-Force V8s in the Toyota trucks. However since the Lex and Toyota dealerships in Santa Monica are owned by the same guy the Toyo guys said no way.

I had mine done at my local dealer Toyota for $ 1039.12 which included everything. Lexus was wanting $ 1600. I'm due again in another 60K miles.

[AZ Mike]

Why is it so expensive on the Lexus? I've had shops replace my timing belt/water pump on other vehicles for only $600 including parts.

Lexus Service.....good, but pricey compared to others

Job requires a good bit of teardown. Takes more time to get to timing belt, water pump, etc on this vehicle than others I own. Since you are doing a front end teardown, it makes sense to replace whatever needs replacing and may need replacing while you are in there. Makes no sense to save $50 by not replacing a part when it is either going to cost you several hundred for the labor or several hours of your own time.

I replaced timing belt, water pump, pulleys, etc myself in January. I don't recall, but probably $200-$300 in parts buying OEM online. I did not do it all at once, and had a couple of snags, so I have no idea how many hours it took. I will guess a lot more than a Lexus mechanic takes to do the same job. lol

[88anthonyd]

I have a 94 ls400 with 226k on it. I bought a good kit that has a timing belt waterpump,gaskets, 2 idler pulleys, and tensioner. I paid 260.00 for it at a part store and I got a great deal cause he said it wouldve cost 450 without the discount. I have a good mechanic that said.he would do the job for 325 and I called a few places and some were saying labor 425-600. So ill be going with my mechanic and total cost plus coolant would be about 600-650.