Seem like mine ran about $500.00 but the water pump also had to be replaced as it had started to seep.. Don't remember if any of the idler/tensioners might have been also replaced.. It is also a good time to check the condition of all the seals on the front of the engine (exposed by this job, and replace if needed) and perhaps why some above were so expensive.
btw if you decide to do it yourself, the torque on the bolt that holds the harmonic damper/pulley on the crankshaft is torqued to 217 ft-lbs.. It has to come off to replace the timing belt..
If you do it yourself, be warned that the bolt MUST be re-torqued to that value.. You need a special tool (or, make your own) to hold the pulley to break the torque on the bolt and re-torque back to the required level.
There have been people that posted here and my dealer service manager (that I know very well and asked about this) have had a few engines that had to be replaced due to buggered up crankshafts from botched DIY timing belt replacements.. Most people really don't understand the harmonic damper's purpose and torsional vibration forces that are on the pulley to crankshaft connection, and why it has to be on so tight. This is a pretty good article on what they do.
http://www.atiracing.com/products/dampers/damper_dinan.htmIf bolt is not retorqued back to spec, the pulley will start rocking on the key/keyway on the crank, and eventually ruin the end of the crankshaft. Obviously if you damage the crankshaft, you are looking at an engine replacement to fix it..
Having done timing belts about 4 times on various vehicles, (and grown tired of this PIA job) and the torque required, I decided to pay to have it done..
You can do it yourself, and here is an article that will help you, just make sure you do it right.....
http://www.4x4wire.com/toyota/maintenance/timing_belt/ I noticed there is a question in this article on the torque for the harmonic damper (187 or 217 ft lbs). I checked my Factory Service Manual for my 2000 4Runner 3.4 V6 and it say 217ft-lbs.
