Awhile back I posted problem with my car dying while driving. After taking it to the dealer and leaving it there for 2 days here are their diagnosis:

1) They said my battery was bad. Has 225 cranking amp versus 525. Cost is $115 which includes the initial $40 just for them to take a look at it. Comes with only 1 year warranty. Also they said there is 14.2 volt at the output terminal of the alternator while idling and 14.14 at 2k plus RPM, so the alt is good. This does concur with the testing I did with the multimeter few days ago.

2) They found high carbon deposits which I posted in another thread. $90 to remove.

3) My drive belt(?) is a little worn and costs $120 to replace.

4) The rear shocks are somewhat leaking and costs $530 to replace.

5) There are tiny amount of transmission fluid around the transmision pan and they want $120 to replace the pan gasket.

I told them to do number 1 and forget about the rest. I just can't believe they'd charge me $120 EACH to replace the drive belt and trans pan gasket. I do believe them with the tiny leak at the trans pan since I dropped it and install new gasket awhile ago and could've not tighten everything up right. But I've been checking the dipstick and the fluid is pretty much at the full mark.

Also $530 is alot just to do the rear shocks isn't it? I could upgrade all 4 corners to performance struts/shocks and do it myself. Is the drive belt the one for power steering and water pump, the one behind the alternator belt? I should be able to do this myself since I removed and install the alternator before.

 

They wanted $650 for all 4 corners on mine, and I already had the tokicos for them to just install. I did it myself for free, and now I have a much better understanding of the maxima suspension - and how simple it is.

For $530 you can definitley find some drop springs and shocks/struts, and get a regular garage to install it for no more than $200. But I highly recommend reading up on the subject using both the search function here and at other maxima sites listed in the links section.

 

Perhaps they mean the accessory drive belts. There are two. Some degree of wear is acceptable. For photos of acceptable and unacceptable belt wear patterns please see the Haynes repair manual, page 1-15.

 

Hmmm after reading that page you mention I think the term drive belts is a generic term for describing any belts which power the power steering, water pump, alternator, and a/c compressor?

Yeah I've been researching the suspension subject for quite sometimes now and was gonna upgrade them myself to something sporty but was reluctant on the money. I did install the RSB couple weeks ago so that might've accelerated wear on the rear shocks.

Oh I forgot to mention that my car is a 99 with ~94k miles.

 

your leak you can replace the gasket yourself. I highly recommend you get the OEM gasket from nissan, I done 4 of those and I went to Autozone to get the gaskets and didnt fit so I had to drive to the dealer and get the OEM gaskets. To replace your gasket you will need to drain your transmission fluid remove all the bolts that hold the pan together and then clean the pan, and realign the gasket lift it back up and install the screws back on. There is a filter in there that you may want to replace as well the whole thing should run you about 35-$40 plus 4 quarts of transmission oil.


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yup yup it's pretty easy since I did all of this before and I did use the OEM gasket. Just a bit messy to clean the pan and the two magnets inside.

The only thing that perplex me is that Autozone tested my battery before by recharging it and did a load test and verified that it's good. Then another Autozone said the battery probably is bad since output from the alt is good. Can you tell I just love Autozone?

Anyway I'm just hoping this doesn't turn into one of those ugly story where the mechanic tells you to replace the battery, doesn't work so you replace the alternator, doesn't work either and after over $400 it turns out to be some loose connectors or a short due to burnt wiring, possibly in the wiring that goes to the indicator light on the dash board?

 

Wow that is very high priced! You can replace the battery yourself, very easy, a two minute procedure. The drivebelts themselves cost approximately $30. Figure dealer markup at $50. So, the other $70 is for labor, which is an acceptable hourly rate. So $120 for belts is high, but not excessive.

$120 for the transmission pan gasket is ridiculous. It's a 30 minute procedure, and should cost $35 labor, and $15 parts.

As for the rear shocks, figure approx $65/each for the shock, and 30 minutes each corner for install/reinstall. So, that's $130 for parts and $70 for labor, or $200.

Hope this helps. If you took the car to an independent shop, the price would be much lower than the dealer.