$2,300 in repairs for a 2006 Toyota Avalon?

[hostage]

My wife's car started making a clunk noise, when hitting bumps. I was not surprised when he said I needed new strut assemblies. What I wasn't expecting is he stated we need a new rack and pinion and tie rods. The rack was leaking into the boot, though it wasn't a huge leak. He also said they couldn't get the outer tie rods lose from the rack. He said they used a torch and couldn't loosen them. They can't do an alignment, because they can't adjust this. He also said our front brakes were 90% worn. I have done brakes before and front brakes are easy, so I can save ourselves close to $200 there. I am also going to have them do the oil, as I hate doing oil on that car. I hate to spend that much money on something we don't know, we want to keep for more than a couple of years. Granted we just dropped money on rims and tires for winter driving for her car, last November. This stuff stresses my wife out and she hates spending money

$961 for labor, Monroe Sensa-Trac strut assemblies, and links.
$952.85 rack and pinion, flush, outer tie rods, and labor
$285 centric brakes and labor
$89 alignment
$75 Mobile One Syn Oil
...then Uncle Sam must get his tax.

My wife got a new job .5 miles away from me, so I am in no rush as we can carpool.
I am wondering

 

[aspeck]

The question I would ask is how strong is the rest of the car ... engine, tranny, and body? If the rest is strong, you know what you have and might be worth the added years with the car, especially if it is a 0.5 mile drive to work. But if you are serious about a new(er) car in a year or 2, then maybe if you see something you like at the right price, now is the time to buy ...

 

[64osby]

Is this the dealer or an independent. Took the Avalon to the dealership a few months ago, they said it needed $3,500 worth of repairs. One of the items was the rack and pinion.

A local shop looked at it and did struts and a few other things, but said the r&p was fine. It has small seal leaks but not worth repairing at this time.

That vintage of Toyota has an issue and the dealers ove to replace it.

 

[WIMUSKY]

I just got a couple quotes to replace all my ball joints(greaseable) on the RAM. $1600 dealer, $750 independent.....

 

[Scott Danforth]

can you turn your own wrenches?

Steering rack new is $247, reman is $182 low mileage pull-a-part salvage is about $75
new struts (all 4) $267
new centric rotors (all 4) under $100
new brake pads (all 4 plus clips )under $40
new brake system (rotors, calipers, etc. for all 4 corners ) $468

steering rack is about 2 hours of work, struts about 2 hours of work, brakes about 2 hours of work

alignment - about $70-90 no mater where you take it.

 

[MTboatguy]

Sounds about normal to me, I am currently sitting 600 miles from where I live and had a brake go out, I can fix it for about $100 in parts and was quoted $750.00 from a local shop....

 

[hostage]

We actually replaced the engine a few years back from a ruptured oil return line, though as the part that caused the failure eventually was recalled, they reimbursed us about 95% of the cost of the engine replacement. Other than that and a couple of 02 sensors, it has been a reliable car. Much more than my car, which has seen a lot more with less miles. (Transmission, Radiator, Starter, Alternator, and a couple other smaller things)

It is not the dealer, but a local shop. They aren't the cheapest, though they have always seem to do a good job and have much better reviews than other places like pepboys, etc. Granted they do annoy me when they try to sell a "battery service", though I think a lot of shops try to sell you those addons.

I do have a 9mo baby and a wife who I am not completely sure is sold on me doing the front brakes, even though I have changed brakes about 6 or 7 times.

I ran it by my brother, who rebuilds older cars for a hobby and services his own vehicles. He seemed fine with what the mechanic said, after I explained it to him in great detail, until I mentioned Monroe shocks. He didn't like them when he installed him in his old SUV and he has never heard a good thing about them.

I could call a couple other shops.

 

[hostage]

Called Pep boys, and they quoted me $617 for struts and alignment. That is almost half the price of my shop. Granted their reviews aren't the best, my wife always has liked them and this is an older care. Granted they both are suggesting Monroe, but the guy said that is the only ones that come assembled. I guess we will lose the "sports tuned" suspension for the front. I wonder how OEM rear and after market front struts will handle. Granted she always hated the rougher ride of the spots tuned.

 

[bruceb58]

You can also have a shop change the strut cartridges and a few other parts in the assemblies, usually the strut mount. I used KYB cartridges in my 2005 GS 300 which is a very similar car to yours. Supposedly, KYB is the manufacturer for mine and may be the same for yours.

The labor charge may be a bit more but the prices for parts may offset it.

I recently went in and replaced the ball joints on my car. While I was doing that, I decided just to replace everything at once including all the control arms and the tie rods. My car drives like new again and it has 185K miles.

 

[jkust]

My take is that you can't replace it for 2300 bucks but at the same time, I'm the least hands on guy when it comes to car repairs but I have replaced my own brakes and rotors. It's the easiest thing and was about a hundred fifty bucks or so for the rotors and the brakes at the wholesale brake place that will sell to the public....it's where shops get their parts then mark them way up. Bad tie rods are also worrysome if you've ever seen the result of when they fail. On the rack and pinion, is the steering becoming more difficult? Can you just keep the power steering fluid topped off and run the car to the end?

 

[hostage]

I looked into it more watched some videos, I think I am comfortable replacing it with an assembled strut. My biggest worry is having the right tools or the job. I currently have no metric deep sockets. I need to make sure I get the tool for the job. I was looking at breaker bars and impact wrenches. I do have a Ridgid Impact driver, though doubt that would be enough. I also do have a compressor, though it is 1.5Gal 2HP that says it is rated at 2.7 @ 90PSI. I was all set to buy a breaker bar, then some people mentioned that it would be more likely to shear bolts off than an impact wrench. My brother recommended Ingersoll impact wrench, though it requires about double the SCFM than what I have. I don't know if my wife would be okay with it. Granted I change brakes, though I am really not going to use it much. I think it will pay for itself after this for this job. I also don't have a torch.

Would my compressor work for an impact wrench that requires 4.2 @ 90 SCFM, if I am not using it a lot, just to remove stubborn bolts? Is it it even worth trying it?

Granted I could always go breaker bar and torch only? Currently I am going out every day and spraying some PB blaster on all the mounting bolts and nuts.

 

[bruceb58]

You do not need an impact wrench. A breaker bar is fine. The tool you really need is a torque wrench.

Nothing wrong with owning an impact wrench. However, I would never use it other than taking off lug nuts for changing shocks. If you use an impact wrench in short bursts, any compressor would work. It just needs to catch up.

 

[WIMUSKY]

I'm sure your brother recommended an Ingersoll, he likes spending your money. With your compressor, I wouldn't go that route..... Buy a breaker bar. They sell different lengths, plus you could put a pipe on it too to get more torque. Since you've been spraying the bolt a lot, I "wouldn't think" it would break.

PS. Impact "guns" are used for lug nuts.... Actually, they're interchanging names for the same tool.....

An impact ratchet probably wouldn't work very good either.....

 

[gm280]

Everything you mentioned can be a DIP project if you are up to it. And that would certainly bring the cost way down. And check out Rock Auto for the parts. They have great prices and ship really quick as well. And their parts are quality parts, not import knock-offs. JMHO

 

[hostage]

I got a breaker bar, deep socket metric set, and torque wrench (all 1/2"). I also got strut assembly, links, pads, rotors, and some other items for the project. I am going to try to organize my work space so I don't have to spend time looking for it.

 

[mjf55]

Don't forget about some heat. I just got a mapp torch ($55 in Home Depot ) and it made all the difference in the world on some stuck corroded bolts.
Agree with what others said. Harbor Freight has some decent breaker bars for the occasional mechanic.

 

[bruceb58]

Make sure you inspect ball joints and all bushings. Might as well replace those if needed while you have it apart

 

[bruceb58]

Just so you know, Harbor Freight torque wrenches leave a lot to be desired. I had a few and threw them in the trash and bought CDI ones that are made by Snap-On. You can get good deals on eBay.

 

[Volphin]

Don't be afraid to ask questions if you need help. If you are unsure about anything ASK. Lot's of folk here with experience willing to lend a hand. You may also want to check out you tube and some toyota forums for handy step by step DIY pointers.

 

[Volphin]

Here's a handy video on Toyota struts. This guy put on whole strut assemblies including the spring, instead of using a spring compressor and removing the strut cartridge. I'd go this route if it's your first time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VnnAE5Nd8Yg