Timing belt change labor

Hi,
I have the complete timing belt kit [belts, pulleys, pump, bolts etc]. I also have the special tools needed. What is a reasonable shop cost to have it done? Mine has about 70K since the first change.

It takes me about 10 hours..... working at my pace. The first one I did about 15 years ago took 12 hours. I've only been able to knock two hours off after changing lots and lots of them.

I suspect shops use a labor book. Someone will know.

How old is your TB? 70k miles is only 70% in! Should be good for another 30k miles and a bit more!

The TB on my new to me 03 is at 98k miles. I did the job on the car in 2012. I don't plan to change it until next spring, regardless of miles. Others would be on pins and needles by now. Some wouldn't start it.

I had to replace my 100K belt/tensioner/roller at 60K because something was going out and making swoosh/swoosh noises. The belt looked fine, but noticeably thinner when compared to the new belt. I guess these belts wear down like tires do, but they look just fine without comparison.

I remember paying around $1K for parts+labor many years ago. It's probably much more nowadays.

Depends on who you get to do it and what is included. Do you want the alternator pulley, cam and crank seals changed? That's another $120 plus the basic $500 fee for the timing belt and components, water pump and tensioner pulley all properly timed with vcds.

Sent from my Armor_2 using Tapatalk

vwdsmguy said:

Hi,
I have the complete timing belt kit [belts, pulleys, pump, bolts etc]. I also have the special tools needed. What is a reasonable shop cost to have it done? Mine has about 70K since the first change.

Click to expand...

Are you saying that your 2002 has had 1 belt change and you’re now at 70k miles on that 2nd belt? How long ago was the belt change?

alex_tdi said:

I had to replace my 100K belt/tensioner/roller at 60K because something was going out and making swoosh/swoosh noises. The belt looked fine, but noticeably thinner when compared to the new belt. I guess these belts wear down like tires do, but they look just fine without comparison.

I remember paying around $1K for parts+labor many years ago. It's probably much more nowadays.

Click to expand...

Wow - I don't charge enough!!! I am not the fastest by far, but I usually charge $200 labor plus actual cost of the parts. I should get serious and come up with more realistic pricing since my spare time is limited, but none of these VW timing belts are all that complicated. The BRM is a flat out breeze! I felt guilty doing one in trade for gutters on my new garage!

Gforce1108, I charge $350 plus cost of parts (no markup). I change everything in the path of the TB, serp belt, cam seal and vacuum pump seal. Also, if the crankshaft seal is leaking, I change it with no additional labor charge. I do charge more if the ALT needs a new pulley. I do grease the bearing set in the Serp Belt Tensioner at no additional charge. I also scan all systems with VCDS and do a print-out. If they want an oil change, I do it at no extra labor, same with transmission oil. I charge $150.00 to remove and clean the Intake, including the head ports.

I only have a few select customers that I do work for... turn down the rest!

In my opinion, the TB can go well beyond 100k miles. But, some other component can give up the ghost much sooner!

May, 2017, the Water Pump locked up on the ALH in my Vanagon at about 50k miles. No warning that I could hear (my hearing is terrible). Luckily, the TB survived the chaos and never jumped time.

Then on the flip-side, the first go around, I only changed the TB and tensioner on my 2000 Jetta allowing all the other parts to go 167k miles without incident.

So, I suppose there's always a bit of a gamble before 100k miles and obviously beyond.

"Book time" is 4.4 hours last I checked.

So, take that and multiply it by whatever the local hourly rate is of the shop in question, and that should be your answer.

So, if the local rate is $100/hr for example, officially by the book they should be charging $440 labor.

Santa Monica VW said it's "around" $850.

1 1/2 years ago I paid a TDI guru near Charlotte $1150 for complete TB service and dog bone mount. They also did logs and set everything up with VAGCOM.

Both of the VW dealers near me (Gurnee and Libertyville) charge $1,200 for a TB change.

I own 5 TDI's... Until I figure out the stock market I'll have to continue to do the work myself.

I do them for $600 here (north of Charlotte). That is replacing all the idlers, water pump, stretch bolts...

If your pump is leaking, I charge $150 to reseal it (which is my core business) and don't charge any extra to r and r the pump.