HUGE THANK YOU 200,000 Mile Rebuild

[ejthomp]

I've been a user of this website for several years. Nothing major, just reading and learning, but I just completed a long list of maintenance items on my daughters Camry and just have to say "Thank You" to all of you major contributors. Here is a list of what I completed in the past three weekends:

Replaced power window regulators on both front doors...fixed the window switch on the driver's side thanks to this siite.
Replaced the door handle on the driver's door
Flushed all the brake lines
Flushed the power steering
Replaced valve cover gasket, spark plugs, wires, distributor cap, rotor and distributor o-ring
Changed timing belt, along with the cam and crank seals and oil pump o-ring and of course the water pump and thermostat
Changed the oil pan gasket...afterwards had the exhaust flex pipe changed as it was leaking..
Changed the transmission fluid, filter and gasket
Changed the exhaust manifold gasket
Changed the top engine mount...aka dogbone
Changed the battery terminals

Had new tires put on for her....Michelins...

Obviously I had put a lot of maintenance off on this vehicle for several years because I wasn't sure it was worth keeping, but after looking at options, I thought... What kind of used vehicle can I buy for a thousand bucks? Will it have all of this maintenance done on it?

My total for all of this...parts, fluids, tires and tools.... and I used mostly OEM...$1,250.00

Car runs great now. A friend asked me how much all this work would have cost at a dealer... Guesses?

For many of these repairs I just followed the DIY links... So again THANK YOU

[bolink654]

Agreed. I've done some of the things you've done, and others. I mostly lurk, use the DIY's and the search. Post the occasional question, and answer a few if I know the answer and it hasn't been posted yet. This is an A+ online community.

[BamZipPow]

Bring in a list of these items to yer local dealership and have them build a price list...don't faint from the "estimate".

[BMR]

I completely agree. This board is full of very helpful people who will offer good advice to seasoned mod'ers or total noobs alike. It's one of the bigger reasons I hang around.

I stumbled upon this site a few years ago, looking for a fix to a problem on my Camry that I've long since forgotten. Mostly lurked for a while. Got a lot of good advice fixing other sniggling problems it had for years, but had no idea what was wrong, much less how to fix them. Started contributing a bit here and there, as I'm a big fan of "paying it forward". Got asked to be a mod recently, which is interesting to say the least.

Here are my guesses for what you would've paid at a dealership:

$500 - Replaced power window regulators on both front doors...fixed the window switch on the driver's side thanks to this siite.
$200 - Replaced the door handle on the driver's door
$100 - Flushed all the brake lines
$100 - Flushed the power steering
$400 - Replaced valve cover gasket, spark plugs, wires, distributor cap, rotor and distributor o-ring
$800 - Changed timing belt, along with the cam and crank seals and oil pump o-ring and of course the water pump and thermostat
$200 - Changed the oil pan gasket...afterwards had the exhaust flex pipe changed as it was leaking..
$100 - Changed the transmission fluid, filter and gasket
$200 - Changed the exhaust manifold gasket
$50 - Changed the top engine mount...aka dogbone
$50 - Changed the battery terminals

$2700 total. And I could easily be low by $1000, depending on how bad your local dealer likes to jack up prices. Some price their services fairly, and some don't.

[5thgencamryJ]

just look at $100.

[ejthomp]

Looks like I did about three grand of repairs for twelve hundred and with tires accounting for four hundred of that and I have a torque wrench and gear puller set now, I'm feeling pretty darn good about this car again. We have had it since it was almost new.

The transmission seems solid. No surprises when I dropped the pan and looked at the magnets.

There was some build up under the valve cover, but not terrible and the oil pan was relatively clean. Guess it could have had a few more frequent oil changes.

All of the rubber o-rings and seals really were in need of replacement. I think I have stopped all the oil leaks.

Next step is to improve the lights.... Heading to Walmart for the new Sylvania's.

[KarenM in NC]

That's an impressive list of items you did! Would you tell us what type of Michelin tires you put on for $400?

Thanks.
KarenM in NC

[ejthomp]

I'm a Costco shopper. In June of 2006 I had them put on a set of Michelin X-Radial DT P195/70R14 90S with 80,000 mile rating, thinking at the time that they would be the vehicles last set of tires as they went on at 134,000.

Now sitting at 202,000 with not a lot of tread left and winter weather here for a few more months, I decided I may as well go with another set as they performed well for 5-1/2 years and 68,000 miles with no flats and just a few rotations. This is my daughter's car now...maintenance for her is adding gas.

Costco has these tires for $100.99 each, but Michelin offers a $70.00 coupon off that so out the door with installation, balancing, nitrogen fill, etc...and Costco's warranty... they were $403.96

My wife went to a couple places and we found decent tires out the door for about $360, but for ten bucks more a tire, I prefer the Michelins. Gotta like Costco.

So...what are the odds this car will see another set of tires without major engine or transmission work?

BTW...this car has never had any suspension work...not even an alignment..drives straight...tire wear was relatively even considering the few rotations done on it in the past 5 years.

[BMR]

Originally Posted by ejthomp

Now sitting at 202,000...

...So...what are the odds this car will see another set of tires without major engine or transmission work?

BTW...this car has never had any suspension work...not even an alignment..drives straight...tire wear was relatively even considering the few rotations done on it in the past 5 years.

If your Camry is like mine (326k and counting), the answer's yes, it's gonna need a few more sets!

202k without an alignment?!?! I've never heard of that! That's incredible!!