johnsfe

Hi All....thank you for he wealth of information. There is no better place than CL to get help when you need it. I was able to find a reputable place in Sac that another club member got a quote from for $800 something. I looked up their business rating and also feedback on yelp and they received very high marks. The two owners are master mechanics that work for mercedes for 20 years each then branched out and started their own business. they service all luxury vehicles and I asked specifically about SC430. They seemed very knowledgable and I spoke with owner of store.

When I called, they quoted $900 with everything major changed...timing belt, drive and water pump. They also do everything the dealers do with all filters and fluids. Inspection of vehicle as dealer would do and road test to make sure everything checks out.

So I dropped off vehicle early yesterday and will get vehicle back on Tuesday. So I am glad for the suggestions of other places that are reputable non dealer, because I had called all 4 dealerships within driving distance. I will say...all were consistent in price EXCEPT for the one closest that quoted $1K, but no drive belt or water pump replacement. So to me, that just gives them opportunity to jack price up higher once they have your vehicle in their shop!!

I will also take the advice of going to my local toyota dealer to check on any other services I may need that they are able to help me with.

Again...thanks for the information. It really helped me to make an informed decision. I will let you know how it all goes by Tuesday!

johnsfe

Thanks for posting a copy of your service. It helps to have a visual of actual breakdown. I will def be comparing to make sure they got the brunt of all this done. Very Very helpful to me!

tromly

That's a great deal!! My dealer wanted $1500!

kjcole

Looks like they didn't replace the idler or tensioner pulleys, however.

mrblister

I think they can be changed easily enough. They are accessable with out braking down the front

kjcole

Yes, kinda. But if the bearings are smooth and tight, I suppose they are good to go. In any case, the OEM parts on these engines are very, very good. The bearings on the idler and tensioner pulleys felt great at 103K miles - who knows, probably could go 200K miles.

Since I did the work myself it felt right to invest in the parts and replace everything I could with new OEM. Interrestingly, that shop replaced oil seals (which fail rarely) but passed on the pulley and tensioner. Curious. Would like to hear their logic.

johnsfe

UPDATE****Received car back yesterday after reputable shop in Sac did 90K service. I am not good at uploading pics..it always seems hard to meBut the Parts were $381.84 plus $520.16 = $902.00 and tax $939.21 Total.
I was thrilled. All OEM parts as well. So below is a breakdown of all I could type that was done..besides all the fluids etc.

Air Filter
Front Cabin pollen filter
Engine belt
Thermostat
Thermostat Gasket
Radiator Cap
Timing Blet
Idler bearing
Water Pump
Oil
Oil Filter
Brake Fluid
Antifreeze
Waste disposal Fee
Replaced Tensioner
Rotate Tires
Reset tire pressure monitor system
Road Test
And total inspection of all parts

So Guys, and gals, I think this is quite a bit and felt good about the price. Frustration Solved!

kjcole

Pretty nice deal, I'd say.

thombiz

A small point about the Idlers. Typically, the mechanic just replaces the whole idler, but.......the only thing wrong with the Idler is the bearing. A bearing that is going bad typically makes a squeeling sound similar to that of a squeeling fan belt. Replacing the bearing is easy and straight forward. Remove the Idler, remove the C-clip retainer ring, tap out the bearing from the back side, tap in the new bearing, install the C-clip, and reinstall the Idler. Takes 10 minutes. I prefer to use the premium bearings used by offroad and dirt motorcycles in the Idlers because they can easily handle the RPM's and they have an extremely efficient dirt and water seal.They also have hardened races and *****. The bearings typically cost about $9 each. I don't remember the bearing grade, but I seem to remember it was one notch below bearings used in jet engines and very high RPM electric motors (like 20,000 rpm motors).