Delete if not allowed! I have an ‘04 tacoma, 230k miles been running pretty good with minimal problems the last few years. Took it in for general inspection and the mechanic sent me these pictures and gave me this estimate.
Are these a good price? Are these repairs I should have done by a mechanic or are they easy to do at home? Wanna save money but want to make sure they’re done right. Any advice?
I agree that they're looking to hose you on the R&P. Do the battery yourself. You can get a decent one at Walmart cheaper and it's 10 minutes to replace with a socket and / or wrench.
Yeah OEM r&p has inner tie rods pre installed and is maybe $600
Good to know thank you all!
In Oceanside CA, I’d say that’s cheap
If you’re in Oceanside why not take it to Tijuana
Go to Escondido or san marcos .
Or anywhere else, vista had some decent shops back in the day, also your in a great part of Cali for any type of work
Good to know, I’ll look around thanks!
That is a fair estimate.
idk what your saying but nice truck
I think you could do a lot better shopping around, a whole lot better. Good luck!
Will do thank you!
I think everyone is right about the battery. That’s way too much for a battery swap. I just did the rack, upper control arms, tie rod ends and lower control arms for $800 myself and it was a chore but the savings made it make sense for me. If you’re getting a Toyota rack I couldn’t see that price tag but an aftermarket rack is only $300 or so. Food for thought.
Good point I’ll shop around! Thanks!
I'm confused... why 4 tie rod ends? When I did my rack and pinion (not a tacoma) I was able to reuse the old tie rod ends. For what he's charging for labor, his ass better reuse the old tie rod ends.
Inner and outer
Is it the 3.4 ? I've been looking at doing the valve cover gaskets on mine. Seems like it would cost more than that quote, but I could be wrong. I came across someone on here that said they did it in two hours. Seems like it would take longer, even for a professional.
Yeah I just got my ‘00 back from a valve gasket replacement and it cost me $540. If you have done it before it could be much less but the idea of opening up the engine to my clumsy mistakes wasn’t palatable.
I'd say 2 hours for a professional sounds about right. Took me no more than 4 total as an amateur. Just watch some videos multple times before doing it - Timmy the Toolman is the best. I used painters tape to label where 2 given pieces go back together. It was fairly smooth and easy despite how much you're taking apart
Part of me really wants to do it,.the other part of me wants to go fishing. Thanks for the encouragement. My truck is a second car, so I really have no excuse, it could take 12 hours and I'd be ok.
Of course. Same for me, it was a secondary car when I did it. I had done a 4 cylinder valve cover gasket before so I was pretty confident. But also that youtuber is a godsend for 3.4 tacoma and 4runner owners. Definitely the most comprehensive videos I've found compared to any other vehicle I've worked on. Helped me with balljoints too
Good point. And yes it’s a 3.4 I’m going to shop around and see what others pricing is, thank you!
Is the rack and pinion oem? Id only do oem ..
Not sure, I’ll have to check. Thank you!
I’d say fair prices for the most part but being possibly double charged or over charged on tie rods.
Alignment is about double what other shops might charge - but not convenient to change shops over either.
Best case, not getting hosed that’s for sure. Could be worth calling one or two shops to check it out to feel better about it.
Alignments are at least $120 now. If you have a shop that does it cheaper then kudos because I can’t find one.
Just got my 2004 aligned at a reputable shop for 110.
They’re 120$ Canadian here at the dealers - which is about 85$ USD. Maybe we haven’t caught on yet but I’m sure it will.
Backyard shops are 90$ CAD but aren’t as fancy.
Will do, thanks a lot!
Any place charging you $300 for a battery and installation of said battery is a no go for me. The dealer didn't even quote my that much and they wanted to replace the cables to it.
Ahhhh ok good to know! Thank you
Do not let them do the rack and pinion or the battery swap. The R&P parts aren’t that expensive and the battery is really easy for anyone to do. Otherwise I’d let them do the valve cover gasket. It’s sort of a bitch to remove all the parts to get to them and it also opens the engine up to costly mistakes.
Smart, thank you for the advice!
If the R&P is bad you will be refilling the power steering reservoir often. If you notice more play than normal in the steering then the mechanism is starting to fail. I'd keep an eye on those things before changing it out. I had one shop tell me mine was leaking but another told me they didn't see any leak, so I just monitor the fluid levels more often now to be sure. I've read about changing the R&P, it's not too bad but it's a little more than I would be willing to take on.
Good idea, I’ll make a note to check next time. Thank you!
Fair
I’m just gonna say that steering rack leak is nothing compared to what I’ve seen last 10+ years I know yours will last just as long as the truck it’s not bad at all I would get all your front end work done like tie rods and ends with lower ball joints (weak point on these truck and 4Runners ) get everything done but the rack ! Bet I’m right and you save about $900-$1k
Thank you!!!
Yup about right. My 2006 was bought in 06 for 28k, this past few years with +300k miles, ive put in about half that just in maintenance from things going out back to back. It sucks but then i remind myself how much these new junk toyotas and cars are and i feel a little better
So true! I’ve only had mine for a few years so that’s the only problems, im not sure what’s already been maintenanced. Trying to keep it up as nice as I can to keep it runnin!
Rack and pinion service price from the tier-1 to the OEMs is around $200-$250. OEMs selling price to their service suppliers has a 3x markup and there’s nothing we can do :(
Makes sense😪
Feel like costco has much cheaper batteries and they take back your old one ($10 depo or something you get back). Batteries have to be the 2nd easiest thing to do yourself besides windshield wipers.
as for rear brakes if they are servicing it I would see if they would do a replacement personally..yours looks pretty worn and maybe they can include the alignment in it vs charging $185 which seems extreme imo.
Good to know. They told me they’re only “out of alignment” and don’t need replaced yet…🤔
It's 20 year old tacoma. They have those steering rack leaks, but it takes a LONG, LONG time for them to actually need to be replaced. If it's not dropping anything on the ground, you can put it off until you save a bit for the replacement, or even replace it at all. After all, it is a 20 year old vehicle.
I had this truck. I now have a 2nd gen tacoma. That "leak" in the steering isn't pressing, as long as it isn't dripping. But I would replace the valve cover as soon as you can.
Got it, thank you!
I can help with your car issues. I specialize on working on Toyotas
Will you message me!
Confused why he’s replacing the entire rack and pinion?
Why not just replace the boot ?
Because the boot doesn't keep the oil in. The seal on the rack does. The boot just protects the shafts from dirt and debris.
I looked at my r&p as mint with more of a leak than that.
Decently priced labor and most parts prices..
With the exception of the prices for the tie rods and that most rack and pinions come with the inners already installed… so he’s basically double dipping or buying the cheapest rack possible (either way not good).