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Post by s95runner on Dec 7, 2007 16:11:40 GMT -5
  Alright, so I've had my 4runner back for a whole 3 weeks maybe... It's time for something else to go wrong... My State inspection ran out on the 30th of Nov. So, I finally get around to taking it to get it inspected... Stupid me, took it to the Toyota dealer because it's walking distance from work, I could just drop it off, and walk to work... So, bout noonish today, I get a call from the dealership, that it failed inspection... Aparently, I have a left front marker bulb that is out, and then something about my Idler Arm is loose, and the hanger for the cat converter is too loose, and then the hanger for the tail pipe is missing.... And, according to the dude at the dealership, to have it fixed there, it would be $510.23 to fix it.... It's Christmas time, I'm broke... I'm leaving for Las Vegas for Christmas 2 weeks from tomorrow. I don't have the time or the funds to fix it... The techs from the dealership were really nice, they showed me everything that was wrong with it. But as far as that crap costing $510, I think they're trying to rip me off... You can try to take money from me all you want... I don't have any to give, so it don't make no difference... I begged the cute techs that were showing me my POS to accidently drop it off the lift, so that it'd break into a million little pieces... They thought it was funny, but wouldn't do it... I know there's not much advice to give on the topic... Its falling apart all around me, and bottom line is it needs to get fixed... I just thought I'd share this lovely news with everyone. |
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Post by 82yota on Dec 7, 2007 20:19:16 GMT -5
Shouldn't be that bad to bend up a new hanger for the exhaust and tighten up the one on the cat. Bulb is simple. The idler arm is the only one that would really hurt anything and is the only expensive item of the bunch. Replace the bulb and put a hanger on the exhaust and bring it to another shop and see what they have to say. Replace the idler arm if its loose and drive the thing. Don't know how much an idler arm would be but the rest of the stuff wouldn't hardly cost anything. $1 for the bulb, $15 for a universal hanger kit. Shouldn't be anywhere near $500.
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Post by DeadlyPeace on Dec 7, 2007 22:38:57 GMT -5
First off....That sucks!!
What did they show you that was wrong with the idler arm? If it was at the ball joint (at the steering arm) then you may just need to tighten it. If for some reason you need to replace it, it would be about $50-70 for the arm and then just a matter of bolting it on. You may need to rent a puller for it. Maybe $10-15. The hanger would be about $5-15 plus labor unless you or a friend can weld it on. Some muffler shops might even do this for the price of the parts or just a little more then the parts.
$500 might be about right for a dealer cuz they just go by what the book tells them how long it should take. Even if it says it's a 2 hour job and the mechanic can do it in an hour or less they still charge you the full 2 hours.
Do it yourself, or as much as you can, and save about $400+.
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Post by Sean on Dec 8, 2007 11:00:04 GMT -5
Worn idler arms are very common on those years of Toys. No suprise there. Dealerships charge a much higher shop rate then your corner mechanic for several legit reasons. The work you need done can be done by anyone though so i would look around for a cheaper quote.
Shops may charge flat rates for jobs meaning like mentioned if the book time is 2 hours they charge you for 2 hours even if it only takes one. On the flip side of this if it takes three you get charged for 2 hours and the mechanic only gets paid for two hours. This is why flat rate mechanics tend to prefer simple jobs like brake and steering work where they are pretty much assured they will beat their time.
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