1999 Toyota Corolla 4E-FE Timing belt

brendankilkenny

I'm looking to get a timing belt/pump replaced on a 1999 Toyota Corolla 1.4 Petrol (4E-FE). I've been quoted €350 on the job. Seems a bit steep to me tbh. Can anyone with more of a clue than me give me a steer? Thanks.

biko

Tbh 350 is about right (generally speaking). What's included in the kit? Pump too?

Not diy, moved to main forum.

George Dalton

That's crazy money. €150 would be more like it.

Toyotafanboi

seems fair. you're reasonably talking €100 - €120 for parts alone, 80 ish for the timing belt kit and then another €20-40 for a water pump.

most of the price is still labour but it's a fair few hours of a job. again, roughly speaking 3 - 4 hours.

edit: just look at micks garage for retail prices of the parts you will be buying to give you an idea

water pumps: http://www.micksgarage.com/search.aspx?fffDepartment=water%20pumps&fffMake=toyota&fffBasemodel=toyota%20corolla&fffModelDescription=corolla%201992%20to%201999&ffftd_car=1.3%20xli%2016v%20(ee101)&fffBHP=88

timing belt kits: http://www.micksgarage.com/search.aspx?fffDepartment=Timing%20Belts&fffMake=toyota&fffBasemodel=toyota%20corolla&fffModelDescription=corolla%201992%20to%201999&ffftd_car=1.3%20xli%2016v%20(ee101)&fffBHP=88

George Dalton

There is no need to do the water pump along with the timing belt on one of these because it is driven off the alternator belt and can be done afterwards as a standalone job without going near the timing belt.

As for labour, if it takes any half decent mechanic more than an hour to do a belt on a 4E-FE then they might want to consider a change of career :pac:

Toyotafanboi

George Dalton wrote: »

There is no need to do the water pump along with the timing belt on one of these because it is driven off the alternator belt and can be done afterwards as a standalone job without going near the timing belt.

As for labour, if it takes any half decent mechanic more than an hour to do a belt on a 4E-FE then they might want to consider a change of career :pac:

i appreciate it's in a much tighter space in a starlet, but i got a timing belt kit and both aux belts changed with the water pump in a first stop branch before and it cost 320 so i didn't think the OP's price was too out of line, the labour time on the invoice iirc was 3 hours.

sorry guess there's a bit of a difference between a full kit and just a belt. would it be unusual practise to change a water pump with the timing belt and not a timing kit though.

brendankilkenny

Cheers for the responses. I'll shop around another bit and see what comes up. I fairly clueless on these things so it's great to hear from those that know. I was told to replace the belt at 80000 miles and beyond that I'm trusting the mechanic's direction.

George Dalton

Toyotafanboi wrote: »

i appreciate it's in a much tighter space in a starlet, but i got a timing belt kit and both aux belts changed with the water pump in a first stop branch before and it cost 320 so i didn't think the OP's price was too out of line, the labour time on the invoice iirc was 3 hours.

sorry guess there's a bit of a difference between a full kit and just a belt. would it be unusual practise to change a water pump with the timing belt and not a timing kit though.

When I said belt I meant the kit. The kit consists of belt and tensioner on these, that's it.

On most cars it makes sense to do the water pump as part of the timing belt job. That is because the timing belt drives the water pump so if the pump fails subsequently then you are looking at paying all the same labour again to replace the pump and if you are very unlucky and the pump fails totally then it can damage the engine if the timing slips.

This is not the case with the 4E-FE engine. The pump is driven off the alternator belt and there is little or no labour saving to be made by replacing it at the same time as the timing belt kit. They are effectively two separate jobs. So unless the pump is faulty then I wouldn't bother changing it. Just do the timing belt kit and the aux belts. €150 should cover it.

biko

George Dalton wrote: »

That's crazy money. €150 would be more like it.

Ok so we have a quote

OP, it's possibly your mech was just giving a usual cost without knowing this engine. Either way you should probably go with someone else.

brendankilkenny

I got a second quote today of €200 on the belt (no change on the pump for the reasons discussed). €175 for a service and few other minor jobs. €375 total. I think that's okay but might call around to another few tomorrow, see if I can do better.

George Dalton

That is a bit more sensible alright.

Was the €350 quote from a Toyota dealer?

JohnBoy26

These usually only need a belt and maybe an oil seal if one is leaking. Even the tensioner never gives bother in them although it's a good idea to change it while your in there. They have to be one of the easiest belts to do too.

brendankilkenny

George Dalton wrote: »

That is a bit more sensible alright.

Was the €350 quote from a Toyota dealer?

Nope, just a local garage. I'm gonna go with the last quote. Cheers again!