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I've rang around a few places to get quotes on the 'major' service with supplied parts and fluids. I've got to admit, most of the quotes have me convinced mechanics are too busy smoking crack with $100 bills and don't want the work. I don't give a stuff what your overheads and problems are. undoing a freaking cover and at worst moving the radiator and unplugable fan does not qualify a grand!

what is it going to take a guy 3/4 hours to pull off the stuff, swap out the bearings (idler), water pump and put on the new timing belt? even at a whole day for one guy with all the parts supplied.

Either way. If you know a guy who can do the work right and doesnt want to charge me a fortune, let me know.

The question is what hourly rate are they charging you ($120 - $140) and how many hours are they allowing for the job?

This can be a pain in the ass job if the pulley on the crankshaft does not come off easy and I have first hand experience with this on my GTR. It can take hours to heat it up and get the seal to crack and let it come off.

The other thing is that none of the remainder of the job is difficult it is just time consuming and you are paying by the hour for the job.

Back in the Skyline heyday the going rate was around $1,500 for labour plus parts from Nissan who were charging $300 per idler bearing - great money if you can get it.

Good luck with your search and it you can get the job done by a shop that you trust for less than $1,000 you will be going well.

With supplied parts and fluids:

CRD (penrith) : $690

JLM (penrith) : $600

(St Marys) Guy who has been reliable and doesnt BS me : (never done this work before) $90 per hour.

Try V sport they were VERY reasonable with my evo.. For $360 fixed price they put royal purple engine oil done the AYC gearbox and diff fluids. Even done extra things like adjusted my handbrake up.. Got the call as soon as the car was done. Very good service indeed.. Dare say was my best experience with mechanics EVER! :D

Changing oil and adjusting the hands brake is substantially easier and could have been done by an apprentice.

The timing belt/idler/pump is at least 4grs work and has the potential to go to shit, hence the amount they charge.

Op, do it yourself. Problem solved.

Changing oil and adjusting the hands brake is substantially easier and could have been done by an apprentice.

The timing belt/idler/pump is at least 4grs work and has the potential to go to shit, hence the amount they charge.

Op, do it yourself. Problem solved.

Yeah no shit mate! What im getting at is their pricing is very good there was near $300 in fluids if I were to roll around on my shed floor and do it myself.. For the extra $60 they can do it and stamp my log book.

Pretty shit advice really Ben making out like its purely a tradesmens job with massive liabilities then telling a bloke who may not have any mechanical skills to do it himself?? ;)

If you ring just about any workshop & say: head gasket, timing belt, clutch, starting $$$ will be around $6-700. All are time consuming & tie up a hoist or work bay for a day or more. For a timing belt on an RB, balancers are on a taper (my RB20 was-modified my puller rather than removing my radiator), then if they find weeping/leaking cam/crank seals, its more time & $$$. If the parts supplied are genuine, most workshops will be more than happy to take on the job. If they are eBay parts, you might pay more in the labour, due to the possible failure factor. I only use genuine parts. I've worked in the industry long enough to respect quality. Aftermarket tend to deviate from OEM design to save money.

I'd be happy to do the job for you at my house, PM me what you want done & when.

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