legacycentral bbs

It's been over 70k since my timing belt was last replaced. What should I expect to pay for the job (labor rate is usually $70 in my area).
Thanks.

When I was at school, and thus didn't have the time/parts/location, it cost me ~$700. New timing belt, idlers, tensioner and labor. Crappy.

Without idlers and a tensioner, it shouldn't be more than $300. If the idlers and tensioner are in good shape, they should not need to be replaced. I've had two Legacies last over 200k on the original sets.

My buddy just got his done for $380 (no tensioner, don't know about idlers). He got another quote for $425 or so....

I believe it books out at about 2.5 hours or so, so depending on the labor rate, which I see ranging from $50-110/hour, those quotes seem reasonable.

Uh, why don't you just replace it yourself? It's really not difficult, even for folks who are not the most mechanically inclined. There's more than enough information on the subject on this site. I say screw paying somebody else to do your labor; even licensed Subaru mechanics screw up sometimes. You could probably do it yourself in a couple hours, then all you would have to pay for is the $40 timing belt (I don't know where some people on this website buy their parts, but I've heard people say they paid $80 for a new belt. This is ridiculous. If you shop around just a little, you should never have to pay more than $40. I got mine at Auto Zone for $38. Even an OEM belt from the dealer only costs $55).

All you need for the job is a 10mm end wrench, a 12mm end wrench (or socket), a 14mm end wrench, and a 22mm socket with a breaker bar (for busting loose the crank shaft pulley bolt), and a vice or C-clamp (for compressing the tensioner). If you have these tools, a guide of some kind (Chiltons, Haynes, etc.), and a couple hours of free time, you can pull this job off yourself really easily and save yourself hundreds of dollars.

Yeah, its not bad. I did mine over the course of a couple days (including water pump) after work (2 hours ish each day)

The only gotcha is if you have a DOHC motor (you didnt specify your vehicle), its a little more fiddly to prevent valve damage. But on the SOHC motor, you have to try really hard to screw it up.