2011 Freshening (1 Viewer)

[nalabama]

Bought a very nice 2011 200 a couple years ago with 168K miles. Only thing the original owner had replaced was the gas cap. I’m now at 199K miles with nothing but brakes and oil changes since purchase. Took it in to the dealer last week for a squeaking serpentine belt. They found a cracked radiator and a leaking timing chain cover. I’ve told them to go ahead with replacing radiator, hoses, timing chain tensioners, front crank seals, water pump, power steering pump, serpentine belt tensioner, and alternator. Wanted them to replace timing chains, but they said they had never had to do that on a 200 series and if they did it would be $$$$. Any thoughts on anything else that should be addressed right now while it’s all torn apart?

 

[CharlieS]

Idler pulley and maybe fan bracket. Thermostat and housing.

 

[nalabama]

Thanks. Toyota does things a little different I guess. I had never before seen a fan coupler that wasn't mounted on the water pump.

 

[kcjaz]

Consider starter and alternator given all the other things you are doing. At 200K, these components could still go for long time, or not. The alt is easily done with all the other stuff off. There may not be that much labor savings for the starter in combination with the other stuff. Spark plugs and PCV if not already done. Also, there are a of hoses so, you may want to be specific with the dealer/shop. I did mine at 150K and replaced the ones connected to all the stuff I was replacing. Recommend all OEM parts.

On the PS pump, it is rebuildable. If you are having a dealer do the work, that may not be that much cheaper. The alt can also be rebuilt but having it rebuilt Denso parts, costs as much as a new one. If you replace these parts, keep the old ones or at least get a core return credit for them.

 

[nalabama]

We’ll probably do the starter when we do the front and rear axle bearings. I know those solenoid contacts are probably getting pretty tired by now, but it just isn’t in the budget for now. I have a really good electrical guy so I’ll probably keep the alternator as a spare and have him go through it. I will keep the power steering pump as a spare also.

I have talked to the dealer rep about the snake nest of hoses and the glass filled plastic fittings Toyota uses, but I don’t think I am getting through to him. I am going to ask him to bring the master mechanic into the conversation. It may be just a failure to communicate on my part, but it needs to be resolved.

I don’t know what the dealer maintenance history will show for plugs and PCV, but I would like to think that might be something that I could handle. Maybe not. Thanks for reminding me to get them addressed in some manner.

 

[nalabama]

Today the service rep, one of the master mechanics, and I talked some more and added a full drain/flush/refill on transmission, transfer case, steering rack and servo, and both differentials. The service rep and master mechanic took out a lot of ”book” labor hours and agreed upon a final labor hour estimate. I was party to most of that discussion and only took exception to one labor charge of one hour for resetting the valve chain timing after replacing the chain tensioners. The service rep called later in the day with an estimate of $5,600 for the work specified. I told him to go ahead as soon as they could get started. I’ll call them tomorrow and check whether that estimate includes new power steering hoses, something that had slipped my mind until my wife and I discussed the estimate.

 

[stonepa]

Wow - that’s replacing a lot of parts that may never need replacing.

 

[CharlieS]

Why timing chain tensioner? I haven't heard of them being an issue. Now the tensioner on the serpentine belt is definitely a good idea while doing the water pump. Or is this a side effect of a cam tower leak issue that some have?

 

[nalabama]

Timing chain tensioner is an assembly that can fail. It is about 5 minute job when the timing chain cover is off, two tensioners is 10 minutes. Why not?

 

[Ducati998]

Did the total bill match the estimate? Any surprises?

 

[nalabama]

Yes and yes. After adding the new power steering hoses and a flush of the steering rack and pinion and losing the core charge credit for the working alternator and power steering pump that I wanted to keep as spares, the grand total was $5867.73. The surprise was the “Miscellaneous Maintenance—Repair” charge of $813.77 for a “Cooler Sub-Assy, Oil“, Part Nbr. 44402-60051, which was never mentioned in our prior discussions. This issue may end up in Small Claims Court when I get around to researching it. I have never had an issue with an oil cooler and consider it a reusable part.

The engine sounds and runs great (as it should). I’ve taken it on trips of 200 miles and 750 miles since the repairs without any issues, despite my occasional accidental excursions over 100 mph. I’m looking forward to many thousand miles of enjoyable travels in this vehicle.

 

[Ducati998]

Yes and yes. After adding the new power steering hoses and a flush of the steering rack and pinion and losing the core charge credit for the working alternator and power steering pump that I wanted to keep as spares, the grand total was $5867.73. The surprise was the “Miscellaneous Maintenance—Repair” charge of $813.77 for a “Cooler Sub-Assy, Oil“, Part Nbr. 44402-60051, which was never mentioned in our prior discussions. This issue may end up in Small Claims Court when I get around to researching it. I have never had an issue with an oil cooler and consider it a reusable part.

The engine sounds and runs great (as it should). I’ve taken it on trips of 200 miles and 750 miles since the repairs without any issues, despite my occasional accidental excursions over 100 mph. I’m looking forward to many thousand miles of enjoyable travels in this vehicle.

Awesome! Thanks for the update. Happy trails.

 

[Omsok]

Timing chain tensioner is an assembly that can fail. It is about 5 minute job when the timing chain cover is off, two tensioners is 10 minutes. Why not?

Is it an easy job to swap the tensioners? I did it on an LR4 over a weekend with the owner who was the man with the plan and the specialty tools. Common point of failure on LR4. Is it really on LC200, LX570, 5.7L Tundra, Sequoia?